Paris Junior College
Public Community College in Paris, TX. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $36,515.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,515, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 38% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $5,342 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.15 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 38% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Just 58% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 15% 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 37% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,264 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $7,583 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $7,212 at $0–30k, $11,096 at $110k+. 62% of students receive grant aid, averaging $6,085 — common but not automatic. Only 5% 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 · 439 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 | $7,212 |
| $30–48k | $6,232 |
| $48–75k | $8,420 |
| $75–110k | $9,679 |
| $110k+ | $11,096 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 106 of these 2,264 students, totalling $553,709 — an average of $5,224 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lamar 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)