Private nonprofit · College

Paine College

Augusta, Georgia · Midsize city

95.4%
Admit rate
$16,670
Avg net price
14%
Graduation rate
$33,338
Median earnings

Paine College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Augusta, Georgia (midsize city setting), enrolling 388 undergraduates. It is a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). It has a United Methodist religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 388 undergradsMidsize cityAccessible · 95% admitNCCAA Division I

About Augusta, Georgia

Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Richmond County. In 1735, two years after James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, he sent a detachment of troops to explore the upper Savannah River. He gave them an order to build a fort at the head of the navigable part of the river. There are 10 historic districts throughout the city of Augusta. The most prominent, Augusta Downtown Historic District, encompasses most of downtown Augusta and its pre-Civil War area. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
1 mile to Augusta, GA
To the ocean
92 miles
Nearest airport
7 miles to Augusta Regional At Bush Field (AGS)

How Paine College compares

Selectivity95.4%

More selective than 13% · #41 most selective of 46 in Georgia

Graduation rate14%

Higher than 4% · #50 of 54 in Georgia

First-year retention54%

Higher than 8%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$33,338

Higher than 5% · #54 of 54 in Georgia

Average net price$16,670

Cheaper than 65% · #24 cheapest of 54 in Georgia

Student–faculty ratio11 : 1

Lower than 68%

Undergraduate enrollment388

Larger than 18%

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

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

388undergrads
  • Women21555%
  • Men17345%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • Black95%
  • Hispanic4.9%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
388
Student–faculty ratio
11 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
76%
First-generation students
38%
Students over 25
15%
Median family income
$21,579
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$32,931
Endowment
$11,639,007

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 120 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Georgia73%
  • Other U.S. states26%
  • International0.8%

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

1% 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.

Admissions

Admission rate
95.4%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$14,596
Room & board
$7,512
Books & supplies
$2,500
Total cost of attendance
$27,431
Average net price
$16,670

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)
14%
Graduated on time (4 years)
4%
First-year retention
54%
Transferred to another college
36%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$25,240
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$33,338
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
76%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
11%

About 10% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
296
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
76%
Housing charge (year)
$3,136
Meal plan (year)
$4,376
Application fee
$25
Athletics
NCCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
116 (59 men · 57 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 (6)

Basketball29
Baseball25
Track and Field (Outdoor)20
Softball15
Golf14
Volleyball13

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.6 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (390 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
0.7 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
0.7
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
$15,322
$30–48k
$14,959
$48–75k
$17,233
$75–110k
$23,604
$110k+
$20,388

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
$86,756

$17,233/year × about 5.0 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.

29%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$5,886
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 29% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,886. 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 84 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)
$33,338
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
27%
Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$32,771
Men
$35,659

Men out-earn women by $2,888 (9%) 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
94°F
Winter low
40°F
Annual rain
44.8″
Annual snow
0.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.55.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Augusta Daniel Fld AP, GA US station (2.6 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 Paine College

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

Colleges near Paine 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.