Tennessee College
of Applied Technology-Dickson
Public Community College in Dickson, TN. Six-year graduation rate 74%. Median 10-year earnings $36,829.
Students who entered Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Dickson reach a median of $36,829 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate of 75% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
Academics
Six-year completion runs to 75% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention of 74% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. As a public community college, the relevant comparison is other two-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. This is a small school — 1,594 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 957 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,558 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($14,472 versus $15,445), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 87% of students receive it, averaging $4,940.
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 · 378 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 | $14,472 |
| $30–48k | $14,488 |
| $48–75k | $18,722 |
| $75–110k | $15,445 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dickson County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Warning or Equivalent-Factors Affecting Academic Quality (Other - Provide unlisted or multiple justifications); School has an accreditation issue
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)