Dawson Community College
Public Community College in Glendive, MT. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $41,951.
Students who entered Dawson Community College reach a median of $41,951 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 45%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $9,450.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
45% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention is weak: only 54% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. With 40% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. At 13:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a public community college, the relevant comparison is other two-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 233 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,909 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($8,162 versus $16,105), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 88% of students get grant aid averaging $5,442, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Federal borrowing reaches 31% 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 · 101 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 | $8,162 |
| $30–48k | $6,157 |
| $48–75k | $9,970 |
| $75–110k | $12,438 |
| $110k+ | $16,105 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 72 of these 233 students, totalling $386,226 — an average of $5,364 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dawson 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)