Colleges

Private for-profit · Community college

Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen

Harlingen, Texas · Small city

4%
Transfer rate
$23,724
Avg net price
60%
Grad / completion
$27,035
Median earnings

Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Harlingen, Texas (small city setting), enrolling 543 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 543 undergradsSmall cityMild wintersNear the coast

About Harlingen, Texas

Harlingen is a city in Cameron County, Texas. Harlingen's strategic location at the intersection of U.S. Route 77 and U.S. Route 83, codesignated as Interstate 69 East and Interstate 2, respectively, in northwestern Cameron County, fostered its development as a distribution, shipping, and industrial center. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
20 miles
Nearest airport
2 miles to Valley (HRL)

How Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen compares

Graduation rate60%

Higher than 49% · #138 of 253 in Texas

First-year retention73%

Higher than 49%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$27,035

Higher than 24% · #152 of 206 in Texas

Average net price$23,724

Cheaper than 21% · #190 cheapest of 252 in Texas

Median debt at graduation$8,708

Lower than 68%

Student–faculty ratio25 : 1

Lower than 12%

Undergraduate enrollment543

Larger than 64%

Percentiles compare Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen 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

543undergrads
  • Women34764%
  • Men19636%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White25%
  • Black1.1%
  • Hispanic62%
  • Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
543
Student–faculty ratio
25 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
72%
First-generation students
64%
Students over 25
37%
Median family income
$14,258
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$41,985

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
$23,724

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
60%
First-year retention
73%
Transferred to another college
4%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$24,849
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$27,035
Median debt at graduation
$8,708
Students with federal loans
61%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
15%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
60%
Low-income (Pell)
61%
First-generation
62%

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

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%.

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (543 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

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
$23,735
$30–48k
$23,036
$48–75k
$23,836
$75–110k
$28,757
$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.

17%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,530
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 17% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,530. 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 440 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)
$27,035
Typical debt at graduation
$8,708
Debt vs. one year's pay
32%
Out-earn a HS grad
24%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.2 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
$25,169
Men
$35,332

Men out-earn women by $10,163 (40%) 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
98°F
Winter low
51°F
Annual rain
28.2″
Annual snow
0.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°80°110°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.95.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Harlingen, TX US station (0.2 mi from campus).

What Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen graduates study — and earn

Precision Metal WorkingCert.
168 grads$25k 1 yr$33k 5 yr$7k debt
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.
140 grads$22k 1 yr$27k 5 yr$10k debt
Environmental Control Technologies/TechniciansCert.
76 grads$32k 1 yr$37k 5 yr$10k debt
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.
35 grads$24k 1 yr$27k 5 yr$10k debt
Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesCert.
22 grads$18k 1 yr$21k 5 yr$7k debt
Accounting and Related ServicesCert.
6 grads$22k 1 yr$27k 5 yr$9k debt
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.
4 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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 Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Southern Careers Institute-Harlingen side by side →

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Southern Careers Institute-Austin

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Students
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Tuition
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Earnings
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Southern Careers Institute-Corpus Christi

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Corpus Christi, Texas · Large city · 8 mi to Corpus Christi

Students
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Tuition
—
Transfer
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Earnings
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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.