Fortis College-Columbus
For-profit College in Westerville, OH. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $36,368.
Ten-year median earnings of $36,368 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 40% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $12,547, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.35 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
40% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention is weak: only 48% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. Being a for-profit two-year institution is the single most useful context for these numbers — the sector's spread is wide enough that the school-level figures matter more than usual. The undergraduate body is just 764, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 764 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,771 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($27,071 versus $34,877), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid reaches 81% of students at an average of $6,895. Borrowing is widespread: 78% 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 · 50 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 | $27,071 |
| $30–48k | $27,488 |
| $48–75k | $29,095 |
| $75–110k | $25,632 |
| $110k+ | $34,877 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 594 of these 764 students, totalling $4,903,104 — an average of $8,254 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.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)