Valencia College
Public Community College in Orlando, FL. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $40,594.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $40,594, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 48% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $9,300. On economic mobility, 2.1% of students travel from the bottom income quintile 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 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
48% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Transfer-out runs to 17% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 27:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body runs to 42,524, large enough that student experience varies widely by program.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 35,125 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $11,111 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $11,453 at $0–30k against $14,781 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 57% of students at an average of $6,078. 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 · 5,905 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 | $11,453 |
| $30–48k | $11,575 |
| $48–75k | $13,901 |
| $75–110k | $15,552 |
| $110k+ | $14,781 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,165 of these 35,125 students, totalling $30,316,416 — an average of $5,870 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Orange 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)