Helms College
Private College in Augusta, GA. Six-year graduation rate 36%.
The six-year graduation rate is 36% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $9,500.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 36% graduate within six years. First-year retention of 87% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest 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. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 150 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $24,950 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $25,130 at $0–30k against $30,291 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 76% of students receive grant aid, averaging $3,726 — common but not automatic. Most students borrow — 61% 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 · 30 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 | $25,130 |
| $30–48k | $24,250 |
| $48–75k | $24,529 |
| $75–110k | $30,291 |
| $110k+ | $30,291 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 91 of these 150 students, totalling $511,877 — an average of $5,625 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Richmond 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)