Allen University
Private College in Columbia, SC. Six-year graduation rate 13%. Median 10-year earnings $30,497.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $30,497, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 13% finish within six years, so roughly nine in ten students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $34,290 — a substantial load to service on these earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 1.12 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 13% — below national average
Admissions
73% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 3,529 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. A 6% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Allen University →Academics
Only 13% finish within six years, so roughly nine in ten students leave without the credential. Just 45% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. A 12:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 635 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $11,182 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $10,553 at $0–30k against $13,298 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is widespread — 91% of students receive it, averaging $13,454. 80% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 171 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $10,553 |
| $30–48k | $9,375 |
| $48–75k | $12,610 |
| $75–110k | $12,976 |
| $110k+ | $13,298 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 509 of these 635 students, totalling $3,979,995 — an average of $7,819 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Richland County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)