Waubonsee Community College
Public Community College in Sugar Grove, IL. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $44,788.
Students who entered Waubonsee Community College land at a median of $44,788 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is the weak point: 39% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $7,000 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.16 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 39% graduate within six years. 70% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. Transfer-out runs to 20% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 56% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,499 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,754 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $7,360 while those at $110k+ pay $18,171. About 58% get grants averaging $5,725, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 9% 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 · 1,011 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 | $7,360 |
| $30–48k | $8,641 |
| $48–75k | $11,806 |
| $75–110k | $16,173 |
| $110k+ | $18,171 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 520 of these 5,499 students, totalling $1,883,389 — an average of $3,622 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kane 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)