Columbia College
Private College in Columbia, SC. Six-year graduation rate 37%. Median 10-year earnings $41,338.
Students who entered Columbia College reach a median of $41,338 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 37% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $22,750, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
Admissions
Columbia College admits 94% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 2,634 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 9% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 Columbia College →Academics
Completion is the problem here: 37% graduate within six years. Retention of 60% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. With 46% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. A 12:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,256 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,790 annually once grants are applied. Income makes less difference than usual: $17,541 at $0–30k, $20,399 at $110k+. Most students get help: 85% receive grants worth $12,718 on average. Borrowing is widespread: 66% take federal loans.
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 · 192 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 | $17,541 |
| $30–48k | $17,017 |
| $48–75k | $16,816 |
| $75–110k | $22,928 |
| $110k+ | $20,399 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 828 of these 1,256 students, totalling $7,220,243 — an average of $8,720 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)