An Alexandria Tech & Community College just made a list of the best community colleges in the nation.

WalletHub just revealed lists of the best and worst community college systems by state and best and worst community colleges in the country in 2020.

"University education is out of reach for many Americans, especially those from low-income households," writes financial writer Adam McCann. "But thanks to community colleges, higher education is more accessible than ever." With a dramatic shift in how educating operates in 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, continues McCann, community colleges are especially attractive heading into the fall. "Students who initially planned on attending a private four-year college might want to consider spending two years at a community college and transferring those credits once the economy picks up again."

To determine which community and technical school systems students may want to choose -- and which to avoid -- WalletHub studied a sampling of 698 schools from the list of member institutions in the American Association of Community Colleges. They then compared schools on three key dimensions: 1) Cost & Financing, 2) Education Outcomes and 3) Career Outcomes. Each dimension was broken down into smaller metrics such as Cost of In-State Tuition & Fees, Graduation Rate, and Student-Loan Default Rate.

Overall, Minnesota just missed out on the Top 10 States list for best community college systems in the country, ranking #11.

Source: WalletHub

One Minnesota community college did crack the list of Top 10 Best Community Colleges in the nation, though; Alexandria Technical & Community College ranked 8th best on the list.

Overall Rank (1 = Best)Community CollegeTotal Score'Cost & Financing' Rank 'Education Outcomes' Rank'Career Outcomes' Rank
1State Technical College of Missouri74.525753
2Arkansas State University-Mountain Home69.781271470
3College of San Mateo69.178030718
4Northwest Iowa Community College68.27376542
5Northern Wyoming Community College District68.0715814924
6Northwestern Connecticut Community College68.027521564
7Ohlone College67.71166019
8Alexandria Technical & Community College67.43364405
9Casper College67.1514010465
10Orange Coast College66.967139755

WalletHub went on to rank all 698 community colleges, further breaking them down by state. A total of 23 Minnesota community colleges made the list.

Source: WalletHub

Here's how WalletHub broke down Minnesota's 23 community colleges:

StateRank (1 = Best)Community CollegeTotal Score
Minnesota1Alexandria Technical & Community College67.43
Minnesota2Northland Community and Technical College63.16
Minnesota3Minnesota State Community and Technical College63.09
Minnesota4St Cloud Technical and Community College62.46
Minnesota5Vermilion Community College61.31
Minnesota6South Central College61.02
Minnesota7Hennepin Technical College60.97
Minnesota8North Hennepin Community College60.94
Minnesota9Ridgewater College60.83
Minnesota10Lake Superior College60.51
Minnesota11Normandale Community College60.18
Minnesota12Riverland Community College60.01
Minnesota13Central Lakes College-Brainerd59.9
Minnesota14Hibbing Community College59.48
Minnesota15Century College - MN59.44
Minnesota16Rochester Community and Technical College59.36
Minnesota17Itasca Community College57.47
Minnesota18Minnesota West Community and Technical College57
Minnesota19Mesabi Range College56.74
Minnesota20Minneapolis Community and Technical College53.87
Minnesota21Saint Paul College53.36
Minnesota22Rainy River Community College48
Minnesota23Leech Lake Tribal College43.36

Leech Lake Tribal College was also recognized for having one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation, tying for #693.

See the full results of WalletHub's Best and Worst Community College Systems in 2020 here and Best and Worst Community Colleges in 2020 here.

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