Colleges / Catawba College
College · Private nonprofit · Salisbury, NC · Suburb
CC

Catawba College

Salisbury, NC

Address2300 W Innes St, Salisbury, NC 28144
Websitewww.catawba.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate75%
6-yr median pay$37k
Net price / yr$18k
Undergrad size1,235
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $18k/yr for a shot at a $37k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 75% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1096 · ACT 22.

If you get in

1,235 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $50k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $18k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$198k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$72k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$127k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$34.3k
Room & board
$13.6k
Books & supplies
$1,400

How students pay for it.

Pell grants41%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans53%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$25k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention75%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr47%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$37k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$49k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity

Setting, size, and who this school is.

Setting
Suburb
Control
Private nonprofit
Undergrad size
1,235
Location
Salisbury, NC
Region
Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Carnegie class
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Size & setting
Four-year · small · highly residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, inclusive, lower transfer-in
Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White54%
  • Black21%
  • Hispanic10%
  • International7%
  • Two or more races4%
  • Unknown3%
  • Asian1%
First-gen students30%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time7%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$49k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 36

What you can study.

Colleges / Catawba College
College · Private nonprofit · Salisbury, NC · Suburb
CC

Catawba College

Salisbury, NC

Address2300 W Innes St, Salisbury, NC 28144
Websitewww.catawba.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate75%
6-yr median pay$37k
Net price / yr$18k
Undergrad size1,235
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $18k/yr for a shot at a $37k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 75% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1096 · ACT 22.

If you get in

1,235 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $50k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $18k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$198k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$72k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$127k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$34.3k
Room & board
$13.6k
Books & supplies
$1,400

How students pay for it.

Pell grants41%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans53%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$25k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention75%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr47%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$37k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$49k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity

Setting, size, and who this school is.

Setting
Suburb
Control
Private nonprofit
Undergrad size
1,235
Location
Salisbury, NC
Region
Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Carnegie class
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Size & setting
Four-year · small · highly residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, inclusive, lower transfer-in
Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White54%
  • Black21%
  • Hispanic10%
  • International7%
  • Two or more races4%
  • Unknown3%
  • Asian1%
First-gen students30%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time7%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$49k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 36

What you can study.