Western Technical College
Public Community College in La Crosse, WI. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $45,303.
Ten years after entry, the median Western Technical College student earns $45,303 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 34% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $11,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.25 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Academics
Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Just 45% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. A 18% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. A 9:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,434 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,037 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $7,483 at $0–30k, $15,430 at $110k+. 45% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. Federal borrowing reaches 38% of students.
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 · 685 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 | $7,483 |
| $30–48k | $8,083 |
| $48–75k | $10,581 |
| $75–110k | $13,786 |
| $110k+ | $15,430 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,295 of these 3,434 students, totalling $7,115,231 — an average of $5,494 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (La Crosse 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)