Undergraduate certificate · De Queen, Arkansas

Is Precision Metal Working at Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $44,125; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $38,890; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $2k (likely $2k – $3k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $4k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in AR; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.5 years (likely 0.2–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$2k (likely −$54k – $55k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $12k (likely −$88k – $123k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 48%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26