Wiregrass Georgia
Technical College
Public Community College in Valdosta, GA. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $30,864.
Ten-year median earnings of $30,864 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish.
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
50% 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 completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Retention drops to 49% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 16:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,762 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $2,000 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $-12 at $0–30k, $5,629 at $75–110k. Most students get help: 90% receive grants worth $6,999 on average.
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 · 190 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 | $-12 |
| $30–48k | $-258 |
| $48–75k | $2,355 |
| $75–110k | $5,629 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lowndes 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)