Franklin University
Private College in Columbus, OH. Six-year graduation rate 3%. Median 10-year earnings $51,892.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $51,892 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 3% finish within six years, so roughly nine in ten students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $20,836 in debt — in line with the national norm. It also moves people — 3.5% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
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
- ! Graduation rate 3% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 3% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 36% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. 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. With 74% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. At 17:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,106 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $25,576 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($24,968 versus $29,964), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 66% get grants averaging $6,598, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 45% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 51 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 | $24,968 |
| $30–48k | $25,876 |
| $48–75k | $24,690 |
| $75–110k | $25,389 |
| $110k+ | $29,964 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,318 of these 5,106 students, totalling $19,543,281 — an average of $8,431 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)