South Louisiana
Community College
Public Community College in Lafayette, LA. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $31,432.
Students who entered South Louisiana Community College reach a median of $31,432 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Completion is the weak point: 30% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $11,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.35 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 30% graduate within six years. 54% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 17% 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. Retention drops to 38% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,839 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,499 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $11,793 at $0–30k against $17,696 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 69% get grants averaging $5,558, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 44% 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 · 954 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 | $11,793 |
| $30–48k | $11,823 |
| $48–75k | $14,266 |
| $75–110k | $17,106 |
| $110k+ | $17,696 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,115 of these 4,839 students, totalling $13,336,092 — an average of $6,305 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lafayette 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)