Mildred Elley
School-Albany Campus
For-profit Community College in Albany, NY. Six-year graduation rate 37%. Median 10-year earnings $38,830.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,830 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 37% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $19,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
A six-year graduation rate of 37% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 26% of full-time first-years return, so roughly three in four leave after one year. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Being a for-profit two-year institution is the single most useful context for these numbers — the sector's spread is wide enough that the school-level figures matter more than usual. The undergraduate body is just 385, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 385 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $23,297 annually once grants are applied. Income makes less difference than usual: $23,758 at $0–30k, $31,734 at $110k+. About 67% get grants averaging $6,451, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Borrowing is widespread: 69% take federal loans.
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 · 68 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 | $23,758 |
| $30–48k | $24,972 |
| $48–75k | $22,321 |
| $75–110k | $23,598 |
| $110k+ | $31,734 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 266 of these 385 students, totalling $2,098,129 — an average of $7,888 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Albany 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)