by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of students are not billed the advertised price of a school. Instead, they will be provided a financial aid package that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The sum total of attendance at Columbia Southern University can sound overpowering, but remember that the majority of students get some type of financial assistance.
What financial aid options can Columbia Southern University offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep going to find out what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Columbia Southern University.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
At Columbia Southern University, 63% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 151 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 45% | $4,983 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 5% | $421 |
| Federal Pell grants | 43% | $5,272 |
| State/local grants | 0% | — |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $6,062 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At Columbia Southern University, about 28% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $4,295 (covering around 3633 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 28% | $4,295 |
| Federal Pell grants | 24% | $4,655 |
| Federal student loans | 26% | $6,738 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $3,646.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $14,278 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $14,981 |
| Over $75,000 | $16,914 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
After grants and scholarships come off the published price, what remains is the net price — the best estimate of true out-of-pocket cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $14,580 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $14,975 |
To project your own net price, use Columbia Southern University’s net price calculator: www.columbiasouthern.edu/tuition-financing.
Graduating students at Columbia Southern University carry a median federal student debt of $13,980 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $13,980 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $21,339 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $226.23/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at Columbia Southern University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,760 |
| 25th percentile | $4,109 |
| 75th percentile | $21,325 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,965 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,385 |
| Middle income | $13,803 |
| High income | $12,502 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,406 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,415 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,951 |
| Independent students | $14,750 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at Columbia Southern University.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at Columbia Southern University:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 38471 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $937,708,259 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 2425 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $11,205,249 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $4,621 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 3353 |
| Total DoD amount | $7,666,913 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,287 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.