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Community college · Public

Bates Technical College

Tacoma, WA518 online only

Bates Technical College is a public community college in Tacoma, WA, with about 3,299 students on campus.

Visit www.batestech.edu ↗Directions
Students on campus
3,299
plus 518 studying only online
Admission rate
Open
open enrollment
Net price a year
$6,292
tuition and fees $6,027; the net price adds housing and food
Graduation rate
43%
Earnings, 10 yrs later
$50,051
higher than at 71% of U.S. colleges
In brief

The short version on Bates Technical College

Generous aid, but few lower-income students

Families earning under $30,000 pay about $4,403 a year here, yet only 12% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal grant for lower-income students. The students ↓

Many students are adults coming back to school

64% of undergraduates are 25 or older. Graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students, so they leave many of these students out. The students ↓

This summary is written from the data on this page. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard; graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students.

★ What stands out · Who goes there

The students

1,813 degree-seeking undergraduates.

By race and ethnicity

White 35%Hispanic 19%Black 11%Asian 5%Two or more 9%

Women and men

Women 42%Men 58%
21 : 1
students per teacher
12%
get Pell grants (lower income)
3%
take federal loans
64%
undergrads 25 or older
22%
study part time
Getting in

How hard is it to get into Bates Technical College?

Open

anyone with a high school diploma can enroll

Test scores of admitted students

No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Bates Technical College is likely test-optional.

What it costs

The sticker price, and what families really pay

Sticker price: $18,837 a year

Before any grants · out-of-state tuition $12,165

Tuition & fees (in state) $6,027Books & supplies $528Other costs $12,282

After grants, the average family on aid pays $6,292.

Tuition and fees are $6,027 a year. The net price also counts housing, food and other costs at full price, so a student living at home pays less than it shows.

Your family’s price

Average net price after grants, by family income

$7,371

About $14,742 over 2 years · 61% off the sticker price

Under $30k$30–48k$48–75k$75–110kOver $110k
Outcomes

Do students finish, and does it pay off?

Graduate
43%
within 1½ times the normal program length
Come back for year two
—
full-time first-year students
Earnings, 10 years later
$50,051
median, students on federal aid
Typical debt
—

Paying back loans

Federal student loans, this college

47%

of borrowers paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 53% of U.S. colleges.

Almost none defaulted within three years (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).

Earnings by family background

Median earnings 10 years after starting, by family income at enrollment

Lower incomeunder $30k
$45k
Middle income$30–75k
$63k
Higher incomeover $75k
$62k
Majors

What students study, and what it pays

Share of degrees by field

Health professions 29%Mechanic & repair 27%Education 17%Precision production 6%Public safety 4%Construction trades 3%Everything else 13%

Associate degree programs with the most graduates

And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).

Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants58 graduates a year
—not reported
Fire Protection37 graduates a year
—not reported
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods31 graduates a year
—not reported
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians29 graduates a year
—not reported
Precision Metal Working27 graduates a year
—not reported
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services21 graduates a year
—not reported
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians16 graduates a year
—not reported
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers13 graduates a year
—not reported
The town around it

Living in Tacoma

6% of Tacoma’s 229,816 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Tacoma pages.

Tacoma →
$1,676/momedian rent · 5% below the state$483Ktypical home valueD−Safety Grade36° / 77°January low / July high · 6" of snowBHealth GradeAll colleges in and near TacomaCompare prices, admissions and outcomes
Nearby

Other colleges within 30 miles

Straight-line distances from Bates Technical College; colleges with 100 or more students on campus.

Northwest College of Art & DesignUniversity or college · For-profit · Tacoma
0.4 mi150 students
University of Washington-Tacoma CampusUniversity or college · Public · Tacoma
0.6 mi4,497 students
University of Puget SoundUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Tacoma
1.7 mi1,914 students
Tacoma Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Tacoma
3.7 mi4,119 students
Faith International UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Tacoma
3.8 mi208 students
Clover Park Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Lakewood
5.8 mi2,695 students
Pacific Lutheran UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Parkland
7.4 mi2,685 students
Pierce College DistrictCommunity college · Public · Lakewood
8 mi3,940 students

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Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings and debt are for students who received federal aid. Distances are straight-line. Colleges are described, not graded (how TownRatings describes colleges). Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.