College · Private nonprofit · Columbia, SC · City
Columbia International University
Columbia, SC
Admit rate94%
6-yr median pay$34k
Net price / yr$26k
Undergrad size716
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $26k/yr for a shot at a $34k 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. Admitted students average ACT 21.
If you get in
716 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 $43k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $26k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$172k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$104k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$68k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback3.1x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $27.9k
- Room & board
- $11.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
How students pay for it.
Pell grants34%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans46%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$20k
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 retention61%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr47%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$34k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$39k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out3%
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
- 716
- Location
- Columbia, SC
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Also known as
- CIU
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White62%
- Black20%
- International5%
- Unknown5%
- Two or more races5%
- Asian2%
First-gen students24%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time8%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$50k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 26
What you can study.