Southern State Community College is a public institution offering associate degrees based in Hillsboro, Ohio. It enrolls 761 students (a small, tight-knit student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (2-Year), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Good
57/100
UCD Score · 2-Year
Outcomes33
Value51
Affordability35
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
As a two-year college, Southern State Community College admits essentially everyone who qualifies, so plan around cost and completion instead of your odds of getting in.
Acceptance Rate
Open
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $9,674 a year on average, it sits well below what public colleges charge nationally. At that level cost is rarely the reason to rule a college out. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$5,912
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$10,818
Room & Board (off-campus)
$6,928
Books & Supplies
$1,632
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$4,776
Total Cost of Attendance
$15,244
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
$8,099
$30,001 – $48,000
$7,950
$48,001 – $75,000
$10,926
$75,001 – $110,000
$13,478
Over $110,000
$10,805
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.
$1,39810%percentile
$2,87225%percentile
$11,457Medianpercentile
$12,00075%percentile
$19,26590%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 $7,441
↓ $4,016
No Pell $7,088
↓ $4,369
Dependent students $6,286
↓ $5,171
Independent students $8,273
↓ $3,184
Female students $7,806
↓ $3,651
Male students $6,287
↓ $5,170
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $5,721, less than completers ($11,457), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
19% of students who start here finish within six years, and 61% come back after first year. Most students who start here do not finish. That is the single most important number on this page. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
19%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
61%
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
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $35,463 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$35,463
Earning > $25K
59%
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
$27,700
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$39,500
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$26,900
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$33,800
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$38,700
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $11,800, about 30% 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 ↑
16.4 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Moderate. Only 57% of graduates are paying down principal seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 761 students, a small, close-knit community. Worth knowing: 52% are the first in their family to go to college, and 61% study part-time, so many are working alongside classes.
Total Enrolled
761
Part-Time
61%
First-Generation
52%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 89.9%684
Black 3.7%28
Other 3.6%27
Hispanic 1.8%14
Asian 0.1%1
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Southern State Community College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Southern State Community College offers
a varied set of programs:
15 distinct programs across
9 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.
There are 18 students for every instructor here: on the higher side, so larger classes are common.
Student : Faculty
18:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$6,631
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$3.4M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$57,890
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
35 instructional faculty across 4 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
3
9%
$81,936
Associate Professors
13
37%
$69,791
Assistant Professors
8
23%
$58,652
Instructors
11
31%
$49,682
Pros & Cons of Southern State Community College
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Southern State Community College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Low completion rate, many students don't graduate within six years
First-year retention is below typical
Earnings outcomes are on the lower side
Best for:
Based on the data, Southern State 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; working adults or students needing part-time study options.
Frequently Asked Questions about Southern State Community College
The questions families ask most about Southern State Community College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Southern State Community College hard to get into?
Not especially. Southern State Community College admits most qualified applicants, and reports no competitive acceptance rate. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Southern State Community College?
No acceptance rate is reported, which for a college like this normally means admission is open to anyone meeting the basic requirements. Confirm with the admissions office rather than assuming it.
How much does Southern State Community College cost?
Budget around $9,674 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Southern State Community College worth it?
On the numbers, yes: solid return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $35,463 a year against a net price of $9,674, about 3.7 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Southern State Community College known for?
Mostly Liberal Arts, Nursing, Business Administration. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Southern State Community College graduates earn?
About $35,463 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Southern State Community College accredited?
Yes. Southern State Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
How many students attend Southern State Community College?
761 students. Small enough that you will recognize faces across campus, and small enough that course choice can be limited. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Southern State Community College?
19% finish within six years. That means most students do not finish in six years. Ask the school directly what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Southern State Community College a public or private college?
It is Public. Public, so in-state students usually pay materially less than everyone else.
Where is Southern State Community College located?
Southern State Community College is located in Hillsboro, Ohio.
What programs does Southern State Community College offer?
15 different programs, most commonly Liberal Arts, Nursing, Business Administration. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Southern State Community College?
18 students per instructor. About average, so a mix of seminars and larger lectures. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in Ohio
Other colleges in Ohio 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 3,811 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, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 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.
