Northwest Shoals Community College

Overview

Rankings

• #2 Most Affordable Colleges in Alabama
• #7 Best Online Colleges in Alabama
• #48 Best Trade Schools

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Northwest Shoals Community College? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Northwest Shoals Community College enrolls students across a range of programs. The graduation rate is roughly 36%.

Retention Rate

69%

Full-Time Faculty

38%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$7,257

Student–Faculty Ratio

16:1

Diversity Index

0.47

First-Gen Students

51%

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Northwest Shoals Community College? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Northwest Shoals Community College is $9,001, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $2,838. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $1,356 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $10,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$5,131

Out-of-State

$9,001

Avg Net Price

$2,838

Median Debt

$10,000

Pell Grant Rate

27%

Federal Loan Rate

24%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Northwest Shoals Community College — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Northwest Shoals Community College Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Northwest Shoals Community College report median earnings of $33,828, a figure worth comparing against the cost of attendance before enrolling.

6 Years After Entry

$31,469

8 Years

$32,116

10 Years

$33,828

Debt-to-Earnings

0.3x

Earning > $25K

42%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Northwest Shoals Community College Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Northwest Shoals Community College is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.76%, well above the typical college. Access is a real strength here. Roughly 20% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile, a high share that gives low-income students a real foothold. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 8.8% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $56,300, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.76%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

8.8%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

20.0%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$76,492

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Endowment

$1,967,313

Federal Grants

$4,369,637

Investment Income

$82,875

Top Programs

The fields Northwest Shoals Community College awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Humanities 27%
• Health Professions 20% $52,188 early-career
• Precision Production 15%
• Construction Trades 10%
• Mechanic & Repair Tech 8%
• Culinary & Personal Services 4%
• Computer Science & IT 3%
• Business & Marketing 2%

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.