College of
the Sequoias
Public Community College in Visalia, CA. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $39,092.
Ten-year median earnings of $39,092 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 39% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $4,500, a light load against those earnings. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.5% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.12 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 39% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 71% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. 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. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 53% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. A 29:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,752 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $2,152 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $-537 at $0–30k against $6,886 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 71% of students at an average of $5,056. Only 1% 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 · 1,693 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 | $-537 |
| $30–48k | $57 |
| $48–75k | $1,492 |
| $75–110k | $5,093 |
| $110k+ | $6,886 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 111 of these 10,752 students, totalling $659,153 — an average of $5,938 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Tulare 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)