Associate's · Flat Rock, North Carolina

Is Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Blue Ridge Community College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 9.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $29,089; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $39,200; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $8,820; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $9k (likely $9k – $13k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $3k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 9.5 years (likely 5.4–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$75k (likely −$112k – −$35k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$18k (likely −$105k – $78k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 50%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26