New Mexico
Highlands University
Public College in Las Vegas, NM. Six-year graduation rate 27%. Median 10-year earnings $45,937.
Ten years after entry, the median New Mexico Highlands University student earns $45,937 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Only 27% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $11,399, a light load against those earnings. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 3.1% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.25 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 27% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 27% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 50% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. 25% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students actually return at a higher rate, 60%, which is unusual and suggests the school is built for them.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,562 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $11,062 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: $13,511 at $0–30k, $16,530 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 86% of students receive it, averaging $9,759. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 19% 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 · 221 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 | $13,511 |
| $30–48k | $13,947 |
| $48–75k | $15,175 |
| $75–110k | $16,508 |
| $110k+ | $16,530 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 301 of these 1,562 students, totalling $1,634,021 — an average of $5,429 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Miguel 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)