Polk State College
Public Community College in Winter Haven, FL. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $40,624.
Ten-year median earnings of $40,624 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 35% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $10,076. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.1% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.25 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 19% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 8,081 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,007 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,011 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 — $9,446 at $0–30k against $7,464 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 64% of students receive grant aid, averaging $2,484 — common but not automatic. Only 9% 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 · 446 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 | $9,446 |
| $30–48k | $9,203 |
| $48–75k | $9,502 |
| $75–110k | $8,377 |
| $110k+ | $7,464 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 524 of these 6,007 students, totalling $1,857,895 — an average of $3,546 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Polk 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)