Lake Area
Technical College
Public Community College in Watertown, SD. Six-year graduation rate 73%. Median 10-year earnings $45,473.
Students who entered Lake Area Technical College land at a median of $45,473 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is a strength: 73% of students finish within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000.
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
73% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 81% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. As a public community college, the relevant comparison is other two-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate population is 2,179 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,710 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $13,551 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $11,193 at $0–30k against $18,230 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 73% of students at an average of $6,827. 73% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 599 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 | $11,193 |
| $30–48k | $12,971 |
| $48–75k | $14,129 |
| $75–110k | $18,118 |
| $110k+ | $18,230 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,249 of these 1,710 students, totalling $7,327,886 — an average of $5,867 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Codington 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)