Public · Community college

Mountain Gateway Community College

Clifton Forge, Virginia · Fringe rural

6%
Transfer rate: $4,861
Avg net price: 38%
Grad / completion: $34,293
Median earnings

Mountain Gateway Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Clifton Forge, Virginia (fringe rural setting), enrolling 425 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 425 undergradsFringe ruralCold winters

About Clifton Forge, Virginia

Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. Clifton Forge Commercial Historic District, Clifton Forge Residential Historic District, Clifton Furnace, Jefferson School, and Longdale Furnace Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mama (2013 horror film) Although the film was produced in Canada, it is set in Clifton Forge. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Fringe rural
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 38 miles to Roanoke, VA
To the ocean: 141 miles
Nearest airport: 30 miles to Greenbrier Valley (LWB)

How Mountain Gateway Community College compares

Graduation rate38%

Higher than 23% · #54 of 65 in Virginia

First-year retention60%

Higher than 23%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$34,293

Higher than 47% · #32 of 62 in Virginia

Average net price$4,861

Cheaper than 91% · #7 cheapest of 61 in Virginia

Median debt at graduation$9,182

Lower than 65%

Student–faculty ratio17 : 1

Lower than 44%

Undergraduate enrollment425

Larger than 60%

Percentiles compare Mountain Gateway Community 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 Virginia.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women25159%
Men17441%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White79%
Black6.3%
Hispanic5.7%
Asian0.9%
Other or multiracial8.0%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 425
Student–faculty ratio: 17 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 27%
First-generation students: 49%
Students over 25: 14%
Median family income: $28,756
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $61,740
Endowment: $7,693,394

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 143 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Virginia93%
Other U.S. states7.0%

Most first-years stay in state — Mountain Gateway Community College draws overwhelmingly from Virginia.

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: $5,022
Out-of-state tuition: $11,460
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $2,000
Total cost of attendance: $12,565
Average net price: $4,861

Outcomes

Graduated: 38%
First-year retention: 60%
Transferred to another college: 6%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $29,997
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $34,293
Median debt at graduation: $9,182
Students with federal loans: 5%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 40%

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

$4,393

$30–48k

$4,057

$48–75k

$5,590

$75–110k

$7,859

$110k+

$7,152

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.

34%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,010

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 34% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,010. 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 120 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): $34,293
Typical debt at graduation: $9,182
Debt vs. one year's pay: 27%
Out-earn a HS grad: 44%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.7 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

$29,717

Men

$43,587

Men out-earn women by $13,870 (47%) 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: 84°F
Winter low: 22°F
Annual rain: 39.5″
Annual snow: 10.1″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Covington Fltr Plt, VA US station (7.4 mi from campus).

What Mountain Gateway Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

98 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

98———Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

69 grads— 1 yr$37k 5 yr— debt

69—$37,159—Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

35 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

35———Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsCert.

33 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

32 grads— 1 yr$69k 5 yr— debt

32—$68,565—Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCert.

17 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

12 grads— 1 yr$44k 5 yr— debt

12—$43,581—Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

11 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

11———Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

11 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

11———Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

8 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

8———Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesCert.

8 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

8———Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

7 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

7———

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 Mountain Gateway Community College

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

Paul D Camp Community College

Public

Franklin, Virginia · Distant town · 38 mi to Norfolk

Students: 613
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $36k

Wytheville Community College

Public

Wytheville, Virginia · Remote town · 66 mi to Roanoke

Students: 1,255
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $34k

Virginia Highlands Community College

Public

Abingdon, Virginia · Small suburb · 82 mi to Asheville

Students: 1,349
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $33k

Patrick & Henry Community College

Public

Martinsville, Virginia · Fringe rural · 37 mi to Roanoke

Students: 1,350
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $33k

Rappahannock Community College

Public

Glenns, Virginia · Distant rural · 45 mi to Richmond

Students: 1,367
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 6%
Earnings: $36k

Eastern Shore Community College

Public

Melfa, Virginia · Remote rural · 62 mi to Norfolk

Students: 495
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $32k

Colleges near Mountain Gateway Community College

Washington and Lee University

Lexington, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,881 students

22 mi

Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, VA · Public · Bachelor's · 1,527 students

23 mi

Southern Virginia University

Buena Vista, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 936 students

28 mi

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

Lewisburg, WV · Public · Graduate

32 mi

Hollins University

Roanoke, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 665 students

32 mi

American National University

Salem, VA · Private for-profit · Associate · 630 students

37 mi

Roanoke College

Salem, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,767 students

37 mi

Paul Mitchell the School-Roanoke

Roanoke, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 169 students

39 mi

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.