Columbus State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Columbus State University

Columbus State University operates as a public institution located in Columbus, Georgia (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 5,625 students of which 7,115 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. Columbus State University is categorized as “18” 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 99.1%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 977 and an ACT midpoint of 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,115, with published in-state tuition of $5,898 and a Pell grant recipient share of 44.6%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $26,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 41.8%, and the first-year retention rate is 69.7%. Graduates earn a median of $44,544 ten years after enrolling, compared with $39,190 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 363200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 57.6% 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.