Columbia College
Columbia College is a private nonprofit college in Columbia, MO, with about 1,940 students on campus and 4,106 more studying only online. Price, graduation and earnings figures on this page count online students too.
The short version on Columbia College
Most of Columbia College’s students study online
About 4,106 students take classes only online, against 1,940 on campus. Price, graduation and earnings figures on this page count online students too, so they describe the online college as much as the campus. The students ↓
Little price break for lower-income families
Families earning under $30,000 pay about $23,967 a year after grants, about the same as the $21,545 paid by families over $110,000. What it costs ↓
Many students are adults coming back to school
65% of undergraduates are 25 or older, and 50% study part-time. Graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students, so they leave many of these students out. The students ↓
A graduation gap for lower-income students
30% of students with Pell grants finish, against 42% overall, a gap of 13 points. 45% of undergraduates get Pell grants. Outcomes ↓
Students from wealthier families earn much more
Ten years after starting, students from families making over $75,000 earn a median $64,006. Students from families under $30,000 earn $39,155. Outcomes ↓
This summary is written from the data on this page. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard; price, graduation and earnings include online students; graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students.
The students
4,950 degree-seeking undergraduates.
By race and ethnicity
Women and men
How hard is it to get into Columbia College?
anyone with a high school diploma can enroll
Test scores of admitted students
No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Columbia College is likely test-optional.
The sticker price, and what families really pay
Sticker price: $37,207 a year
Before any grants
After grants, the average family on aid pays $22,715.
Your family’s price
Average net price after grants, by family income
About $86,200 over 4 years · 42% off the sticker price
Do students finish, and does it pay off?
Debt vs. the paycheck
The typical loan payment as a share of a typical graduate’s monthly pay six years after starting
$253 a month against about $3,396 a month in pay.
Paying back loans
Federal student loans, this college
of borrowers paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 27% of U.S. colleges.
Almost none defaulted within three years (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).
Earnings by family background
Median earnings 10 years after starting, by family income at enrollment
What students study, and what it pays
Share of degrees by field
Bachelor’s programs with the most graduates
And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).
Living in Columbia
22% of Columbia’s 130,851 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Columbia pages.
Other colleges within 30 miles
Straight-line distances from Columbia College; colleges with 100 or more students on campus.
Ask around
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings and debt are for students who received federal aid. Distances are straight-line. Colleges are described, not graded (how TownRatings describes colleges). Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.