Georgia Southwestern vs. Columbia College

Georgia Southwestern State University vs. Columbia College comparison

	Georgia Southwestern State University	Columbia College	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
Location	Americus, GA	Columbia, SC
Setting	Distant Town	Midsize City
Enrollment	3,070	1,514
Type	Public 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#908	#913
Religious Affiliation	-	United Methodist	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	gsw.edu	columbiasc.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
Tuition (In State)	$4,064	$21,250
Tuition (Out of State)	$14,786	$21,250
Room & Board	$8,978	$8,400
Avg Net Price	$12,186	$18,779
Avg Grant Aid	$9,472	$16,089
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	97%

Admission	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,939	2,176
Admitted	1,419	2,135
Acceptance Rate	73.2%	98.1%
Enrolled %	34.2%	8.9%
Avg High School GPA	3.17	3.56
Typical High School Grades	B	B+
Admissions Standards	Easy	Extremely Easy
Applicant Competition	Low
ACT Range	19/25	14/18
SAT Range	1010/1160	850/1140
Submit Test Scores	Required to be considered for admission	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Jul 21, 2025

Academics	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
Student to Faculty Ratio	17:1	11:1
Popular Majors	Business (37%) Education (25%) Health Professions (11%) Psychology (6%) Social Sciences (3%)	Education (20%) Psychology (12%) Business (12%) Human Services (9%) Visual and Performing Arts (9%)
Outcomes	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
Graduation Rate	30%	50%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$38,100	$34,700
Making Student Loan Payments	45%	43%
Median Student Loan Debt	$22,000	$25,264
Median Loan Payment	$227	$261

Diversity	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
% Men	33%	15%
% Women	67%	85%
Racial Diversity	Medium	High
HBCU	No	No
% White	62%	55%
% Black	29%	34%
% Hispanic	3%	4%
% Native American	0%	1%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	2%	3%
% International	2%	2%
% Unknown Race	0%	1%

Students	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
% In-State	95%	76%
% Out-of-State	4%	22%
Campus	Georgia Southwestern	Columbia College
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	Yes
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Georgia Southwestern State University is larger than than Columbia College based on total student enrollment (3,070 students vs. 1,514 students)

Georgia Southwestern vs. Columbia College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Georgia Southwestern or Columbia College?

• Columbia College is 422.9% more expensive to attend than Georgia Southwestern for in-state tuition ($21,250.00 vs. $4,064.00)
• Out of state tuition is 43.7% higher at Columbia College than Georgia Southwestern State University ($21,250.00 vs. $14,786.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Georgia Southwestern State University than Columbia College ($12,186 vs. $18,779)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Columbia College are 6.9% lower than costs at Georgia Southwestern State University ($8,400 vs. $8,978)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Georgia Southwestern State University than Columbia College (100% vs. 97%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Columbia College students is 69.9% larger than aid received Georgia Southwestern State University ($16,089 vs. $9,472)

Georgia Southwestern vs. Columbia College Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Georgia Southwestern or Columbia College? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Columbia College or Georgia Southwestern .

• The average SAT score at Columbia College (971) is 4 points higher than at Georgia Southwestern (967)
• Incoming Georgia Southwestern students have at the same average ACT score (21) as students at Columbia College (21)
• Accepted freshman Columbia College students have a 0.39 point higher average high school GPA (3.56) than students at Georgia Southwestern (3.17)
• Columbia College has a higher acceptance rate (98.1%) than Georgia Southwestern (73.2%)

Georgia Southwestern vs. Columbia College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Georgia Southwestern or Columbia College? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Columbia College and Georgia Southwestern.

• The graduation rate at Columbia College is higher than Georgia Southwestern State University (50% vs. 30%)
• Graduates from Georgia Southwestern State University earn on average $3,400 more per year than Columbia College graduates after ten years. ($38,100 vs. $34,700)
• Georgia Southwestern State University students graduate with a $3,264 lower median federal student loan debt than Columbia College graduates. ($22,000 vs. $25,264)
• Georgia Southwestern graduates are paying $34 less per month on federal student loans than Columbia College graduates. ($227 vs. $261)
• More Georgia Southwestern graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Columbia College students, three years after graduation. (45% vs. 43%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/