by our College Data Analytics TeamSouthwestern Community College is a public institution in Sylva, North Carolina enrolling 1,249 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 53%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,337 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 45%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Southwestern Community College ranks #2,337 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 45%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Southwestern Community College was awarded 82 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Southwestern Community College is ranked #2,337 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
Southwestern Community College is also ranked #73 on the Best Colleges in North Carolina list.
See all of the rankings for Southwestern Community College.
Learn more about Southwestern Community College admissions.
At Southwestern Community College, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 10 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Southwestern Community College is 19%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
Southwestern Community College has a freshmen retention rate of 75%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Southwestern Community College the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 53%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Southwestern Community College.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,249 undergraduates at Southwestern Community College.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Southwestern Community College.
The overall average net price of Southwestern Community College is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Southwestern Community College, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Southwestern Community College, approximately 5% of students took out student loans averaging $6,129 a year. That adds up to $24,516 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 18.4%. This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out. Get more details about paying for Southwestern Community College.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Southwestern Community College with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $34,145 in their early years. This is about 31% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at Southwestern Community College make the most money.
Southwestern Community College is an public institution located in Sylva, North Carolina. Sylva is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Southwestern Community College.
Get in touch with Southwestern Community College can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 447 College Drive, Sylva, NC 28779 |
| Phone: | 8283394000 |
| Website: | www.southwesterncc.edu |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 14 majors graduated from Southwestern Community College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 612 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 101 | $20,772 |
| Business Administration & Management | 52 | $27,814 |
| Allied Health Services | 43 | $41,181 |
| Allied Health Professions | 41 | $40,293 |
| Nursing | 40 | $54,833 |
| Health/Medical Admin Services | 36 | $26,779 |
| Cosmetology | 36 | $12,328 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 35 | NA |
| Precision Metal Working | 35 | NA |
1,381 students took at least one online class at Southwestern Community College.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Southwestern Community College.
Curious how schools stack up against Southwestern Community College? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.