Indian Hills
Community College
Public Community College in Ottumwa, IA. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $40,507.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $40,507, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Six-year completion sits at 40%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $10,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
40% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Just 59% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Retention drops to 45% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 16:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,576 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,340 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 — $9,561 at $0–30k against $15,397 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 81% of students at an average of $6,783. 38% 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 · 572 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 | $9,561 |
| $30–48k | $8,407 |
| $48–75k | $10,960 |
| $75–110k | $12,515 |
| $110k+ | $15,397 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 597 of these 1,576 students, totalling $3,031,986 — an average of $5,079 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wapello 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)