College of
the Albemarle
Public Community College in Elizabeth City, NC. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $33,234.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $33,234, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 35% — 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.
- ! Mobility score 0.5 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 35% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 72% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four 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. The 31% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 51% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,270 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $3,931 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($398 versus $7,216), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid reaches 53% of students at an average of $7,594.
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 · 169 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 | $398 |
| $30–48k | $2,466 |
| $48–75k | $3,869 |
| $75–110k | $7,216 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Pasquotank 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)