Is Craven Community College Worth It?

Craven Community College keeps costs low, and that low bar defines its financial picture. At under $4,500 a year in net price, you can finish a two-year degree here without heavy borrowing, which matters when the median earnings ten years out sit around $34,000. That figure isn't strong on its own, but the cost is small enough that the math can still work depending entirely on what you study.

Your program choice is the whole game here. The nursing associate degree pays more than double what the liberal arts and general studies track earns a decade later. If you leave with an RN credential, you clear north of $50,000 in a region that always needs nurses. Allied health and medical assisting land in a solid middle. The liberal arts, general studies, and health administrative services tracks are where the return collapses to the low $20,000s, barely above what you might earn without any degree at all.

The specific risk here is treating this as a general-studies stop and never transferring or specializing. A liberal arts associate degree that doesn't lead to a four-year transfer leaves you with a credential earning less than the college's own nursing grads make in half a year. The 45.8% graduation rate is another risk: finishing is not guaranteed, and a partial degree returns almost nothing on even this low cost.

This school fits you if you want a healthcare credential, especially nursing, or you plan to transfer into a bachelor's program elsewhere. The net price barely moves across income tiers, so lower-income families don't get a meaningfully cheaper deal than middle-income ones here. If you're drawn to the general studies path with no transfer plan, look harder at where that leads before enrolling.