Kishwaukee College
Public Community College in Malta, IL. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $39,657.
Ten-year median earnings of $39,657 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 45%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Graduates leave owing a median of $9,395 — 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 0.24 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
45% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 74% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four 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. Transfer-out runs to 16% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The part-time picture is harder: 43% return, against 74% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,733 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,218 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The income table below is the number that matters — $2,477 at $0–30k versus $13,337 at $110k+. About 66% get grants averaging $7,347, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 11% of students.
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 · 372 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 | $2,477 |
| $30–48k | $2,548 |
| $48–75k | $5,979 |
| $75–110k | $9,324 |
| $110k+ | $13,337 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 196 of these 1,733 students, totalling $1,171,456 — an average of $5,977 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (DeKalb 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)