Public · Community college

Southside Virginia Community College

Alberta, Virginia · Remote rural

13%
Transfer rate: $5,338
Avg net price: 42%
Grad / completion: $32,371
Median earnings

Southside Virginia Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Alberta, Virginia (remote rural setting), enrolling 1,807 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,807 undergradsRemote ruralCold winters

About Alberta, Virginia

Alberta is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Remote rural
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 55 miles to Richmond, VA
To the ocean: 48 miles
Nearest airport: 57 miles to Richmond (RIC) · major hub

How Southside Virginia Community College compares

Graduation rate42%

Higher than 28% · #44 of 65 in Virginia

First-year retention71%

Higher than 45%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$32,371

Higher than 40% · #42 of 62 in Virginia

Average net price$5,338

Cheaper than 90% · #10 cheapest of 61 in Virginia

Student–faculty ratio24 : 1

Lower than 16%

Undergraduate enrollment1,807

Larger than 80%

Percentiles compare Southside Virginia 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

Women1,15664%
Men65136%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White47%
Black41%
Hispanic6.1%
Other or multiracial6.3%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,807
Student–faculty ratio: 24 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 35%
First-generation students: 52%
Students over 25: 26%
Median family income: $19,387
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $71,244
Endowment: $5,652,396

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 378 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Virginia100%

Most first-years stay in state — Southside Virginia 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: $5,007
Out-of-state tuition: $11,445
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $2,600
Total cost of attendance: $14,036
Average net price: $5,338

Outcomes

Graduated: 42%
First-year retention: 71%
Transferred to another college: 13%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $30,192
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $32,371
Median debt at graduation: —
Students with federal loans: 0%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

42%

First-generation

22%

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: 0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 1
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

Reported offenses in an average year

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

0.3reported offenses a year

0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault

0.3

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

$4,751

$30–48k

$5,815

$48–75k

$6,773

$75–110k

$7,681

$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.

21%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,778

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 21% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,778. 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 193 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): $32,371
Typical debt at graduation: —
Debt vs. one year's pay: —
Out-earn a HS grad: 30%

Weigh it value

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.

Women

$30,431

Men

$37,381

Men out-earn women by $6,950 (23%) 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: 90°F
Winter low: 27°F
Annual rain: 46.8″
Annual snow: 3.3″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lawrenceville 3 E, VA US station (8.4 mi from campus).

What Southside Virginia Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

311 grads$21k 1 yr$35k 5 yr$6k debt

311$21,477$35,469$5,500 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

214 grads$25k 1 yr— 5 yr$6k debt

214$25,214—$5,500 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

100 grads$27k 1 yr$46k 5 yr$7k debt

100$27,442$46,449$7,333 Precision Metal WorkingCert.

56 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

40 grads$67k 1 yr$74k 5 yr$10k debt

40$66,693$74,159$9,500 Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansCert.

38 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

35 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

35———Culinary Arts and Related ServicesCert.

21 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

21———Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsAssoc.

21 grads$29k 1 yr$32k 5 yr— debt

21$28,796$31,746—Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCert.

16 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

16———Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.

16 grads$32k 1 yr$32k 5 yr$10k debt

16$31,975$32,215$9,500 Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralAssoc.

13 grads— 1 yr$37k 5 yr— debt

13—$37,115—

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 Southside Virginia Community College

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

Virginia Highlands Community College

Public

Abingdon, Virginia · Small suburb · 82 mi to Asheville

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

Southwest Virginia Community College

Public

Cedar Bluff, Virginia · Distant rural · 93 mi to Charleston

Students: 1,651
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $34k

Danville Community College

Public

Danville, Virginia · Distant town · 40 mi to Greensboro

Students: 1,306
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $32k

Wytheville Community College

Public

Wytheville, Virginia · Remote town · 66 mi to Roanoke

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

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

Colleges near Southside Virginia Community College

Halifax Community College

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Richard Bland College

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Virginia State University

Petersburg, VA · Public · Bachelor's · 5,074 students

39 mi

Another Level Barbering and Cosmetology School

Petersburg, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 70 students

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Jazz Barber and Hairstyling Academy

Petersburg, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 46 students

40 mi

Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden-Sydney, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 946 students

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Southside College of Health Sciences

Colonial Heights, VA · Private nonprofit · Associate · 151 students

41 mi

Longwood University

Farmville, VA · Public · Bachelor's · 3,015 students

41 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.