Kennebec Valley
Community College
Public Community College in Fairfield, ME. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $36,035.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,035, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 39% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $13,255, 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 39% graduate within six years. 64% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 13% 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. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 51% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,537 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $6,229 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 — $3,361 at $0–30k against $9,291 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 81% get grants averaging $5,183, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 20% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 261 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 | $3,361 |
| $30–48k | $3,863 |
| $48–75k | $4,146 |
| $75–110k | $6,145 |
| $110k+ | $9,291 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 309 of these 1,537 students, totalling $2,120,029 — an average of $6,861 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Somerset 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)