Statement · Orange Beach, AL
Columbia Southern University
Private for-profit4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →
Families earning under $30k paid $12,913 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $18,226.
Students who received federal aid earned a median $63,534 ten years after entering, the 85th percentile among private for-profit 4-years.
33% of students finish within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment, 2023
- 28,957
What it costs
The published sticker cost is $18,226 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $12,913 and $17,408 a year depending on income at Columbia Southern University.
Statement of cost · Columbia Southern University
- Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
- $18,226
- What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
- $12,913
- Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
- $14,580
- In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
- $6,760
Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.
Net price by family income
Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.
Yearly net price by family income, in dollars
- Shaded: the middle half of private for-profit 4-years (all incomes), $21,630 to $34,047. Dotted line: the median, $28,553.
Table of the same numbers
| Family income | Paid per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $12,913 |
| $30k–$48k | $13,455 |
| $48k–$75k | $15,569 |
| $75k–$110k | $16,226 |
| Over $110k | $17,408 |
College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)
What graduates earn and owe
Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $63,534; the median graduate who borrowed owes $21,339.
Statement, continued
- Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
- $55,140
- Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
- $60,123
- Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
85th percentile among private for-profit 4-years - $63,534
- Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
58th percentile among private for-profit 4-years - $21,339
- Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
- $13,980
Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.
Earnings after entry
The shaded band is the middle half of private for-profit 4-years at 10 years: $34,657 to $47,785.
- Shaded: middle half of private for-profit 4-years, 10 years out ($34,657 to $47,785); dotted line is the median.
- Dashed: median graduate debt, $21,339.
Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.
Table of the same numbers
| Measure | Dollars |
|---|---|
| Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry | $55,140 |
| Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry | $60,123 |
| Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $63,534 |
| Median graduate debt | $21,339 |
College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records
What programs pay
Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.
| Program | Credential | Graduates | Earnings, 5 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Master's Degree | 953 | $75,617 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Bachelor's Degree | 594 | $63,635 | $31,284 |
| Fire Protection | Bachelor's Degree | 585 | $87,912 | $21,248 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians | Bachelor's Degree | 521 | $91,754 | $28,415 |
| Fire Protection | Associate's Degree | 432 | $80,640 | $10,500 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians | Master's Degree | 378 | $94,061 | not reported |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | 307 | $84,183 | $16,710 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Bachelor's Degree | 256 | $61,453 | $30,204 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Associate's Degree | 192 | $51,885 | $21,764 |
| Public Administration | Master's Degree | 149 | $80,102 | not reported |
| Homeland Security | Master's Degree | 131 | $83,721 | not reported |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | Bachelor's Degree | 128 | $60,480 | $38,210 |
Show all 23 programs
| Program | Credential | Graduates | Earnings, 5 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's Degree | 99 | $66,199 | $15,923 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's Degree | 98 | $62,396 | $17,078 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | Bachelor's Degree | 96 | $59,483 | $31,715 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions | Bachelor's Degree | 93 | $44,714 | $33,180 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Associate's Degree | 90 | not reported | not reported |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | Bachelor's Degree | 75 | not reported | $34,056 |
| Public Health | Master's Degree | 64 | not reported | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Bachelor's Degree | 61 | $74,518 | $27,071 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Bachelor's Degree | 60 | not reported | $24,518 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | 12 | $78,497 | $25,876 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | 29 | $85,911 | $16,426 |
Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.
Who goes here
Columbia Southern University: 12,176 undergraduates; 24% of students receive Pell grants.
Admission rate
not reported
Undergraduates
12,176
97th percentile among private for-profit 4-years
Pell share
24%
of undergraduates receive Pell grants
13th percentile among private for-profit 4-years
Completion
33%
finish within 150% of normal time
25th percentile among private for-profit 4-years
First-generation
54%
parents did not attend college
Median family income
$35,183
92nd percentile among private for-profit 4-years
Students by family income
Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.
- Under $30k41%
- $30k–$48k16%
- $48k–$75k17%
- $75k–$110k14%
- Over $110k12%
Show as a table
| Family income | Share of students |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | 41% |
| $30k–$48k | 16% |
| $48k–$75k | 17% |
| $75k–$110k | 14% |
| Over $110k | 12% |
How it has changed
Average net price rose from $8,268 in 2011 to $14,580 in 2024.
Four measures, year by year
A break in a line is a year the measure was not collected. It is not zero.
Admission rate
not reported in any year
Price per year
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
Undergraduates
Table of the same numbers
| Year | Admit rate | Sticker price | Net price | Earnings, 10 yrs | Undergrads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported | 6,863 |
| 2009 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported | 10,301 |
| 2010 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported | 13,298 |
| 2011 | not reported | $11,692 | $8,268 | not reported | 14,302 |
| 2012 | not reported | $13,333 | $10,098 | not reported | 14,602 |
| 2013 | not reported | $13,265 | $10,084 | not reported | 14,685 |
| 2014 | not reported | $12,601 | $8,988 | not reported | 15,286 |
| 2015 | not reported | $14,191 | $10,502 | not reported | 14,982 |
| 2016 | not reported | $14,259 | $10,719 | not reported | 15,411 |
| 2017 | not reported | $14,316 | $10,853 | not reported | 14,945 |
| 2018 | not reported | $13,937 | $9,910 | not reported | 15,159 |
| 2019 | not reported | $14,560 | $10,368 | not reported | 14,153 |
| 2020 | not reported | $15,491 | $11,241 | $63,534 | 13,077 |
| 2021 | not reported | $15,597 | $12,474 | not reported | 11,525 |
| 2022 | not reported | $16,520 | $12,366 | not reported | 11,208 |
| 2023 | not reported | $18,002 | $14,975 | not reported | 13,053 |
| 2024 | not reported | $18,226 | $14,580 | not reported | 12,176 |
College Scorecard annual institution files, 1996 to 2026
Similar schools
These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.
Sources & caveats
Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.
- not reported
- Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
- Percentiles
- A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
- Earnings
- Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
- U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
- Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
- Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.