Public · Community college

Big Sandy Community and Technical College

Prestonsburg, Kentucky · Remote town

#4 best value in Kentucky

16%
Transfer rate: $3,873
Avg net price: 38%
Grad / completion: $32,954
Median earnings

Big Sandy Community and Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Prestonsburg, Kentucky (remote town setting), enrolling 1,604 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,604 undergradsRemote townCold winters

About Prestonsburg, Kentucky

Prestonsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. The grant was intended to permit British colonization beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, but subsequent French and Indian resistance and a reversal of British policy limited its impact. The land was not settled until John Spurlock of Montgomery County, Virginia, arrived in 1791. U.S. Route 23, also called "The Country Music Highway" to celebrate the region's rich heritage of music, runs through Prestonsburg. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Remote town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 77 miles to Charleston, WV
To Great Lakes shore: 257 miles
Nearest airport: 48 miles to Tri-State Airport / Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS)

How Big Sandy Community and Technical College compares

Graduation rate38%

Higher than 23% · #40 of 46 in Kentucky

First-year retention61%

Higher than 25%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$32,954

Higher than 42% · #18 of 40 in Kentucky

Average net price$3,873

Cheaper than 94% · #4 cheapest of 50 in Kentucky

Median debt at graduation$9,357

Lower than 64%

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 62%

Undergraduate enrollment1,604

Larger than 79%

Percentiles compare Big Sandy Community and Technical College 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 Kentucky.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women87454%
Men73046%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White95%
Black0.9%
Hispanic1.4%
Other or multiracial2.6%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,604
Student–faculty ratio: 14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 44%
First-generation students: 60%
Students over 25: 26%
Median family income: $13,825
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $51,480

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 458 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Kentucky99%
Other U.S. states0.7%

Most first-years stay in state — Big Sandy Community and Technical College draws overwhelmingly from Kentucky.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: $4,728
Out-of-state tuition: $6,432
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,268
Total cost of attendance: $13,047
Average net price: $3,873

Outcomes

Graduated: 38%
First-year retention: 61%
Transferred to another college: 16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $28,106
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $32,954
Median debt at graduation: $9,357
Students with federal loans: 15%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 20%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

38%

Low-income (Pell)

20%

First-generation

20%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

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.

< $30k

$3,198

$30–48k

$3,432

$48–75k

$6,409

$75–110k

$8,776

$110k+

$7,877

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.

24%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,545

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 24% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,545. 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 324 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): $32,954
Typical debt at graduation: $9,357
Debt vs. one year's pay: 28%
Out-earn a HS grad: 35%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

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.

Women

$28,164

Men

$41,213

Men out-earn women by $13,049 (46%) 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: 86°F
Winter low: 23°F
Annual rain: 46.2″
Annual snow: 17.4″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Prestonsburg 3Wsw, KY US station (3.6 mi from campus).

What Big Sandy Community and Technical College graduates study — and earn

Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

223 grads$31k 1 yr$54k 5 yr$9k debt

223$31,178$53,561$9,000 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

188 grads$23k 1 yr$33k 5 yr$8k debt

188$22,504$33,017$8,129 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

114 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

114———Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

90 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr$12k debt

90——$12,379 Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

84 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

84———Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

54 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr$9k debt

54——$9,000 Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.

52 grads$22k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

52$22,480——Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/TechniciansCert.

51 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

51———Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)Cert.

42 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

42———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

40 grads$66k 1 yr$68k 5 yr$18k debt

40$65,735$68,496$17,550 Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersAssoc.

28 grads$32k 1 yr— 5 yr$10k debt

28$32,115—$10,250 Design and Applied ArtsCert.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

26———

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 Big Sandy Community and Technical College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Big Sandy Community and Technical College side by side →

Maysville Community and Technical College

Public

Maysville, Kentucky · Fringe rural · 50 mi to Cincinnati

Students: 2,284
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 5%
Earnings: $32k

Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College

Public

Cumberland, Kentucky · Remote rural · 86 mi to Knoxville

Students: 1,721
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $29k

Hazard Community and Technical College

Public

Hazard, Kentucky · Remote town · 92 mi to Lexington

Students: 1,506
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $30k

Ashland Community and Technical College

Public

Ashland, Kentucky · Small city · 56 mi to Charleston

Students: 1,631
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 7%
Earnings: $35k

Madisonville Community College

Public

Madisonville, Kentucky · Distant town · 42 mi to Evansville

Students: 1,841
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $36k

Henderson Community College

Public

Henderson, Kentucky · Fringe rural · 13 mi to Evansville

Students: 880
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 18%
Earnings: $36k

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Mingo Extended Learning Center

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Galen College of Nursing-ARH

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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.