undergradly.
Public Community College

Florida SouthWestern
State College

Public Community College in Fort Myers, FL. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $43,421.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Florida SouthWestern State College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$43,421
Median debt at grad
$8,000
Mobility score
1.7
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
39.2%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $43,421 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 39% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $8,000.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
Transfer-out rate
20%
Student:faculty
27:1

Only 39% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential. 20% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 27:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. With 13,860 undergraduates, this is a large institution — expect the administrative scale and the range of offerings that come with it.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$8,356
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
64%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
14%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,613 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

At $8,356 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,011 at $0–30k against $13,337 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 64% of students at an average of $4,522. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 14% 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.

% receiving grants
80%
Average grant
$5,938

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,773 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 $6,011
$30–48k $6,484
$48–75k $8,516
$75–110k $11,200
$110k+ $13,337

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 1,471 of these 10,613 students, totalling $5,173,689 — an average of $3,517 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Lee County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,629/mo
1 bedroom
$1,638/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,961/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
428
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Florida SouthWestern State College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Florida SouthWestern State College

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →