College of
Southern Maryland
Public Community College in La Plata, MD. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $44,435.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,435 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 33% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $8,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.19 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 33% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 66% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. A 19% 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.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,473 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,006 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($4,798 versus $12,180), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 43% of students receive any. About 52% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 698 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 | $4,798 |
| $30–48k | $5,287 |
| $48–75k | $7,895 |
| $75–110k | $10,120 |
| $110k+ | $12,180 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,310 of these 4,473 students, totalling $15,781,938 — an average of $6,832 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Charles 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)