Massachusetts Bay
Community College
Public Community College in Wellesley Hills, MA. Six-year graduation rate 17%. Median 10-year earnings $52,654.
Ten years after entry, the median Massachusetts Bay Community College student earns $52,654 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 17% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $6,500 — 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 0.12 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 17% — below national average
Academics
Only 17% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. Retention is weak: only 56% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 26% 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. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,156 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $7,420 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,206 at $0–30k against $13,317 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 54% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,058 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 12% 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 · 492 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 | $6,206 |
| $30–48k | $5,813 |
| $48–75k | $7,685 |
| $75–110k | $9,767 |
| $110k+ | $13,317 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 379 of these 3,156 students, totalling $1,584,606 — an average of $4,181 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Norfolk 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)