Columbia International University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Columbia International University

Columbia International University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Columbia, South Carolina (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 716 students of which 1,303 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Columbia International University is categorized as “19” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 94.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and an ACT midpoint of 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $26,036, with published in-state tuition of $27,900 and a Pell grant recipient share of 34.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 55.1%, and the first-year retention rate is 53.3%. Graduates earn a median of $38,951 ten years after enrolling, compared with $33,929 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 24300.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 44.9% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.