North Arkansas College
Public Community College in Harrison, AR. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $34,653.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $34,653, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 42%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $9,000. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.0% 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 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 42%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Just 54% 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. A 13% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 44% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,184 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,234 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($10,059 versus $13,364), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 76% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,682 — common but not automatic. Only 12% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 302 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 | $10,059 |
| $30–48k | $9,284 |
| $48–75k | $10,957 |
| $75–110k | $8,363 |
| $110k+ | $13,364 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 146 of these 1,184 students, totalling $818,337 — an average of $5,605 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Boone 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)