South University-Montgomery
For-profit College in Montgomery, AL. Six-year graduation rate 14%. Median 10-year earnings $34,421.
Ten-year median earnings of $34,421 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 14% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $26,123, 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.76 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 14% — below national average
Academics
Only 14% finish within six years, so roughly nine in ten students leave without the credential. Retention of 62% 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. At 13:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a for-profit four-year institution, outcomes here deserve a harder look than the sector average suggests: for-profit institutions vary enormously, and the sector's aggregate numbers hide both strong and very weak performers.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 302 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $27,807 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($27,444 versus $31,493), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 89% of students receive it, averaging $6,316. 70% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 20 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 | $27,444 |
| $30–48k | $26,532 |
| $48–75k | $26,220 |
| $75–110k | $31,519 |
| $110k+ | $31,493 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 210 of these 302 students, totalling $1,587,834 — an average of $7,561 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Montgomery 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)