J. F.
Drake State Community and Technical College
Public Community College in Huntsville, AL. Six-year graduation rate 14%. Median 10-year earnings $28,281.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $28,281, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Completion is the weak point: 14% graduate within six years.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ! Graduation rate 14% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 14% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 51% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Transfer-out runs to 16% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 40% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 719 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $6,075 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $5,916 at $0–30k against $7,763 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 73% get grants averaging $6,979, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price.
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 · 97 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 | $5,916 |
| $30–48k | $4,108 |
| $48–75k | $8,546 |
| $75–110k | $7,763 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Madison 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)