Blue Ridge
Community College
Public Community College in Flat Rock, NC. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $36,324.
Ten-year median earnings of $36,324 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Six-year completion sits at 50%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 50%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 70% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. A 14% 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. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 49% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,788 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,273 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($5,723 versus $11,138), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 96% receive grants worth $3,064 on average. Only 7% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 141 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 | $5,723 |
| $30–48k | $4,646 |
| $48–75k | $6,581 |
| $75–110k | $8,351 |
| $110k+ | $11,138 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 118 of these 1,788 students, totalling $720,041 — an average of $6,102 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Henderson 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)