Public · Community college

Panola College

Carthage, Texas · Distant town

10%
Transfer rate: $5,216
Avg net price: 43%
Grad / completion: $36,072
Median earnings

Panola College is a public certificate-granting institution in Carthage, Texas (distant town setting), enrolling 1,388 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,388 undergradsDistant townNJCAA Division I

About Carthage, Texas

Carthage is a city in and the county seat of Panola County, Texas, United States. Carthage was founded in 1847, two years after Texas was admitted to the United States. During the Civil War, men from Carthage and Panola County served as Confederate soldiers. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Distant town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 44 miles to Shreveport, LA
To the ocean: 153 miles
Nearest airport: 26 miles to East Texas (GGG)

How Panola College compares

Graduation rate43%

Higher than 30% · #183 of 253 in Texas

First-year retention58%

Higher than 20%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$36,072

Higher than 52% · #87 of 206 in Texas

Average net price$5,216

Cheaper than 90% · #29 cheapest of 252 in Texas

Median debt at graduation$10,500

Lower than 42%

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 62%

Undergraduate enrollment1,388

Larger than 77%

Percentiles compare Panola 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 Texas.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,04075%
Men34825%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White51%
Black23%
Hispanic19%
Asian1.0%
Other or multiracial6.2%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,388
Student–faculty ratio: 14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 31%
First-generation students: 51%
Students over 25: 18%
Median family income: $21,298
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $59,661
Endowment: $15,547,018

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 355 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Texas91%
Other U.S. states5.1%
International4.2%

Most first-years stay in state — Panola College draws overwhelmingly from Texas.

4% came from outside the U.S. 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: $2,352
Out-of-state tuition: $5,232
Room & board: $7,048
Books & supplies: $1,500
Total cost of attendance: $13,654
Average net price: $5,216

Outcomes

Graduated: 43%
First-year retention: 58%
Transferred to another college: 10%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $32,390
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $36,072
Median debt at graduation: $10,500
Students with federal loans: 7%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 34%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

43%

Low-income (Pell)

16%

First-generation

16%

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: Yes
Dorm capacity: 249
Dorm capacity vs undergrads: 18%
Application fee: Free
Athletics: NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes: 108 (67 men · 41 women)

Varsity sports (4)

Baseball37

Rodeo32

Basketball24

Volleyball15

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 3

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year

0 violent a year1.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

1.0

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

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

$4,916

$30–48k

$4,838

$48–75k

$6,855

$75–110k

$6,519

$110k+

—

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.

67%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,733

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 67% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,733. 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 265 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): $36,072
Typical debt at graduation: $10,500
Debt vs. one year's pay: 29%
Out-earn a HS grad: 45%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.9 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

$33,943

Men

$48,950

Men out-earn women by $15,007 (44%) 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: 93°F
Winter low: 36°F
Annual rain: 52.3″
Annual snow: 0.8″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Carthage, TX US station (1 mi from campus).

What Panola College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

224 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

56 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

48 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

48———Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesCert.

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40———Precision Metal WorkingCert.

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40———Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansCert.

28 grads— 1 yr$69k 5 yr— debt

28—$68,580—Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.

23 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

23———Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsAssoc.

22 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

22———Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

20 grads— 1 yr$33k 5 yr— debt

20—$32,940—Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

16 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

16———Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesAssoc.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesCert.

13 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

13———

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 Panola College

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

Howard College

Public

Big Spring, Texas · Remote town · 41 mi to Midland

Students: 1,611
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $38k

Ranger College

Public

Ranger, Texas · Remote rural · 81 mi to Fort Worth

Students: 971
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 28%
Earnings: $36k

Coastal Bend College

Public

Beeville, Texas · Remote town · 49 mi to Corpus Christi

Students: 1,958
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $35k

Northeast Texas Community College

Public

Mount Pleasant, Texas · Distant rural · 77 mi to Shreveport

Students: 1,973
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 25%
Earnings: $38k

Paris Junior College

Public

Paris, Texas · Remote town · 95 mi to Dallas

Students: 2,204
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $37k

Vernon College

Public

Vernon, Texas · Remote town · 136 mi to Oklahoma City

Students: 2,113
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $40k

Colleges near Panola College

Wiley University

Marshall, TX · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 712 students

26 mi

East Texas Baptist University

Marshall, TX · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,352 students

28 mi

LeTourneau University

Longview, TX · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,468 students

30 mi

Kilgore College

Kilgore, TX · Public · Associate · 3,215 students

34 mi

Remington College-Shreveport Campus

Shreveport, LA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 315 students

37 mi

Ayers Career College

Shreveport, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 256 students

37 mi

Bos-Man's Barber College

Shreveport, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 56 students

39 mi

Diesel Driving Academy-Shreveport

Shreveport, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 191 students

40 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.