Northcentral Technical College
Public Community College in Wausau, WI. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $44,925.
Students who entered Northcentral Technical College land at a median of $44,925 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 45%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $7,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.17 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
Completion is middling: 45% finish inside six years. Just 59% 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. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 48% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — 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 3,479 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $11,078 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $10,216 at $0–30k against $15,346 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is limited — 41% of students receive any. 23% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 258 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 | $10,216 |
| $30–48k | $14,243 |
| $48–75k | $8,470 |
| $75–110k | $15,346 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 810 of these 3,479 students, totalling $3,223,065 — an average of $3,979 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Marathon 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)