Northshore Technical
Community College
Public Community College in Lacombe, LA. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $29,734.
Ten-year median earnings of $29,734 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 40%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
40% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention is weak: only 56% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 37% return, against 56% full-time. A 42:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,156 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,699 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 ($9,584 versus $16,668), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid reaches 73% of students at an average of $6,071. 43% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 491 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 | $9,584 |
| $30–48k | $10,300 |
| $48–75k | $12,568 |
| $75–110k | $15,072 |
| $110k+ | $16,668 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 922 of these 2,156 students, totalling $6,704,838 — an average of $7,272 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (St. Tammany Parish) — 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)