Private nonprofit · University

Franklin University

Columbus, Ohio · Large city

Admit rate
$25,243
Avg net price
11%
Graduation rate
$51,892
Median earnings

Franklin University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Columbus, Ohio (large city setting), enrolling 5,562 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitMidsize · 5,562 undergradsLarge cityCold winters

About Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D., the Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders, including the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it also maintains its own register, the Columbus Register of Historic Properties, with 82 entries. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
Columbus, OH
To Great Lakes shore
102 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to John Glenn Columbus (CMH) · major hub

How Franklin University compares

Graduation rate11%

Higher than 3% · #72 of 73 in Ohio

First-year retention36%

Higher than 2%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$51,892

Higher than 44% · #39 of 74 in Ohio

Average net price$25,243

Cheaper than 28% · #53 cheapest of 73 in Ohio

Median debt at graduation$20,836

Lower than 70%

Student–faculty ratio17 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment5,562

Larger than 79%

Percentiles compare Franklin University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Ohio.

Franklin University campus

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

8,831students
  • Undergraduate5,56263%
  • Graduate3,26937%

Undergraduates by gender

5,562undergrads
  • Women3,39661%
  • Men2,16639%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White53%
  • Black20%
  • Hispanic7.8%
  • Asian2.1%
  • Other or multiracial17%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
5,562
Graduate enrollment
3,269
Student–faculty ratio
17 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
37%
First-generation students
50%
Students over 25
73%
Median family income
$29,655
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$93,051
Endowment
$11,801,000

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$9,577
Room & board
Books & supplies
$552
Total cost of attendance
$30,696
Average net price
$25,243

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
11%
Graduated on time (4 years)
3%
First-year retention
36%
Transferred to another college
67%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$49,189
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$51,892
Median debt at graduation
$20,836
Students with federal loans
41%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
32%

About 8% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
3%
Low-income (Pell)
40%
First-generation
42%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
Free

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (9,457 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.3reported offenses a year
0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$24,968
$30–48k
$25,876
$48–75k
$24,690
$75–110k
$25,389
$110k+
$29,964

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$126,195

$24,690/year × about 5.1 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

14%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$556
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 14% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $556. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 22 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$51,892
Typical debt at graduation
$20,836
Debt vs. one year's pay
40%
Out-earn a HS grad
69%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$47,444
Men
$62,280

Men out-earn women by $14,836 (31%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
85°F
Winter low
21°F
Annual rain
44.7″
Annual snow
28.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Columbus Wcmh, OH US station (5 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Franklin University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Franklin University side by side →

Colleges near Franklin University

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.