South Piedmont
Community College
Public Community College in Polkton, NC. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $37,308.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $37,308, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 38% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 38% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Just 57% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. 15% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The student-faculty ratio is 19:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,555 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $7,689 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $4,948 at the $0–30k band to $16,111 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 52% of students at an average of $8,151.
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 · 223 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 | $4,948 |
| $30–48k | $5,576 |
| $48–75k | $7,866 |
| $75–110k | $11,281 |
| $110k+ | $16,111 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Anson 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)