Mesalands Community College
Public Community College in Tucumcari, NM. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $32,272.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $32,272, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Six-year completion sits at 42%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions.
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
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 42%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 62% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a public community college, the relevant comparison is other two-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 390 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,864 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $9,778 at $0–30k, $11,655 at $110k+. About 61% get grants averaging $4,428, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 3% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 50 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 | $9,778 |
| $30–48k | $7,717 |
| $48–75k | $6,353 |
| $75–110k | $10,855 |
| $110k+ | $11,655 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 11 of these 390 students, totalling $59,563 — an average of $5,415 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Quay County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring, Heightened Cash Monitoring (Compliance Audit Late or Missing); Heightened Cash Monitoring; School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)