Merritt College
Public Community College in Oakland, CA. Six-year graduation rate 26%. Median 10-year earnings $44,392.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,392 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 26% graduate within six years.
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 26% — below national average
Academics
Only 26% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. Retention is weak: only 55% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. 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. Transfer-out runs to 15% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 27% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,159 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $15,581 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $13,744 at $0–30k, $20,036 at $110k+. 66% of students receive grant aid, averaging $1,972 — common but not automatic. 1% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 120 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 | $13,744 |
| $30–48k | $14,102 |
| $48–75k | $12,825 |
| $75–110k | $18,528 |
| $110k+ | $20,036 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 40 of these 5,159 students, totalling $293,309 — an average of $7,333 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Alameda 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)