Columbia Southern University
For-profit College in Orange Beach, AL. Six-year graduation rate 31%. Median 10-year earnings $63,534.
A decade after enrolling, the median Columbia Southern University student earns $63,534 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate is 31% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates carry a median of $21,339 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.34 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 31% — below national average
Academics
Only 31% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 71% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. Retention drops to 50% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The 37:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 13,052 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $13,117 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($12,913 versus $17,408), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 28% of students receive any. Federal borrowing reaches 26% of students.
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 · 240 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 | $12,913 |
| $30–48k | $13,455 |
| $48–75k | $15,569 |
| $75–110k | $16,226 |
| $110k+ | $17,408 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,380 of these 13,052 students, totalling $22,775,367 — an average of $6,738 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Baldwin 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)