Virginia Western
Community College
Public Community College in Roanoke, VA. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $38,787.
Students who entered Virginia Western Community College reach a median of $38,787 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 40%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $11,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
40% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 63% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. 14% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 44% return, against 63% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,777 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $5,492 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($4,105 versus $10,786), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 66% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,144 — common but not automatic. 7% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 620 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 | $4,105 |
| $30–48k | $4,770 |
| $48–75k | $5,332 |
| $75–110k | $7,206 |
| $110k+ | $10,786 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 279 of these 3,777 students, totalling $1,563,704 — an average of $5,605 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Roanoke City) — 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)