University of
Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain
Public Community College in Mena, AR. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $30,037.
Ten-year median earnings of $30,037 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Six-year completion sits at 55%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $6,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.22 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
55% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 63% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The student-faculty ratio is 19:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. 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 — 719 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 475 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,076 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $4,248 at $0–30k, $6,587 at $75–110k. 86% of students get grant aid averaging $7,136, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Only 18% 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 · 193 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 | $4,248 |
| $30–48k | $5,069 |
| $48–75k | $6,422 |
| $75–110k | $6,587 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 87 of these 475 students, totalling $543,552 — an average of $6,248 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Polk 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)