Miles College
Private College in Fairfield, AL. Six-year graduation rate 16%. Median 10-year earnings $32,627.
Ten-year median earnings of $32,627 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 16% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $31,217 — a substantial load to service on these earnings.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.96 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 16% — below national average
Academics
Only 16% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. Retention is weak: only 56% 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. A 12:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,151 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $11,064 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $13,907 at $0–30k against $20,491 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is widespread — 88% of students receive it, averaging $11,013. 73% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 177 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 | $13,907 |
| $30–48k | $13,677 |
| $48–75k | $16,747 |
| $75–110k | $18,889 |
| $110k+ | $20,491 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 839 of these 1,151 students, totalling $5,956,102 — an average of $7,099 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jefferson 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)