Is Western Piedmont Community College Worth It?

Western Piedmont Community College gives you a low-cost entry point with a return that depends almost entirely on which program you pick. At roughly $5,000 a year in net price, your total outlay before earning a credential is modest, which matters because the median graduate earns just above $34,000 a decade out. That median is thin, and the gap between programs is what should drive your decision here.

Nursing is the clear payoff. The associate degree in Registered Nursing pulls in around $61,000, nearly double the school's median and far ahead of anything else on the list. If you can get into and finish that program, the math works strongly in your favor against a five-figure total cost. Criminal Justice as a certificate lands near the school median, so it roughly holds its ground. The weaker spots are Allied Health and Medical Assisting and Dental Support Services, both under $28,000. Those credentials cost you time and tuition for earnings that stay near entry-level wages, so treat them as stepping stones, not endpoints.

The main risk is completion. Only about a third of students finish, so you carry the cost and lost time without the credential if you stall out. A stalled nursing attempt is the most expensive version of that risk, since the whole return rides on graduating.

Net price barely moves for families under $48,000 and climbs by a couple thousand once household income passes that line. Lower-income families pay the least here, so if you're in that range and aiming at nursing, this is a genuinely cheap route to a solid wage.

Come here for nursing, or to knock out transferable credits cheaply. Look elsewhere if the Medical Assisting or Dental certificates are your final goal.