Palo Alto College
Public Community College in San Antonio, TX. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $37,448.
Students who entered Palo Alto College reach a median of $37,448 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $13,393 — modest by four-year standards.
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
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Academics
Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. A 12% 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. The 31:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 10,908 undergraduates puts this among the larger schools, which usually means more choice and less individual attention.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,723 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $4,805 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $3,680 at $0–30k against $5,201 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is limited — 48% of students receive any. 3% 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 · 919 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 | $3,680 |
| $30–48k | $4,373 |
| $48–75k | $6,248 |
| $75–110k | $7,376 |
| $110k+ | $5,201 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 235 of these 7,723 students, totalling $1,399,901 — an average of $5,957 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Bexar County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Flight Program - Suspended for 85/15 violation
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)