College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Georgia College & State University

GAMedium public institution · Overall rank #690 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Georgia College & State University sits in Azimuth’s 53rd percentile overall among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Georgia College & State University is a public university in Milledgeville, Georgia, where the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Mobility is above average.

The typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools, yet graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts, while the factors it measures adds.

Return is around the average. Pell recipients complete at a lower rate than the overall cohort, and mobility is above average, while access is modestly below average.

The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands is modest. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the largest programs should go in knowing that the highest-earning ones are much smaller.

Georgia College & State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
78.2%
Six-year completion[2]
63.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$62,852

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,179
Median student debt[4]
$22,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$15,753

Georgia College & State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Georgia College & State University is a public university in Milledgeville, Georgia, enrolling 5,947 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (53rd percentile).

The four are spread out, with mobility the strongest and access the weakest, while return and affordability fall between them. The university admits 78.2% of applicants, a rate that is below the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 82.3% return for a second year and 63.6% finish within six years. Both figures run above the peer medians of 73.7% and 49.1%.

An estimated 10.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body. Mobility is the strongest pillar (71st percentile), while access is the weakest of the four (33rd percentile).

Return and affordability sit between them, with affordability at the 59th percentile and return at the 49th percentile. The shape is a public university where completion and retention run ahead of peers, but the pillars do not move together.

Mobility is the clearest part of the profile at Georgia College & State University, while access is its weakest pillar. Azimuth puts mobility in the 71st percentile, affordability in the 59th percentile, and return in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Access sits in the 33rd percentile. Stronger mobility and affordability results sit beside a less favorable access result.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,070 and 1,230. The middle 50% of ACT scores fell between 22 and 26.

The share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants is 17.6%. Among Pell recipients, 57.7% finish within six years, 5.9 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (63.6%).

Azimuth ranks the university #988 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #430 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Georgia College & State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#690

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 71
Access & reach
National percentile: 33
Affordability
National percentile: 59
Return on investment
National percentile: 49

01 / Georgia College & State University briefing

Georgia College & State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Georgia College & State University, the price after grant aid remains above the typical cost at comparable public universities. The published cost of attendance is $30,258, with in-state tuition and fees of $9,186 and room and board of $12,302.

Out-of-state tuition and fees are $29,512. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $20,686.

Financial aid reduces the published cost by $9,572 on average. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median net price of $14,068, and this university's average is $6,618 above that level.

Azimuth places affordability in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The moderate affordability standing sits alongside an above the peer median.

The published cost of attendance at Georgia College & State University is $30,258, before grants and scholarships alter the price for aid recipients. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,396 for the lowest-income family band, $16,772 for the lower-middle-income band, $19,179 for the middle-income band, $22,294 for the upper-middle-income band, and $23,216 for the highest-income family band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,820. Azimuth ranks the university #585 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 32% of the published cost, an average savings of $9,572. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $20,686.

That figure is $6,618 above the peer median of $14,068 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Published in-state tuition is $9,186, out-of-state tuition is $29,512, and room and board is $12,302.

Aid reduces the published price, though the average net price remains above that of comparable institutions. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,250.

This is $1,021 above the $21,229 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), and 89.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $15,753.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,179

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Georgia College & State University

At Georgia College & State University, federal borrowing is widespread: 89.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $22,250. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $21,229, with the university’s median $1,021 above that benchmark.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $15,753. The high borrowing share and debt level above the peer benchmark point to federal loans as a common part of the completion path.

Mobility is the strongest pillar at Georgia College & State University, though the investment picture has competing signals: earnings are relatively high, but the model expects more. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,852 four years after completion, in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students: Graduates earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 29th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios range from $49,368 in the downside scenario to $84,321 in the upside scenario, with $62,852 as the typical scenario. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $22,250, $1,021 above the peer median of $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-peer earnings and debt sit alongside lower-than-expected earnings.

Among parents who borrowed through Parent PLUS, median borrowing was $15,753. For student borrowers, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$22,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$15,753

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$253/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$200/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Georgia College & State University briefing

Georgia College & State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

The return picture at Georgia College & State University pairs earnings above comparable peers with a model result below expectations. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn $62,852 four years after completion, in the 60th percentile. This is $5,551 above the peer median of $57,301, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 29th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,344. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,283. The peer comparison and model result pull apart.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Georgia College & State University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,852. That is $5,551 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), based on an earnings cohort of 1,624 completers.

Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $49,368 on the downside to $84,321 on the upside, with the typical scenario at $62,852. An estimated 27.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At Georgia College & State University, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $62,852 four years after completion, in the 60th percentile. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median, the middle value for that group, is $57,301; the university’s figure is $5,551 above it.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 29th percentile. Graduates earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,344. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,283.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $335. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $49,368 and the upside at $84,321. The highest listed program median belongs to Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, which awarded 58 degrees and had median earnings of $97,653 four years after completion. That figure is 1.15x of the national median for its field.

The program mix yields a broad modeled earnings range, from a downside scenario of $49,368 to an upside scenario of $84,321. These are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

The debt and earnings outlook at Georgia College & State University is cautious. Median federal student loan debt for borrowers who completed is $22,250.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $21,229. That leaves the university above the peer median by $1,021.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, ranges from $15,396 for the lowest-income band to $23,216 for the highest-income band, with intermediate averages near $16,772, $19,179, and $22,294.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, add another cautionary note. Completers earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students.

The debt figure and the earnings-beyond-expectations result both point the same cautious direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,344
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$15,283
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$6,939

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Georgia College & State University briefing

Georgia College & State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At Georgia College & State University, 78.2% of applicants were admitted for the reported entering class. That is below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size), meaning the school admitted a smaller share than the middle institution in that group.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
78.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1070
Reported average
1163
Approximate upper endpoint
1230

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Georgia College & State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Georgia College & State University?[12]

The largest programs at Georgia College & State University span a wide earnings range four years after completion. Nursing awards 107 degrees and shows median earnings of $83,058.

Marketing, the largest program at 117 degrees, reports $71,560. The highest-earning programs are smaller.

Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management graduates earn a median of $97,653 from 58 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science follows at $96,335, with 21 degrees.

At the more moderate end, Research and Experimental Psychology awards 90 degrees and shows median earnings of $54,441. Journalism and Kinesiology and Physical Education sit in a similar band, at $57,843 and $55,817 respectively.

Georgia College & State University has a program mix centered on Business, which accounts for 22.7% of bachelor’s degrees awarded. Health Professions accounts for 16.0%, and Education for 8.0%.

Published earnings data cover 22 bachelor’s fields. Among fields with the highest published median earnings, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management awarded 58 degrees and had median earnings of $97,653 four years after completion.

The bachelor's degrees at Georgia College & State University are spread across a broad set of fields, with no single family dominating. Business accounts for 22.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 16.0% and Education at 8.0%.

The university has 22 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Marketing, at 117 degrees awarded, with Nursing close behind at 107 and Research and Experimental Psychology at 90.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management graduates earn a median of $97,653 four years after completion, from 58 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $96,335, with 21 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the second-largest program, also appears among the top earners at $83,058. The earnings picture is mixed across the largest programs: Marketing graduates earn $71,560 four years after completion, while Research and Experimental Psychology graduates earn $54,441 four years after completion.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration, with the largest programs spanning business, health, and the social sciences. The highest earnings come from technical and quantitative fields, which are not the largest by enrollment. Across all fields, 12.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Marketing 117 degrees awarded
$71,560
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 107 degrees awarded
$83,058
Research and Experimental Psychology 90 degrees awarded
$54,441
Journalism 83 degrees awarded
$57,843
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 81 degrees awarded
$55,817
Public Health 81 degrees awarded
$62,386

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Georgia College & State University briefing

How does Georgia College & State University serve students from different backgrounds?

The strongest measured pillar at Georgia College & State University is mobility, which ranks in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 63.6%, and Pell recipients finish at 57.7%, below the overall rate by 5.9 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $6,939 less than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations—the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students—in the 29th percentile. Those completion figures and the earnings result point in different directions.

Access at Georgia College & State University begins with an admission rate of 78.2%, alongside participation measures that show who is enrolled. The public university has 5,947 undergraduates; 17.6% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 10.5% are transfer-in students.

Azimuth puts its access pillar in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Admission, Pell participation, and transfer entry provide different views of access.

06 / Georgia College & State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Georgia College & State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Georgia College & State University.

Admissions peerUniversity of South Carolina Aiken78.5% admitted
Comparison with Georgia College & State University
MeasureGeorgia College & State UniversityUniversity of South Carolina Aiken
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,852$53,299-$9,553 vs Georgia College & State University
Average annual net price$20,686$11,641-$9,045 vs Georgia College & State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%78.5%
Higher-admission alternativeGeorgia Gwinnett College95.5% admitted
Comparison with Georgia College & State University
MeasureGeorgia College & State UniversityGeorgia Gwinnett College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,852$56,872-$5,980 vs Georgia College & State University
Average annual net price$20,686$15,844-$4,842 vs Georgia College & State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%95.5%
Explore Georgia Gwinnett College →
Nearby alternativeGeorgia Southwestern State UniversityNearby option · GA
Comparison with Georgia College & State University
MeasureGeorgia College & State UniversityGeorgia Southwestern State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,852$62,132-$720 vs Georgia College & State University
Average annual net price$20,686$12,019-$8,667 vs Georgia College & State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%75.2%
Higher-earnings alternativeCapitol Technology University$104,028 earnings
Comparison with Georgia College & State University
MeasureGeorgia College & State UniversityCapitol Technology University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,852$104,028+$41,176 vs Georgia College & State University
Average annual net price$20,686$22,102+$1,416 vs Georgia College & State University · higher cost
Admission rate78.2%74.4%
Explore Capitol Technology University →
Lower-cost alternativeGeorgia Southwestern State University$12,019 average net price
Comparison with Georgia College & State University
MeasureGeorgia College & State UniversityGeorgia Southwestern State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,852$62,132-$720 vs Georgia College & State University
Average annual net price$20,686$12,019-$8,667 vs Georgia College & State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%75.2%
Similar profileSalisbury UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Georgia College & State University
MeasureGeorgia College & State UniversitySalisbury University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,852$61,985-$867 vs Georgia College & State University
Average annual net price$20,686$17,743-$2,943 vs Georgia College & State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%87.5%
Explore Salisbury University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings