Quad

Outcomes

What it pays

Former students earn a median $38,427 ten years after enrolling, more than at 11% of colleges; 39% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 1.5 years of that salary.

Earnings

Median earnings vs. every college$38.4K
$38.4K
← $24.8Khigher than 11% of 1,762$108.8K →

Earnings climb with time

6 years after entry$25.3K
10 years after entry$38.4K

Staying and finishing

66%

Retention

come back for year two

39%

Graduation

graduate within six years

National median graduation rate: 59%

Everyone who starts here, 8 years later

Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.

44 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 31 more are enrolled at another college. (367 students)

Earned a credential within 8 years

All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.

Pell Grant recipients43%
Students without a Pell Grant47%
How long it takes

34 of 100 finish within 4 years, 43 within 6, and 44 within 8.

Earned a credential within4 yrs6 yrs8 yrs
All students34%43%44%
Started in college here32%42%43%
Transferred in42%47%48%

Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.

National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.

Do lower-income students finish?

First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.

  • Pell Grant recipients244 students

    28%

  • Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant22 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

  • Neither Pell nor subsidized loan27 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

All students in this class: 30%

By race and ethnicity

First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.

  • Hispanic/Latino6 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

  • Black266 students

    29% · 2 points below all students

  • Two or more races10 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

  • International9 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander2 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

All students (IPEDS, entered fall 2018): 30%

Cost vs. earnings

The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Philander Smith University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.

PublicPrivateDot size = undergrads

↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)

Lower cost, higher earnings$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120K$140K$160K$0$10K$20K$30K$40K$50K$60K$70K$80KPhilander Smith University
Average cost per year, all students (est.) → more expensive

Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)