10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$141,210at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF
SOWELA Technical Community College
Lake Charles, LA · 9 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 9 · Federal debt reported for 4
Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Negative payoff
−$141,210 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
30.5 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
−67%Estimated return after 10 years
$51,889Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
PUBLISHED STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25
What makes up the annual price?
Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.
Living off campus: $11,802 housing and food allowance plus $6,167 in other expenses.
Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.
PRICE SENSITIVITY
The price can change the verdict.
Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.
← Negative payoff$0Positive payoff →
$0Annual price−$111,110
$8,000Current college-wide context−$143,110
$16,000Annual price−$175,110
$24,000Annual price−$207,110
$32,000Annual price−$239,110
$40,000Annual price−$271,110
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Online study is a meaningful part of the student experience.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Main award level
- Certificates
- Campus setting
- City
- Admissions
- Open admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
DUAL-ENROLLMENT CONTEXT · 2024
655 high-school students took college courses.
IPEDS counts students enrolled in college credit while still in high school. A large dual-enrollment population can shape headline enrollment figures, especially at community colleges.
This is participation, not a college completion rate. It does not indicate how many students later enrolled after high school, earned a credential or entered the workforce.
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in Louisiana run 12% below the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
$7,525Average net price / year
$15,578Cost of attendance
Not availableMedian federal student debt · completer borrowers
Not availablePublished 10-year payment estimate
$51,889Median earnings · year 5 after completion
42.7%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
2,966Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about SOWELA Technical Community College
What does SOWELA Technical Community College cost?
SOWELA Technical Community College reports an average annual net price of $7,525 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.
What do SOWELA Technical Community College graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $51,889 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do SOWELA Technical Community College graduates have?
Median federal debt for completer borrowers is not reportable in the current record.
Is every degree at SOWELA Technical Community College worth the same?
No. The current release contains 9 field-and-degree records for SOWELA Technical Community College; 9 report year-4 earnings and 4 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
4,497Students enrolled at any point
4,497Undergraduate students
Not availableGraduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Complete within 150% of the expected time
47% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
Borrower count not reportedMedian federal student debt
Three-year repayment not reportedUndergraduate student composition
White63%
Black23%
Hispanic5%
Asian1%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
INDEPENDENT CENSUS EARNINGS VIEW
How earnings develop by field
Privacy-protected Census employment records follow graduate cohorts one, five and ten years after completion. This source is kept separate from College Scorecard because its population and methodology differ.
Field and credentialYear 1Year 5Year 10
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians.Associate degree · Broad federal field 15
$57,267Year 1
$117,490Year 5
$133,545Year 10
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians.Certificate, 1–2 years · Broad federal field 15
$43,360Year 1
$112,060Year 5
$125,925Year 10
Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection.Certificate, 1–2 years · Broad federal field 46
$51,662Year 1
$80,595Year 5
$115,260Year 10
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education.Associate degree · Broad federal field 13
$68,098Year 1
$74,545Year 5
$70,527Year 10
Computer Programming.Certificate, 1–2 years · Broad federal field 11
$31,499Year 1
$46,663Year 5
$67,042Year 10
Computer Programming.Associate degree · Broad federal field 11
$33,861Year 1
$52,435Year 5
$60,342Year 10
Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians.Certificate, 1–2 years · Broad federal field 47
$33,260Year 1
$54,051Year 5
$59,848Year 10
Criminal Justice and Corrections.Associate degree · Broad federal field 43
$32,639Year 1
$34,449Year 5
$55,935Year 10
Median annual earnings in 2023 dollars. Each time point may use a different pooled graduation cohort. Coverage is limited to institutions participating in the Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes program.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$43,871Year 1
$60,488Year 4
$51,889Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Your choice of degree can change the payoff.
Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.
1Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$127,7012Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$91,0573Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$71,5154Electrical and Power Transmission Installers · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$63,5775Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$55,0196Accounting and Related Services · Associate's Degree$47,6697Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$46,8068Business/Commerce, General · Associate's Degree$45,091Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree · $127,701 reported+74%vs same-degree national median$7,457federal debt2Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree · $91,057 reported+25%vs same-degree national median$8,500federal debt3Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $63,577 reported+20%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Accounting and Related ServicesAssociate's Degree · $47,669 reported+0%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt5Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree · $55,019 reported-2%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt6Business/Commerce, GeneralAssociate's Degree · $45,091 reported-10%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
Comparable colleges in LA
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive, not a quality ranking.
Shreveport, LA
Louisiana State University-Shreveport
- Annual net price
- $7,022
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $49,851
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -77%
Louisiana State University-Eunice
- Annual net price
- $10,421
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $49,390
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -80%
River Parishes Community College
- Annual net price
- $10,756
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $49,652
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -79%
McNeese State University
- Annual net price
- $12,493
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $51,379
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -72%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing all 9 field-and-degree records in the current release.
| Major or field | Degree level | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2024–25 graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | $127,701 | $7,457 | Not reported |
| Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | $91,057 | $8,500 | Not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's Degree | $71,515 | $5,606 | Not reported |
| Electrical and Power Transmission Installers | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $63,577 | Not available | 185 |
| Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | $55,019 | Not available | Not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services | Associate's Degree | $47,669 | Not available | Not reported |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $46,806 | $8,000 | 24 |
| Business/Commerce, General | Associate's Degree | $45,091 | Not available | Not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's Degree | $35,884 | Not available | Not reported |
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.