Garrett College
Public Community College in McHenry, MD. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $35,823.
Ten-year median earnings of $35,823 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,750 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.30 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 34% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 50% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 25% 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. The 15:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 425 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $8,507 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 — $7,387 at $0–30k against $13,398 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 87% receive grants worth $5,660 on average. 52% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 207 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 | $7,387 |
| $30–48k | $7,231 |
| $48–75k | $10,686 |
| $75–110k | $12,624 |
| $110k+ | $13,398 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 220 of these 425 students, totalling $1,099,433 — an average of $4,997 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Garrett 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)