Start close to home
in Northern Virginia's largest CC
You're deciding whether to spend your first two years at Northern Virginia Community College before completing a bachelor's degree elsewhere. That means weighing transfer rates, earnings after graduation, program depth, and what you'll actually pay out of pocket.
56,000+ undergrads, 21% transfer out by year 8, median $54k 10-yr earnings, $11,000 median debt.
One of the largest CCs in the country, with a real DC-area transfer track record
Northern Virginia Community College enrolls 56,457 undergrads — placing it among the biggest community colleges in the United States. Twenty-one percent transfer to a four-year institution within eight years, and median earnings land at $54k ten years out. Median debt is a modest $11,000 and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. Business Administration and Computer/IT programs each produce hundreds of completions annually, giving students well-developed paths in two of Northern Virginia's strongest job markets. In-state tuition is $5,550 and net price averages $9,919. The scale of NOVA means deep course offerings, but it also means you need a deliberate transfer plan to stay on track.
Northern Virginia Community College is headquartered in Annandale and serves one of the most economically dense corridors in the country — the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. With 56,457 undergraduates, it ranks among the largest community colleges in the United States. Nearly 75% attend part-time, which shapes both completion timelines and the college's programming. Business Administration is the dominant transfer-prep field, with 724 completions in the top program alone and hundreds more across related tracks; Computer and Information Systems Security and Information Technology each add over 400 completions, reflecting the region's deep federal contractor and tech employer base. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 21% — right at the national threshold for a functioning feeder CC. Median earnings ten years out are $54k, median debt is $11,000, and the loan default rate is 0%. For a Northern Virginia student with a clear bachelor's target and a practical field in mind, the numbers make a credible case.
What this CC teaches at scale
| Program | Completions |
|---|---|
| General Studies. | 760 |
| Business Administration and Management, General. | 724 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other. | 455 |
| Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance. | 444 |
| Information Technology. | 396 |
| Computer Science. | 325 |
| Social Sciences, General. | 284 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | 246 |
| Psychology, General. | 209 |
| Child Care Provider/Assistant. | 200 |
Source · IPEDS completions (all undergraduate credentials).
Where Virginia transfers tend to go
Reflects state-aggregated IPEDS transfer-in volume — CC-specific destinations are not publicly available from IPEDS or the College Scorecard.
Frequently asked
- Is Northern Virginia Community College a good place to start a bachelor's degree?
- The data supports it for students who enter with a transfer plan. NOVA's eight-year transfer-out rate is 21%, which sits at the lower boundary of what national research considers a functional CC transfer pipeline — respectable given that 75% of students attend part-time. Median earnings ten years out are $54k, meaningfully above the national CC median, which likely reflects Northern Virginia's high-wage regional economy. Median debt is $11,000 and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. In-state tuition is $5,550, with an average net price of $9,919. The combination of manageable cost, solid regional earnings, and a genuine transfer track record makes NOVA a reasonable foundation — but size alone does not substitute for a concrete transfer target.
- How does Northern Virginia Community College's transfer-out rate compare to typical community colleges?
- NOVA's eight-year transfer-out rate is 21%. National research typically places the average community college transfer rate in the 15–25% range, so NOVA sits within that window, toward the middle. What matters for context is the 75% part-time enrollment rate: the majority of students are carrying partial loads, which extends timelines and suppresses measured transfer rates. An additional 1.5% were still enrolled at the eight-year mark, and 26% had completed a credential at NOVA itself. The 21% transfer figure, set against a largely part-time student body, suggests the college is functioning as an active but not exceptional feeder. Students who enroll full-time and declare a transfer target early will likely outperform that aggregate rate.
- What programs does Northern Virginia Community College offer at meaningful scale?
- NOVA's highest-volume programs by completions are General Studies (760), Business Administration and Management (724), Business Administration and Operations, Other (455), Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance (444), Information Technology (396), Computer Science (325), Social Sciences, General (284), Computer and Information Sciences, General (246), Psychology, General (209), and Child Care Provider/Assistant (200). The concentration in business and computing fields is notable — over 1,800 completions annually flow through those two clusters. That volume means course sections, advising infrastructure, and completion pathways in business and technology are genuinely developed at NOVA, not thin elective offerings. Students targeting those fields gain a real advantage from NOVA's scale.
Methodology — Transfer signals reflect IPEDS Outcome Measures 8-year cohorts; earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard. Destinations are state-aggregated; we do not claim CC-specific transfer destinations without authoritative per-student tracking data.