Southwest Texas College
Public Community College in Uvalde, TX. Six-year graduation rate 31%. Median 10-year earnings $35,563.
Ten-year median earnings of $35,563 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 31% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $6,200, a light load against those earnings. On economic mobility, 5.7% of students travel 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 0.17 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 31% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 31% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 58% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 48% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The 28:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,170 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,429 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,668 at $0–30k against $13,554 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 71% of students at an average of $5,545. Only 5% 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 · 718 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 | $6,668 |
| $30–48k | $7,044 |
| $48–75k | $8,976 |
| $75–110k | $11,052 |
| $110k+ | $13,554 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 151 of these 3,170 students, totalling $849,999 — an average of $5,629 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Uvalde 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)