by our College Data Analytics TeamHere’s the full picture on paying for Columbia College, from sticker cost of attendance and projected degree cost to net price, debt at graduation, and aid breakdowns.
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The cost of attendance at Columbia College stands at about $37,840.00 a year.
The blocks below show what you would pay with no aid, with average aid, and as a low-income student.
| Tuition and fees | $22,214.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $15,626.00 |
| Total cost | $37,840.00 |
| That is 15% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $37,840.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$16,850.00 |
| Net price | $20,990.00 |
| That is 36% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $37,840.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$17,717.00 |
| Net price | $20,123.00 |
| That is 39% below the national average net price. | |
| For the full breakdown, see tuition and fees plus living costs. |
Costs have trended upward in recent years at a recent average of 2.1% annually, so the projections below total more than one year of attendance. The detailed projections below compare a degree for a low-income aided student, an average-aid student, and a no-aid student. Loan totals assume a ten-year repayment at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| Freshman year | $20,544.00 | $21,429.00 | $38,631.00 |
| Senior year | $21,860.00 | $22,802.00 | $41,107.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $84,790.00 | $88,443.00 | $159,442.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $32,302.00 | $33,694.00 | $60,742.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $976.00 | $1,018.00 | $1,835.00 |
| Total amount paid | $117,092.00 | $122,137.00 | $220,184.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| Freshman year | $20,544.00 | $21,429.00 | $38,631.00 |
| Senior year | $20,974.00 | $21,877.00 | $39,440.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $41,518.00 | $43,306.00 | $78,071.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $15,817.00 | $16,498.00 | $29,742.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $478.00 | $498.00 | $898.00 |
| Total amount paid | $57,334.00 | $59,804.00 | $107,813.00 |
Read more in the net-price section.
Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published sticker price. It is usually a better planning number than the sticker cost above.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $18,408.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $23,650.00 |
Net price is far from uniform: lower-income families typically pay much less after aid. The breakdown below splits average net price across income brackets:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $23,126.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $20,687.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $22,849.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $26,163.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $27,106.00 |
Run your own numbers with the Columbia College Net Price Calculator, or visit the financial aid office.
Curious how grants and scholarships are distributed? Explore the financial aid breakdown.
The typical debt load for borrowers leaving Columbia College is $14,750.00, placing the school in the Low ($10-20k) debt-load classification.
Here’s how debt at graduation distributes across borrowers:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $3,260.00 |
| 25th | $5,960.00 |
| Median (50th) | $14,750.00 |
| 75th | $24,625.00 |
| 90th | $34,000.00 |
How far apart the 10th and 90th percentiles sit tells you how uneven debt outcomes are.
Explore borrowing, repayment, and default in detail on the student loan debt detail.
Median debt at graduation differs meaningfully across income brackets. The table below divides borrowers into three income tiers:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,000.00 |
| Middle income | $16,079.00 |
| High income | $18,781.00 |
First-generation students frequently graduate with different debt than continuing-generation students.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,953.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,750.00 |
First-gen borrowers at Columbia College hold $203.00 in extra median debt compared with continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Looking at Pell recipients versus non-recipients tells us how debt is distributed across need.
The median debt gap between Pell and non-Pell graduates of Columbia College comes to $-1,378.00.
The federal default-rate tier for Columbia College is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 8.5% |
To put the rates in context, Stafford loans at Columbia College add up to $199,860,505.00 spread across 9,030 borrowers.
Veteran and active-military students often access dedicated federal aid programs including the GI Bill and Tuition Assistance from the Department of Defense.
| GI Bill recipients | 74 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $10,575.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 7 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $3,036.00 |
Dig into veteran education benefits on the college veterans page.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through Columbia College, a few questions are worth asking:
Each page below covers one part of paying for college in more detail:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.