SOWELA Technical Community College is a public institution offering associate degrees based in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It enrolls 2,966 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.
AccreditorSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
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
Outcomes36
Value59
Affordability66
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
As a two-year college, SOWELA Technical Community 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 SOWELA Technical Community 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 $7,525 per year. That's well below the typical net price for public colleges nationally.
Average Net Price
$7,525
Per year, after typical aid
Receive Pell Grants
46%
Need-based federal aid
Receive Federal Loans
0%
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
$4,305
Room & Board (off-campus)
$11,802
Books & Supplies
$1,353
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$6,167
Total Cost of Attendance
$15,578
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
$7,439
$30,001 – $48,000
$6,864
$48,001 – $75,000
$8,411
$75,001 – $110,000
$8,407
What this means:
Aid reaches a meaningful share of the student body: 46% of students receive Pell grants. If your family qualifies for Pell, the real cost to you could be substantially lower than the average.
Graduation Rate & Retention
22% of full-time students who enrolled at SOWELA Technical Community College graduate within six years, and 60% return for their second year, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
6-Year Graduation Rate
22%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
60%
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 SOWELA Technical Community College earn a median of $32,303 ten years after first enrolling. That's below the national median for U.S. colleges.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$32,303
Earning > $25K
53%
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
$32,000
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$56,900
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $24,900, about 44% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
What this means:
Solid return on investment. Every dollar of net annual cost is matched by ~$4.3 of median earnings 10 years out.
Who Studies Here
SOWELA Technical Community College is home to 2,966 students, a mid-sized community. Some distinctive traits: 51% are first-generation college students.
Total Enrolled
2,966
Part-Time
40%
First-Generation
51%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 63.4%1,881
Black 23.2%688
Hispanic 5.5%162
Other 5.0%148
International 1.4%42
Asian 0.9%27
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at SOWELA Technical Community College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Setting
Small CityLake Charles, Louisiana
Housing
Commuter campusNo on-campus housing
Adult Learners
30%of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NAIAathletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semesterscheduling structure
What You Can Study
SOWELA Technical Community College offers
a varied set of programs:
39 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 SOWELA Technical Community College is 19:1, on the higher side.
Student : Faculty
19:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$5,299
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$2.2M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$54,567
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
98 instructional faculty across 5 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
Full Professors
4
4%
$69,740
Associate Professors
3
3%
$64,252
Assistant Professors
17
17%
$55,358
Instructors
70
71%
$53,406
No Rank
4
4%
$49,081
Pros & Cons of SOWELA Technical Community College
A quick at-a-glance summary of how SOWELA Technical Community College tends to stack up for prospective students,weighing its data, size, setting, and cost profile together.
PROS
Very affordable net price after aid
Open admissions
Wide reach of need-based federal aid
First-gen-friendly student body
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
Below-average post-graduation earnings
Best for:
Based on the data, SOWELA Technical Community College is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier; families focused on keeping net cost low.
Frequently Asked Questions about SOWELA Technical Community College
Quick answers to the questions most students and parents ask. Every answer below is calculated from verified government data about SOWELA Technical Community College.
Is SOWELA Technical Community College hard to get into?
SOWELA Technical Community College has open or near-open admissions. Most qualified applicants are accepted.
What is the acceptance rate at SOWELA Technical Community College?
SOWELA Technical Community College has an acceptance rate of 0%, according to College Scorecard 2023-24 admissions data.
How much does SOWELA Technical Community College cost?
The average net price after aid at SOWELA Technical Community College is $7,525 per year, this is what students typically pay after grants and scholarships are applied. Net price data: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is SOWELA Technical Community College worth it?
Solid return on investment. Graduates earn a median of $32,303 ten years after entering, against an average net price of $7,525 per year. That's roughly 4.3x earnings-to-cost. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is SOWELA Technical Community College known for?
SOWELA Technical Community College is best known for its programs in Liberal Arts, Business Operations Support and Assistant, Electrical and Power Transmission Installers. These are the most popular fields by completed degrees, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
What do SOWELA Technical Community College graduates earn?
Median earnings 10 years after entering SOWELA Technical Community College are $32,303, based on College Scorecard 2023-24 federal earnings data for Title IV recipients.
Is SOWELA Technical Community College accredited?
Yes. SOWELA Technical Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
How many students attend SOWELA Technical Community College?
SOWELA Technical Community College enrolls 2,966 students, per IPEDS 2023-24 fall enrollment data.
What is the graduation rate at SOWELA Technical Community College?
SOWELA Technical Community College graduates 22% of full-time students within six years, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
Is SOWELA Technical Community College a public or private college?
SOWELA Technical Community College is a Public institution.
Where is SOWELA Technical Community College located?
SOWELA Technical Community College is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
What programs does SOWELA Technical Community College offer?
SOWELA Technical Community College offers 39 distinct programs. The most popular include Liberal Arts, Business Operations Support and Assistant, Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at SOWELA Technical Community College?
The student-to-faculty ratio at SOWELA Technical Community College is 19:1, per IPEDS 2023-24 data.
Related Colleges in Louisiana
Other colleges in Louisiana 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.
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.
