Bladen Community College
Public Community College in Dublin, NC. Six-year graduation rate 23%. Median 10-year earnings $30,591.
Ten-year median earnings of $30,591 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 23% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 23% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 23% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 67% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 23% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Retention drops to 48% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 792 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $9,551 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $8,915 at $0–30k, $11,040 at $75–110k. 92% of students get grant aid averaging $5,118, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 15 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $8,915 |
| $30–48k | $9,265 |
| $48–75k | $10,188 |
| $75–110k | $11,040 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Bladen County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)