About Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Minnesota West Community and Technical College is a public institution offering associate degrees based in Granite Falls, Minnesota. It enrolls 1,762 students (a mid-sized student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Below you'll find verified data on admissions, cost, student outcomes, programs offered, and what graduates typically earn, all pulled from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard and IPEDS.
US College Data scores each college on four pillars (outcomes, value, affordability, and selectivity) on a 0–100 scale, ranked within its peer group (2-Year). Scores are calculated from verified College Scorecard and IPEDS data, not opinion or paid placement. Where data is missing, that pillar isn't scored.
Good
65/100
UCD Score · 2-Year
Outcomes59
Value56
Affordability28
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
As a two-year college, Minnesota West Community and Technical College generally admits all qualified applicants.
Acceptance Rate
Open
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Cost & Financial Aid
The real cost of attending Minnesota West Community and Technical College isn't the sticker price. It's the net price,which is what most students actually pay after grants and scholarships. According to College Scorecard 2023-24 data, the average net price is $11,191 per year. That's below the typical net price for public colleges nationally.
Average Net Price
$11,191
Per year, after typical aid
Receive Pell Grants
16%
Need-based federal aid
Receive Federal Loans
13%
Borrowing to attend
Full Cost Breakdown
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees
$6,491
Room & Board (on-campus)
$6,500
Room & Board (off-campus)
$6,500
Books & Supplies
$1,200
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$4,900
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$4,900
Total Cost of Attendance
$17,408
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$8,950
$30,001 – $48,000
$9,317
$48,001 – $75,000
$10,083
$75,001 – $110,000
$13,563
Over $110,000
$16,499
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$2,50010%percentile
$4,75025%percentile
$10,987Medianpercentile
$16,50075%percentile
$27,21990%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $9,997
↓ $990
No Pell $7,733
↓ $3,254
Dependent students $6,353
↓ $4,634
Independent students $10,500
↓ $487
Female students $10,500
↓ $487
Male students $6,500
↓ $4,487
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $7,700, close to what completers borrow ($10,987) but without the degree to show for it.
Graduation Rate & Retention
37% of full-time students who enrolled at Minnesota West Community and Technical College graduate within six years, and 69% return for their second year, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
6-Year Graduation Rate
37%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
69%
Returning for their second year
What this means:
Lower than typical completion. Worth asking the school how they support students who fall behind.
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
According to College Scorecard 2023-24 data, students who entered Minnesota West Community and Technical College earn a median of $45,285 ten years after first enrolling. That's close to the national median for U.S. colleges.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$45,285
Earning > $25K
73%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$30,800
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$45,400
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$31,400
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$41,100
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$42,200
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $14,600, about 32% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
15.5 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 80% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Minnesota West Community and Technical College is home to 1,762 students, a mid-sized community. Some distinctive traits: 37% are first-generation college students, 50% study part-time.
Total Enrolled
1,762
Part-Time
50%
First-Generation
37%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 67.1%1,182
Hispanic 16.0%282
Black 6.8%120
Other 3.6%63
International 2.4%42
Asian 2.3%41
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Minnesota West Community and Technical College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Setting
Rural: RemoteGranite Falls, Minnesota
Housing
Limited on-campus housing14 beds
Adult Learners
33%of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NCAAathletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semesterscheduling structure
What You Can Study
Minnesota West Community and Technical College offers
a varied set of programs:
37 distinct programs across
13 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
The student-to-faculty ratio at Minnesota West Community and Technical College is 19:1, on the higher side.
Student : Faculty
19:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$9,701
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$1.2M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$74,769
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
77 instructional faculty across 1 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Instructors
77
100%
$74,769
Pros & Cons of Minnesota West Community and Technical College
A quick at-a-glance summary of how Minnesota West Community and Technical College tends to stack up for prospective students,weighing its data, size, setting, and cost profile together.
PROS
Below-average net price
Open admissions
Low typical debt at graduation
Flexible part-time enrollment options
CONS
Class sizes are on the higher side
Low completion rate, many students don't graduate within six years
First-year retention is below typical
Predominantly serves middle- and upper-income families
Mostly part-time student body, less full-time campus feel
Best for:
Based on the data, Minnesota West Community and Technical College is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier; working adults or students needing part-time study options.
Frequently Asked Questions about Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Quick answers to the questions most students and parents ask. Every answer below is calculated from verified government data about Minnesota West Community and Technical College.
Is Minnesota West Community and Technical College hard to get into?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College has open or near-open admissions. Most qualified applicants are accepted.
What is the acceptance rate at Minnesota West Community and Technical College?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College has an acceptance rate of 0%, according to College Scorecard 2023-24 admissions data.
How much does Minnesota West Community and Technical College cost?
The average net price after aid at Minnesota West Community and Technical College is $11,191 per year, this is what students typically pay after grants and scholarships are applied. Net price data: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Minnesota West Community and Technical College worth it?
Solid return on investment. Graduates earn a median of $45,285 ten years after entering, against an average net price of $11,191 per year. That's roughly 4.0x earnings-to-cost. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Minnesota West Community and Technical College known for?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College is best known for its programs in Practical Nursing, Liberal Arts, Electrical and Power Transmission Installers. These are the most popular fields by completed degrees, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
What do Minnesota West Community and Technical College graduates earn?
Median earnings 10 years after entering Minnesota West Community and Technical College are $45,285, based on College Scorecard 2023-24 federal earnings data for Title IV recipients.
Is Minnesota West Community and Technical College accredited?
Yes. Minnesota West Community and Technical College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
How many students attend Minnesota West Community and Technical College?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College enrolls 1,762 students, per IPEDS 2023-24 fall enrollment data.
What is the graduation rate at Minnesota West Community and Technical College?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College graduates 37% of full-time students within six years, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
Is Minnesota West Community and Technical College a public or private college?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College is a Public institution.
Where is Minnesota West Community and Technical College located?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College is located in Granite Falls, Minnesota.
What programs does Minnesota West Community and Technical College offer?
Minnesota West Community and Technical College offers 37 distinct programs. The most popular include Practical Nursing, Liberal Arts, Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Minnesota West Community and Technical College?
The student-to-faculty ratio at Minnesota West Community and Technical College is 19:1, per IPEDS 2023-24 data.
Related Colleges in Minnesota
Other colleges in Minnesota share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Liberal Arts
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers
Nursing
Related Guides
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,839 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
