Fortis College-Smyrna
For-profit College in Smyrna, GA. Six-year graduation rate 59%. Median 10-year earnings $36,368.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,368, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 59% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $12,547 — modest by four-year standards.
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
59% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Just 59% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. The 25:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation. This is a for-profit two-year institution. That is not disqualifying, but it does mean verifying accreditation, transferability of credits, and job-placement claims directly rather than trusting the category. The undergraduate body is just 495, 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 495 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $23,393 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $23,589 at $0–30k against $31,214 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 78% get grants averaging $6,142, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Most students borrow — 70% 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 · 66 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 | $23,589 |
| $30–48k | $22,855 |
| $48–75k | $25,315 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | $31,214 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 348 of these 495 students, totalling $2,572,869 — an average of $7,393 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cobb 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)