Columbia International University
Private College in Columbia, SC. Six-year graduation rate 47%. Median 10-year earnings $38,951.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,951 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 47% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $20,000, 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.1 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Columbia International University admits 94% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. Only 416 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 35% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.
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 | — | 1 (1%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | 1 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Columbia International University →Academics
Completion is middling: 47% finish inside six years. 53% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. The 13:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. This is a small school — 916 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 713 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,056 annually once grants are applied. Net price varies modestly by income — $21,955 at $0–30k against $29,751 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 90% of students get grant aid averaging $17,570, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 59% 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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 115 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 | $21,955 |
| $30–48k | $25,644 |
| $48–75k | $23,535 |
| $75–110k | $28,722 |
| $110k+ | $29,751 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 420 of these 713 students, totalling $2,754,883 — an average of $6,559 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)