Johnson C
Smith University
Private College in Charlotte, NC. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $42,680.
Students who entered Johnson C Smith University land at a median of $42,680 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $30,000 — a substantial load to service on these earnings.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.70 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Admissions
Johnson C Smith University admits 45% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly one in two applicants are turned away. 6,820 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 13% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Johnson C Smith University →Academics
Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Retention of 71% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. 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. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,047 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $19,705 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $19,940 at the $0–30k band to $29,050 at $110k+. 94% of students get grant aid averaging $16,611, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 75% 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 · 279 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 | $19,940 |
| $30–48k | $21,165 |
| $48–75k | $21,005 |
| $75–110k | $19,722 |
| $110k+ | $29,050 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 789 of these 1,047 students, totalling $5,792,666 — an average of $7,342 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Mecklenburg County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Show Cause (Other - Provide unlisted or multiple justifications); School has an accreditation issue
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)