Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Public Community College in Wesson, MS. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $31,241.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $31,241, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $7,435. It also moves people — 3.3% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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 0.24 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
50% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 73% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. 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 20% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,950 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $5,363 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $3,165 at the $0–30k band to $11,501 at $110k+. Most students get help: 100% receive grants worth $6,645 on average. 14% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 528 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 | $3,165 |
| $30–48k | $3,289 |
| $48–75k | $5,624 |
| $75–110k | $8,123 |
| $110k+ | $11,501 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 274 of these 1,950 students, totalling $1,221,289 — an average of $4,457 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Copiah County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Compliance Audit Late or Missing); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)