Southwestern Michigan College
Public Community College in Dowagiac, MI. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $37,303.
Students who entered Southwestern Michigan College reach a median of $37,303 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 38% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $10,959.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
Only 38% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential. 57% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. 14% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 34% 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 1,396 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,684 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $5,134 at $0–30k against $11,413 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 83% of students receive grant aid, averaging $6,816 — common but not automatic. Only 23% 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 · 467 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 | $5,134 |
| $30–48k | $4,151 |
| $48–75k | $7,414 |
| $75–110k | $10,514 |
| $110k+ | $11,413 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 317 of these 1,396 students, totalling $1,646,402 — an average of $5,194 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cass 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)