Mountain Empire
Community College
Public Community College in Big Stone Gap, VA. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $32,622.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $32,622, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 48%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 48%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 64% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 33% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. A 22:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,240 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $9,210 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $8,148 at $0–30k, $11,741 at $75–110k. 88% of students get grant aid averaging $5,843, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay.
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 · 297 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 | $8,148 |
| $30–48k | $8,064 |
| $48–75k | $10,770 |
| $75–110k | $11,741 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wise 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)