Eastern Shore
Community College
Public Community College in Melfa, VA. Six-year graduation rate 41%. Median 10-year earnings $32,418.
Ten-year median earnings of $32,418 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Six-year completion sits at 41%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.6% 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.
Academics
41% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 67% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 43% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. A 24:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 433 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $3,005 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $2,054 at $0–30k, $10,019 at $75–110k. 79% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,570 — common but not automatic.
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 · 89 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 | $2,054 |
| $30–48k | $1,726 |
| $48–75k | $3,793 |
| $75–110k | $10,019 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Accomack 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)