Shorter University
Private College in Rome, GA. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $44,604.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,604 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 38% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $25,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
Admissions
Shorter University admits 96% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. With 904 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Yield sits at 34% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 530–620 | 17 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 510–580 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–25 | 20 (7%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Shorter University →Academics
Only 38% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential. Retention of 61% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 14:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,084 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,821 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $15,929 at $0–30k, $18,898 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $18,142. Borrowing is widespread: 59% 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 · 267 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 | $15,929 |
| $30–48k | $21,482 |
| $48–75k | $22,944 |
| $75–110k | $21,292 |
| $110k+ | $18,898 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 641 of these 1,084 students, totalling $4,364,743 — an average of $6,809 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Floyd 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)