As a new school year begins and summer fades into memory, students are (mostly) hard at work earning their college degree.
Some may have just started their college career, others may be a few credits from finishing, but nearly all are there to graduate, get that diploma, and start earning a living in the real world. For most of us, though, our alma matter never really leaves us. We all like to think we went to the best school and got the best education, but that can’t be true for everyone, right?
Students in Georgia are no different, and that got us curious, so we looked into the data to identify which colleges provide the best opportunity to earn a good income post-graduation without breaking the bank to get there. Put another way, students who graduate from these colleges earn the most money relative to what they paid to attend.
Our data comes straight out of the most recent College Scorecard release, which tracks everything from attendance figures and acceptance rate to student debt and more.
At the bottom we’ve included a full list, but first, here’s a quick look at the top 10 best value colleges in Georgia:
- Augusta University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Georgia
- Chamberlain University-Georgia
- Emory University
- University of North Georgia
- Luther Rice College & Seminary
- University of Phoenix – Georgia
- Strayer University – Georgia
- Shorter University – Adult and Professional Programs
Leveraging the data from College Scorecard, we looked at three variables:
- The cost of attendance
- Earnings 6 years post-enrollment (early career)
- Earnings 10 years post-enrollment (established career)
From there, we limited our list to remove community colleges so we could focus specifically on primarily undergraduate institutions. Finally, we ranked the remaining 56 colleges on each attribute and averaged the three values to determine which ones had outcomes of strong career earnings in the short and long term without being prohibitively expensive.
When the dust had settled, Augusta University held the title of the “Best Value College in Georgia.”
Best Value Colleges in Georgia
| Rank | College | Cost of Attendance | Early Career Earnings | Established Career Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Augusta University | $17,946 | $52,300 | $70,600 |
| 2 | Georgia Institute of Technology | $27,245 | $66,100 | $85,900 |
| 3 | University of Georgia | $26,022 | $45,200 | $59,100 |
| 4 | Chamberlain University – Georgia | $36,654 | $69,800 | $60,400 |
| 5 | Emory University | $65,080 | $65,500 | $84,400 |
| 6 | University of North Georgia | $15,405 | $37,300 | $46,200 |
| 7 | Luther Rice College & Seminary | $21,736 | $41,700 | $45,400 |
| 8 | University of Phoenix – Georgia | $20,940 | $34,200 | $54,900 |
| 9 | Strayer University-Georgia | $27,744 | $38,400 | $53,500 |
| 10 | Shorter University – Adult & Professional Programs | $24,635 | $36,600 | $50,100 |
| 11 | Georgia State University | $24,857 | $38,100 | $48,200 |
| 12 | Armstrong State University | $18,876 | $36,000 | $44,000 |
| 13 | Georgia Southern University | $22,467 | $36,800 | $46,100 |
| 14 | Mercer University | $50,080 | $40,400 | $58,200 |
| 15 | Clayton State University | $17,102 | $35,900 | $42,300 |
| 16 | DeVry University – Georgia | $33,896 | $37,600 | $50,300 |
| 17 | Shorter University | $33,718 | $36,600 | $50,100 |
| 18 | Georgia College & State University | $27,273 | $37,500 | $45,200 |
| 19 | Brenau University | $41,302 | $41,300 | $45,400 |
| 20 | Piedmont College | $35,493 | $40,200 | $43,400 |
| 21 | Argosy University – Atlanta | $25,310 | $34,100 | $45,700 |
| 22 | Valdosta State University | $19,553 | $33,200 | $41,600 |
| 23 | Life University | $34,988 | $36,500 | $47,200 |
| 24 | University of West Georgia | $21,257 | $33,900 | $41,700 |
| 25 | Georgia Southwestern State University | $19,522 | $32,900 | $40,100 |
| 26 | American InterContinental University – Atlanta | $24,975 | $33,200 | $45,200 |
| 27 | Columbus State University | $18,559 | $31,100 | $38,800 |
| 28 | Thomas University | $29,991 | $38,700 | $37,400 |
| 29 | Oglethorpe University | $50,428 | $37,500 | $49,400 |
| 30 | Spelman College | $46,359 | $34,700 | $50,700 |
| 31 | Middle Georgia State University | $14,618 | $29,400 | $35,000 |
| 32 | LaGrange College | $41,837 | $36,100 | $45,700 |
| 33 | Dalton State College | $11,098 | $28,000 | $34,700 |
| 34 | Morehouse College | $47,888 | $34,600 | $49,000 |
| 35 | Covenant College | $44,576 | $35,100 | $46,700 |
| 36 | Savannah State University | $16,498 | $26,200 | $35,000 |
| 37 | South University-Savannah Online | $27,750 | $32,500 | $40,200 |
| 38 | Beulah Heights University | $22,710 | $29,800 | $36,900 |
| 39 | South University-Savannah | $29,387 | $32,500 | $40,200 |
| 40 | Herzing University – Atlanta | $28,345 | $30,100 | $41,600 |
| 41 | Fort Valley State University | $19,655 | $25,500 | $34,700 |
| 42 | Reinhardt University | $35,057 | $33,500 | $40,500 |
| 43 | Agnes Scott College | $50,892 | $33,200 | $46,300 |
| 44 | Berry College | $48,001 | $32,300 | $43,900 |
| 45 | Point University | $30,320 | $30,200 | $34,700 |
| 46 | Brewton-Parker College | $30,900 | $29,800 | $35,100 |
| 47 | Emmanuel College | $28,282 | $26,700 | $35,400 |
| 48 | Wesleyan College | $31,898 | $27,800 | $37,600 |
| 49 | Truett McConnell University | $30,013 | $25,900 | $37,100 |
| 50 | Paine College | $24,782 | $21,400 | $29,700 |
| 51 | Young Harris College | $41,778 | $29,300 | $41,300 |
| 52 | The Art Institute of Atlanta | $30,433 | $27,100 | $36,000 |
| 53 | Clark Atlanta University | $37,761 | $28,400 | $38,200 |
| 54 | Savannah College of Art and Design | $54,483 | $32,700 | $41,400 |
| 55 | Toccoa Falls College | $34,431 | $28,000 | $32,200 |
Sources:
- College Scorecard. “Educational Outcome Data.” https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/. 12/2/2019.
