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Public Community College

Madison Area
Technical College

Public Community College in Madison, WI. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $45,413.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Madison Area Technical College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$45,413
Median debt at grad
$14,060
Mobility score
0.8
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
28.9%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered Madison Area Technical College land at a median of $45,413 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is the weak point: 29% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $14,060, 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.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags
  • ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
  • ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average

Academics

Full-time retention
Transfer-out rate
18%
Student:faculty
14:1

A six-year graduation rate of 29% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. A 18% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. At 14:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a public community college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 13,238 undergraduates puts this among the larger schools, which usually means more choice and less individual attention.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$13,284
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
38%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
22%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,273 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $13,284 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $11,920 at $0–30k against $19,245 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 38% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 22% 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.

% receiving grants
36%
Average grant
$5,872

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 869 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 $11,920
$30–48k $12,403
$48–75k $14,692
$75–110k $17,280
$110k+ $19,245

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 2,052 of these 9,273 students, totalling $13,090,849 — an average of $6,380 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Dane County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,268/mo
1 bedroom
$1,482/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,694/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
388
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
No

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Madison Area Technical College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Madison Area Technical College

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →