Southeastern Community College
Public Community College in Whiteville, NC. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $30,284.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $30,284, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 44% 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
Six-year completion sits at 44%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention is weak: only 57% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 26% 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. The part-time picture is harder: 33% return, against 57% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 821 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,862 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Income makes less difference than usual: $8,660 at $0–30k, $3,902 at $75–110k. Grant aid is widespread — 89% of students receive it, averaging $8,395.
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 · 79 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 | $8,660 |
| $30–48k | $9,330 |
| $48–75k | $12,051 |
| $75–110k | $3,902 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Columbus 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)