Valley College-Beckley
Private College in Beckley, WV. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $24,070.
Ten-year median earnings of $24,070 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Six-year completion sits at 63%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $9,500, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
63% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 65% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. A 24:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. This is a small school — 270 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 270 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $25,149 annually once grants are applied. Net price varies modestly by income — $25,305 at $0–30k against $21,338 at $48–75k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 82% of students at an average of $6,960. Most students borrow — 81% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 53 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 | $25,305 |
| $30–48k | $25,611 |
| $48–75k | $21,338 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 218 of these 270 students, totalling $1,482,614 — an average of $6,801 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Raleigh 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)