Mayland Community College
Public Community College in Spruce Pine, NC. Six-year graduation rate 46%. Median 10-year earnings $34,663.
Ten-year median earnings of $34,663 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 46% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential.
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
- ! Mobility score 0.3 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
Completion is middling: 46% finish inside six years. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. A 12% 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. The part-time picture is harder: 48% return, against 76% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 371 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,152 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($4,571 versus $10,806), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 72% get grants averaging $6,774, 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 · 42 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 | $4,571 |
| $30–48k | $7,116 |
| $48–75k | $6,502 |
| $75–110k | $8,841 |
| $110k+ | $10,806 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Avery 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)