Highland Community College
Public Community College in Highland, KS. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $41,291.
Students who entered Highland Community College reach a median of $41,291 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Completion is the weak point: 39% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $8,277, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.20 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.5 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 39% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 40% of full-time first-years return, so roughly three in five leave after one year. The 32% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. Retention drops to 26% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. A 13:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,262 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,353 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Income makes less difference than usual: $7,552 at $0–30k, $14,818 at $110k+. About 52% get grants averaging $6,437, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. About 26% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 324 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 | $7,552 |
| $30–48k | $9,253 |
| $48–75k | $11,455 |
| $75–110k | $13,798 |
| $110k+ | $14,818 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 325 of these 1,262 students, totalling $1,683,733 — an average of $5,181 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Doniphan 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)