Private for-profit · University

South University-Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia · Large city

Admit rate
$27,843
Avg net price
8%
Graduation rate
$34,421
Median earnings

South University-Virginia Beach is a private for-profit bachelor's-granting institution in Virginia Beach, Virginia (large city setting), enrolling 240 undergraduates.

Private for-profitSmall · 240 undergradsLarge cityCold wintersNear the coast

About Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The Chesepian occupied an area which is now defined as the independent cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art features regularly changing exhibitions in a variety of media. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
9 miles to Norfolk, VA
To the ocean
6 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to Norfolk (ORF) · major hub

How South University-Virginia Beach compares

Graduation rate8%

Higher than 2% · #48 of 49 in Virginia

First-year retention100%

Higher than 98%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$34,421

Higher than 6% · #49 of 51 in Virginia

Average net price$27,843

Cheaper than 21% · #37 cheapest of 47 in Virginia

Median debt at graduation$26,123

Lower than 22%

Student–faculty ratio13 : 1

Lower than 50%

Undergraduate enrollment240

Larger than 14%

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

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

258students
  • Undergraduate24093%
  • Graduate187%

Undergraduates by gender

240undergrads
  • Women18376%
  • Men5724%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White15%
  • Black57%
  • Hispanic11%
  • Asian5.4%
  • Other or multiracial11%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
240
Graduate enrollment
18
Student–faculty ratio
13 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
53%
First-generation students
47%
Students over 25
78%
Median family income
$20,000
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$59,976

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$18,145
Room & board
Books & supplies
$540
Total cost of attendance
$36,577
Average net price
$27,843

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)
8%
Graduated on time (4 years)
10%
First-year retention
100%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$34,115
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$34,421
Median debt at graduation
$26,123
Students with federal loans
42%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
19%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
10%
Low-income (Pell)
18%
First-generation
21%

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
$75

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%.

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
$25,368
$30–48k
$32,147
$48–75k
$30,964
$75–110k
$110k+

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
$123,856

$30,964/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.

Is it worth it?

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

Median earnings (10 years)
$34,421
Typical debt at graduation
$26,123
Debt vs. one year's pay
76%
Out-earn a HS grad
48%

Typical debt would take roughly 7.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

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
$32,983
Men
$40,459

Men out-earn women by $7,476 (23%) 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
87°F
Winter low
32°F
Annual rain
46.6″
Annual snow
3.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.95.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Oceana Nas, VA US station (5.2 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 South University-Virginia Beach

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare South University-Virginia Beach side by side →

Colleges near South University-Virginia Beach

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.