College · Private nonprofit · Atlanta, GA · City
Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, GA
HBCUReligious affiliation
Admit rate64%
6-yr median pay$28k
Net price / yr$38k
Undergrad size3,603
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $38k/yr for a shot at a $28k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 64% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 19.
If you get in
3,603 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $44k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $38k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$175k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$151k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$24k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.4x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $28.3k
- Room & board
- $12.7k
- Books & supplies
- $1,900
How students pay for it.
Pell grants70%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans80%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $10k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention70%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr49%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$28k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$43k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out17%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 3,603
- Location
- Atlanta, GA
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity (R2)
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Also known as
- CAU
Identity
HBCUReligious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Black54%
- Unknown39%
- Two or more races6%
- Hispanic1%
First-gen students32%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$29k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 29
What you can study.