Lake Michigan College
Public Community College in Benton Harbor, MI. Six-year graduation rate 22%. Median 10-year earnings $34,466.
Ten-year median earnings of $34,466 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 22% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $9,000 — 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 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 22% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 22% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 84% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Transfer-out runs to 25% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 54% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,817 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $7,557 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $5,580 at $0–30k, $12,465 at $110k+. About 67% get grants averaging $6,176, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 21% 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 · 361 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 | $5,580 |
| $30–48k | $5,013 |
| $48–75k | $7,602 |
| $75–110k | $9,671 |
| $110k+ | $12,465 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 374 of these 1,817 students, totalling $1,614,474 — an average of $4,317 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Berrien 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)