Lawson State
Community College
Public Community College in Birmingham, AL. Six-year graduation rate 27%. Median 10-year earnings $31,701.
Students who entered Lawson State Community College reach a median of $31,701 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Only 27% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential they enrolled for.
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
- ! Graduation rate 27% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 27% graduate within six years. 59% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. The part-time picture is harder: 34% return, against 59% full-time. The student-faculty ratio is 19:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,720 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,578 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $6,102 at $0–30k, $6,338 at $110k+. About 81% get grants averaging $6,409, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price.
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 · 412 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 | $6,102 |
| $30–48k | $5,464 |
| $48–75k | $8,151 |
| $75–110k | $9,449 |
| $110k+ | $6,338 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jefferson 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)