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Private College

Capital University

Private College in Columbus, OH. Six-year graduation rate 60%. Median 10-year earnings $54,143.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Capital University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$54,143
Median debt at grad
$26,889
Mobility score
0.9
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
60.3%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten years after entry, the median Capital University student earns $54,143 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 60% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,889, neither a bargain nor a burden.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags
  • ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented

Admissions

Acceptance rate
70%
Applicants
4,520
Yield rate
11.8%

70% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool runs to 4,520, typical for a school of this reach. A 12% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 15% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the 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 450–590 56 (15%)
SAT Math 460–590
ACT Composite 18–25 144 (39%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Capital University →

Academics

Full-time retention
76%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
9:1

Six-year completion sits at 60%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 9:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$22,395
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
96%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
63%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,714 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $22,395 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $19,062 while those at $110k+ pay $27,299. Grant aid is widespread — 96% of students receive it, averaging $30,841. Most students borrow — 63% take federal loans to cover the gap.

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.

% receiving grants
99%
Average grant
$34,471

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 413 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 $19,062
$30–48k $18,574
$48–75k $20,331
$75–110k $23,348
$110k+ $27,299

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 1,080 of these 1,714 students, totalling $7,267,843 — an average of $6,729 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Franklin County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,111/mo
1 bedroom
$1,194/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,430/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
43
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Capital University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Capital University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →