Public · Community college
Academy of Careers and Technology
Beckley, West Virginia · Small city
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $9,988
- Avg net price
- 81%
- Grad / completion
- $32,756
- Median earnings
Academy of Careers and Technology is a public certificate-granting institution in Beckley, West Virginia (small city setting), enrolling 168 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. Early encounters describe the land as being an ancestral home of the Catawba-speaking Moneton people, who referred to the surrounding area as Okahok Amai, and were allies of the Monacan people. The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine is a preserved coal mine that offers daily tours and a history lesson on coal mining in Appalachia. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 46 miles to Charleston, WV
- To the ocean
- 211 miles
- Nearest airport
- 2 miles to Raleigh County Memorial (BKW)
How Academy of Careers and Technology compares
Higher than 79% · #16 of 42 in West Virginia
Higher than 73%
Higher than 41% · #22 of 40 in West Virginia
Cheaper than 70% · #26 cheapest of 42 in West Virginia
Lower than 86%
Larger than 40%
Percentiles compare Academy of Careers and Technology with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in West Virginia.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women11770%
- Men5130%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White86%
- Black13%
- Other or multiracial0.6%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 168
- Student–faculty ratio
- 9 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 38%
- First-generation students
- 55%
- Students over 25
- 33%
- Median family income
- $17,064
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- —
- Room & board
- —
- Total cost of attendance
- —
- Average net price
- $9,988
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated
- 81%
- First-year retention
- 85%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $33,106
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $32,756
- Median debt at graduation
- —
- Students with federal loans
- 0%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $125
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 16% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,493. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 49 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $32,756
- Typical debt at graduation
- —
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- —
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 51%
The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $8,758 (30%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 81°F
- Winter low
- 24°F
- Annual rain
- 43.5″
- Annual snow
- 55.9″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Beckley Raleigh CO AP, WV US station (2.4 mi from campus).
What Academy of Careers and Technology graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Academy of Careers and Technology
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Academy of Careers and Technology side by side →
Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Moorefield, West Virginia · Remote rural · 102 mi to Washington
- Students
- 225
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 14%
- Earnings
- $32k
Carver Career Center
Charleston, West Virginia · Midsize suburb · 6 mi to Charleston
- Students
- 169
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $34k
Columbiana County Career and Technical Center
Lisbon, Ohio · Distant rural · 23 mi to Youngstown
- Students
- 144
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $34k
Riveroak Technical College
Live Oak, Florida · Remote town · 59 mi to Gainesville
- Students
- 250
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $32k
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Harriman
Harriman, Tennessee · Fringe rural · 33 mi to Knoxville
- Students
- 246
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 2%
- Earnings
- $32k
University of South Carolina-Salkehatchie
Allendale, South Carolina · Remote rural · 52 mi to Augusta
- Students
- 271
- Tuition
- $8k
- Transfer
- 34%
- Earnings
- $31k
Colleges near Academy of Careers and Technology
Valley College-Beckley
Beckley, WV · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 165 students
West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Beckley, WV · Public · Bachelor's · 981 students
New River Community and Technical College
Beaver, WV · Public · Associate · 770 students
Appalachian Bible College
Mount Hope, WV · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 193 students
Fayette Institute of Technology
Oak Hill, WV · Public · Certificate · 32 students
Concord University
Athens, WV · Public · Bachelor's · 1,504 students
Mercer County Technical Education Center
Princeton, WV · Public · Certificate · 120 students
Bluefield State University
Bluefield, WV · Public · Bachelor's · 1,042 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.