Western Dakota
Technical College
Public Community College in Rapid City, SD. Six-year graduation rate 54%. Median 10-year earnings $40,240.
Students who entered Western Dakota Technical College reach a median of $40,240 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Six-year completion sits at 54%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $15,000, 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
Completion is middling: 54% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 67% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Retention drops to 49% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. A 11:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 733 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,277 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,071 at the $0–30k band to $18,845 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 67% of students at an average of $8,779. Borrowing is widespread: 59% take federal loans.
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 · 150 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 | $10,071 |
| $30–48k | $10,543 |
| $48–75k | $14,003 |
| $75–110k | $18,657 |
| $110k+ | $18,845 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 434 of these 733 students, totalling $3,252,770 — an average of $7,495 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Pennington 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)