Cape Girardeau
Career and Technology Center
Public College in Cape Girardeau, MO. Six-year graduation rate 71%. Median 10-year earnings $44,369.
Ten years after entry, the median Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center student earns $44,369 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 71% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates leave owing a median of $8,750 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.20 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
A 71% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 84%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a public short-program institution, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 215 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $17,598 annually once grants are applied. Net price varies modestly by income — $15,719 at $0–30k against $18,588 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is limited — 46% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 24% of students.
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 · 18 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 | $15,719 |
| $30–48k | $16,643 |
| $48–75k | $19,238 |
| $75–110k | $22,452 |
| $110k+ | $18,588 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 51 of these 215 students, totalling $334,568 — an average of $6,560 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cape Girardeau County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Warning or Equivalent-Factors Affecting Academic Quality (Other - Provide unlisted or multiple justifications); School has an accreditation issue
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)