West Valley College
Public Community College in Saratoga, CA. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $51,688.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $51,688 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 51%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions.
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
Completion is middling: 51% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 78% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 44% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 29:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,086 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $7,270 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 $1,658 while those at $110k+ pay $9,893. 45% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants.
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 · 826 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 | $1,658 |
| $30–48k | $2,226 |
| $48–75k | $5,974 |
| $75–110k | $8,651 |
| $110k+ | $9,893 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 21 of these 6,086 students, totalling $148,393 — an average of $7,066 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Santa Clara 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)