10-yr median earnings
$36,368
Federal aid recipients only
Private For-Profit · Columbia, South Carolina
Fortis College-Columbia
Fortis College-Columbia is a private for-profit institution in Columbia, South Carolina. as a private for-profit, published Scorecard outcomes are Title-IV-recipient medians — program mix and repayment risk deserve a closer look than a single headline number.
- 39.2%
- 150%-time completion
- $20,404
- Avg net price / yr
- $36,368
- 10-yr median earnings
The verdict
Fortis College-Columbia posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 36th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 39.2%
- 150%-time completion
- +10%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Midsize
Carnegie: Special Focus (2yr)
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Fortis College-Columbia profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Special Focus Two-Year: Health Professions"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
F
College Value Score
34/100
Fortis College-Columbia
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings F
$36,368
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$20,404
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
39.2%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt C-
$12,547
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment F
29.8%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$20,404
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
39.2%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 39.2%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Fortis College-Columbia vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Fortis College-Columbia ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Fortis College-Columbia: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$36,368 36th percentile higher than 36% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Fortis College-Columbia | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $36,368 | #3291 of 5103 | 36th |
| Average net price | $20,404 | #3158 of 5020 | 37th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 39.2% | #3707 of 4858 | 24th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 582 | #2711 of 5462 | 50th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
582
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
39.2%
150%-time completion
$36,368
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How Fortis College-Columbia ranks in South Carolina
State rank among 78 reporting South Carolina colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Fortis College-Columbia | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $36,368 | #45 of 78 | 42nd |
| Average net price | $20,404 | #60 of 82 | 27th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 39.2% | #49 of 77 | 36th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 582 | #49 of 83 | 41st |
Highest former-student earnings in South Carolina
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medical University of South Carolina | $88,420 | - |
| 2 | Citadel Military College of South Carolina | $72,085 | $20,723 |
| 3 | Clemson University | $71,513 | $22,253 |
| 4 | Wofford College | $68,964 | $18,732 |
| 5 | Furman University | $68,635 | $30,308 |
| 6 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | $62,177 | $22,811 |
| 7 | Galen Health Institutes-Myrtle Beach | $61,480 | $25,662 |
| 8 | Presbyterian College | $60,194 | $20,528 |
| 9 | College of Charleston | $56,416 | $18,960 |
| 10 | Erskine College | $53,459 | $16,525 |
| 11 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | $48,587 | $13,557 |
| 12 | University of South Carolina Beaufort | $48,088 | $14,656 |
| 45 | Fortis College-ColumbiaThis school | $36,368 | $20,404 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Fortis College-Columbia
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$19,599 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$20,526 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$23,866 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Fortis College-Columbia - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $14,777 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $14,777 |
| Average Net Price | $20,404 |
77.2%
Pell Grant Rate
72.3%
Federal Loan Rate
$12,547
Median Debt
$133/mo
Monthly Payment
Published tuition barely moved. What students actually pay rose +76.2%.
Between 2013 and 2023, Fortis College-Columbia's published in-state tuition went from $15,772 to $14,576 (-7.6%), but average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort after grant aid, went from $15,610 to $27,508. The sticker price and the real price moved apart.
Published tuition
-7.6%
$15,772 → $14,576
Average net price
+76.2%
$15,610 → $27,508
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $15,6102023 · $27,508
Over the same years, enrollment went -5.5% (543 → 513 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
72.7%
Female
56.0%
First Generation
Outcomes
$33,189
Median Earnings (6yr)
48.5%
Earning Over $25K
29.8%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 39.2% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $33,189 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $36,368 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 48.5% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 29.8% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $12,547 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $133/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | 3 | 127 | $38,324 | $46,867 | $11,833 |
| Associate's | 1 | 43 | $80,337 | $80,337 | $29,028 |
Top programs at Fortis College-Columbia by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$80,337 median earnings
- Heating, Air Conditioning,…
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)
$46,867 median earnings
- Allied Health and Medical …
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
$35,098 median earnings
- Dental Support Services an…
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
$33,008 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 43 | $80,337 | $29,028 |
| Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) | Certificate | 41 | $46,867 | $13,000 |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services | Certificate | 45 | $35,098 | $9,500 |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions | Certificate | 41 | $33,008 | $13,000 |
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Scorecard-derived matches among reporting colleges — not school marketing or paid placement lists.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private For-Profit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private For-Profit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Fortis College-Columbia? ▼
Fortis College-Columbia is a private for-profit institution in Columbia, South Carolina. Undergraduate enrollment is 582 students.
How much do Fortis College-Columbia former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Fortis College-Columbia who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $36,368 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $33,189.
How much does Fortis College-Columbia cost? ▼
The average net price at Fortis College-Columbia is $20,404. In-state tuition is $14,777 and out-of-state tuition is $14,777. Median student debt at graduation is $12,547.
What is the graduation rate at Fortis College-Columbia? ▼
Fortis College-Columbia has a 39.2% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Is Fortis College-Columbia worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Fortis College-Columbia is $12,547, while former students earn a median of $36,368 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 35% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 29.8% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $133.
Sources & methodology
Private for-profit profiles foreground Scorecard debt, repayment, and program-level earnings where reported. Marketing claims from the school are not inputs to this page.
Every figure is the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrieval. For-profit program mixes can shift year to year — treat institution medians as a starting map, then check Field-of-Study rows below. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Fortis College-Columbia
- Compare Fortis College-Columbia against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in South Carolina side by side.Browse South Carolina
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
For-profit Scorecard figures are Title-IV cohort history — verify current program costs, accreditation, and repayment outcomes with the school and official aid tools.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private for-profit profiles compile Scorecard debt/earnings and IPEDS operating fields from federal files — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.