National Park College
Public Community College in Hot Springs, AR. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $32,444.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $32,444, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 35% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $10,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Only 35% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Just 51% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 41% return, against 51% full-time. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,800 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $13,429 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Income makes less difference than usual: $12,368 at $0–30k, $9,541 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 76% of students at an average of $6,074. Federal borrowing reaches 28% of students.
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 · 486 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 | $12,368 |
| $30–48k | $12,953 |
| $48–75k | $13,349 |
| $75–110k | $15,084 |
| $110k+ | $9,541 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 507 of these 1,800 students, totalling $2,327,942 — an average of $4,592 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Garland 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)