Phillips Community
College of the University of Arkansas
Public Community College in Helena, AR. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $29,552.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $29,552, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 55% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential.
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
Completion is middling: 55% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 66% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. A 19% 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 retention runs ahead at 79% — a sign this campus supports non-traditional schedules well. At 11:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 595 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $5,110 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 — $4,683 at $0–30k against $7,148 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $5,627, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay.
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 · 99 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 | $4,683 |
| $30–48k | $4,573 |
| $48–75k | $5,549 |
| $75–110k | $7,148 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Phillips 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)