McDowell Technical
Community College
Public Community College in Marion, NC. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $33,035.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $33,035, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 48% 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.
- ! Mobility score 0.2 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
48% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention of 80% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. A 13% 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. Retention drops to 57% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 613 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,024 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $7,084 at $0–30k against $13,766 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 74% of students at an average of $6,860.
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 · 41 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 | $7,084 |
| $30–48k | $7,478 |
| $48–75k | $9,301 |
| $75–110k | $13,766 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (McDowell 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)