Colleges / Columbia College
College · Private nonprofit · Columbia, SC · City
CC

Columbia College

Columbia, SC

Religious affiliation
Address1301 Columbia College Dr, Columbia, SC 29203
Websitewww.columbiasc.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate94%
6-yr median pay$46k
Net price / yr$18k
Undergrad size1,343
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $18k/yr for a shot at a $46k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 94% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.

If you get in

1,343 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $35k/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$141k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$74k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$67k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$22.2k
Room & board
$9.4k
Books & supplies
$1,000

How students pay for it.

Pell grants54%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans65%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention57%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr37%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$46k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$41k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out46%
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
1,343
Location
Columbia, SC
Region
Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Carnegie class
Master's Colleges & Universities: Smaller Programs
Size & setting
Four-year · very small · primarily residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • Black40%
  • White37%
  • Hispanic10%
  • Unknown6%
  • Asian2%
  • American Indian / Alaska Native2%
  • International1%
  • Two or more races1%
First-gen students41%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time29%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$35k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 53

What you can study.

Colleges / Columbia College
College · Private nonprofit · Columbia, SC · City
CC

Columbia College

Columbia, SC

Religious affiliation
Address1301 Columbia College Dr, Columbia, SC 29203
Websitewww.columbiasc.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate94%
6-yr median pay$46k
Net price / yr$18k
Undergrad size1,343
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $18k/yr for a shot at a $46k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 94% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.

If you get in

1,343 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $35k/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$141k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$74k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$67k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$22.2k
Room & board
$9.4k
Books & supplies
$1,000

How students pay for it.

Pell grants54%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans65%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention57%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr37%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$46k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$41k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out46%
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
1,343
Location
Columbia, SC
Region
Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Carnegie class
Master's Colleges & Universities: Smaller Programs
Size & setting
Four-year · very small · primarily residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • Black40%
  • White37%
  • Hispanic10%
  • Unknown6%
  • Asian2%
  • American Indian / Alaska Native2%
  • International1%
  • Two or more races1%
First-gen students41%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time29%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$35k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 53

What you can study.