Public · Community college

Georgia Highlands College

Rome, Georgia · Small suburb

37%
Transfer rate
$6,928
Avg net price
21%
Grad / completion
$43,184
Median earnings

Georgia Highlands College is a public associate-granting institution in Rome, Georgia (small suburb setting), enrolling 4,761 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 4,761 undergradsSmall suburbNJCAA Division ICold winters

About Rome, Georgia

Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. The Abihka tribe of Creek in the area of Rome later became part of the Upper Creek people (who occupied the Northern Creek territory, called themselves the Muscogee). Rome has long had the strength of economic diversity, with an economy founded in manufacturing, education, healthcare, technology, tourism, and other industries. In 1954, General Electric established a factory to build medium transformers. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small suburb
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
55 miles to Atlanta, GA
To the ocean
260 miles
Nearest airport
56 miles to DeKalb Peachtree (PDK)

How Georgia Highlands College compares

Graduation rate21%

Higher than 5% · #66 of 72 in Georgia

First-year retention59%

Higher than 22%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$43,184

Higher than 79% · #7 of 66 in Georgia

Average net price$6,928

Cheaper than 82% · #17 cheapest of 73 in Georgia

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio21 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment4,761

Larger than 91%

Percentiles compare Georgia Highlands College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Georgia.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

4,761undergrads
  • Women3,06564%
  • Men1,69636%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White55%
  • Black18%
  • Hispanic20%
  • Asian1.3%
  • Other or multiracial6.1%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,761
Student–faculty ratio
21 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
41%
First-generation students
41%
Students over 25
28%
Median family income
$30,709
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$59,454
Endowment
$3,718,002

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 931 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Georgia90%
  • Other U.S. states8.2%
  • International1.9%

Most first-years stay in state — Georgia Highlands College draws overwhelmingly from Georgia.

2% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$3,120
Out-of-state tuition
$10,080
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,000
Total cost of attendance
$13,389
Average net price
$6,928

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)
21%
Graduated on time (4 years)
20%
First-year retention
59%
Transferred to another college
37%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$37,516
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$43,184
Median debt at graduation
$12,000
Students with federal loans
17%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
37%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
20%
Low-income (Pell)
19%
First-generation
19%

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
$30
Athletics
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
79 (57 men · 22 women)

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%.

Varsity sports (3)

Baseball45
Softball22
Basketball12

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
3
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 5 campuses (5,382 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.

1.0reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
1.0

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
$5,473
$30–48k
$5,989
$48–75k
$7,827
$75–110k
$10,618
$110k+
$12,363

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
$31,683

$7,827/year × about 4.0 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.

6%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,663
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 6% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,663. 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 711 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)
$43,184
Typical debt at graduation
$12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
28%
Out-earn a HS grad
49%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 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
$38,922
Men
$49,478

Men out-earn women by $10,556 (27%) 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
90°F
Winter low
30°F
Annual rain
55.1″
Annual snow
0.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.75.4JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Rome, GA US station (5.7 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 Georgia Highlands College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Georgia Highlands College side by side →

Colleges near Georgia Highlands College

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.