College · Private nonprofit · Charlotte, NC · City
Johnson C Smith University
Charlotte, NC
HBCU
Admit rate45%
6-yr median pay$31k
Net price / yr$21k
Undergrad size1,244
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $21k/yr for a shot at a $31k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 45% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter.
If you get in
1,244 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 $21k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$140k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$84k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$56k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $21.3k
- Room & board
- $8.6k
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
How students pay for it.
Pell grants69%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans75%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$30k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $13k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention67%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr34%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$31k
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 out0%
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
- 1,244
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- 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
- Also known as
- JCSU
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Black81%
- Unknown15%
- International2%
- White1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students36%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time3%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$26k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 23
What you can study.