Tennessee College
of Applied Technology-Shelbyville
Public Community College in Shelbyville, TN. Six-year graduation rate 81%. Median 10-year earnings $38,700.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $38,700, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 81% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 81% — well above the national average
Academics
Six-year completion runs to 81% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 100% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The part-time picture is harder: 85% return, against 100% full-time. The student-faculty ratio is 20:1 — 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 575 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $7,783 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($7,007 versus $9,326), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 91% receive grants worth $4,721 on average.
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 · 232 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 | $7,007 |
| $30–48k | $6,866 |
| $48–75k | $8,797 |
| $75–110k | $9,326 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Bedford 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)