Laurel Ridge
Community College
Public Community College in Middletown, VA. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $41,000.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $41,000, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 45% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $9,750, 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.
- ✓ 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. Retention of 69% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Transfer-out runs to 15% — 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 46% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,167 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $6,411 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($4,521 versus $10,827), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 47% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 4% 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 · 536 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 | $4,521 |
| $30–48k | $5,614 |
| $48–75k | $6,467 |
| $75–110k | $7,386 |
| $110k+ | $10,827 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 142 of these 3,167 students, totalling $729,434 — an average of $5,137 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Frederick 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)