Columbus State University
Public College in Columbus, GA. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $44,544.
Ten years after entry, the median Columbus State University student earns $44,544 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 43%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $26,000 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 99% of applicants are accepted. 3,648 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 32% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 14% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 440–530 | 157 (14%) |
| SAT Math | 360–530 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–22 | 137 (12%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Columbus State University →Academics
43% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 70% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. The 33% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. Retention drops to 27% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,635 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,420 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($11,271 versus $18,329), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 76% of students receive grant aid, averaging $8,121 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 40% 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 · 1,002 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 | $11,271 |
| $30–48k | $11,873 |
| $48–75k | $13,786 |
| $75–110k | $16,542 |
| $110k+ | $18,329 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,278 of these 5,635 students, totalling $14,222,356 — an average of $6,243 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Muscogee 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)