Texas Southmost College
Public Community College in Brownsville, TX. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $41,900.
Ten-year median earnings of $41,900 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 30% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $9,000, a light load against those earnings. It also moves people — 6.6% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Mobility score 6.6 — top quartile among US colleges
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 30% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention of 68% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 48% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. A 23:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,431 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $2,905 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $1,696 at the $0–30k band to $10,999 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 74% of students at an average of $6,104. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 15% of students.
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 · 611 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 | $1,696 |
| $30–48k | $3,295 |
| $48–75k | $6,051 |
| $75–110k | $10,002 |
| $110k+ | $10,999 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 514 of these 3,431 students, totalling $2,359,125 — an average of $4,590 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cameron 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)