Paine College
Augusta, Georgia · Private Nonprofit · 95.4% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 14/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Paine College earns a CampusROI score of 14 (Below Benchmark tier), with severe stress across every dimension of its outcomes data. Sticker tuition is $14,596 but the net price is $16,670 - net price EXCEEDS tuition, which signals that mandatory fees and room/board push the actual cost above the published tuition rate, with minimal grant aid offsetting. Earnings are $21,400 at six years and $33,338 at ten years. The completion rate is 14.4% (subscore 2) and the three-year repayment rate is 28.6% (subscore 1). The school's 999-year payback signal means earnings never recoup the cost. Median debt is not reported, so our debt-to-earnings measure gets a neutral middle score of 50 rather than counting the gap as a positive. Paine is a historic HBCU in Augusta, Georgia, enrolling just 388 students with a 75.6% Pell rate, meaning the school serves an extraordinarily high-need population whose outcomes are deeply concerning.
How Paine College scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score14/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- 6-year graduation rate14.4% - The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our score, since a degree that is not finished rarely pays back.
- Payback period>50 years - In our estimate, the earnings premium over a high school completer is small next to the cost, so the cost may not be recouped within a working career.
Paine College
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $14,596/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $14,596/yr |
| Average net price | $16,670/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $66,680 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $33,338 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $21,400 |
| Median debt at graduation | N/A |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | N/A |
| Estimated payback period | >50 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 14.4% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 388 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $14,596/year, which covers tuition and fees only. The net price counts books, supplies, and average living costs on top of tuition and fees, then subtracts grants and scholarships. For the average student here it comes to $16,670/year, or roughly $66,680 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $15,322/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $20,388/year.
The Department of Education does not report a median debt figure for this school, usually because too few students borrow federal loans for the figure to be published. Our ROI score gives this measure a neutral middle value rather than treating it as zero debt.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $15,322 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $14,959 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $17,233 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $23,604 |
| $110,001+ | $20,388 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families earning $0-30,000 pay $15,322 per year, totaling about $61,288 over four years. The 0-30K bracket actually pays slightly LESS than middle-income brackets here - a typical pattern but doesn't help when net price exceeds tuition. Pell grants are doing minimal work to offset costs. With $21,400 in early earnings and 14.4% completion, the math is fundamentally broken for this population.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
Middle-income families ($48,001-75,000) pay $17,233 per year, about $68,932 over four years. Note the bracket inversion: $75,001-110,000 families pay $23,604 (the highest) while $110,001-plus families pay $20,388 - a clear inverted pattern that suggests sparse data or inconsistent aid allocation. With $33,338 in ten-year median earnings, no middle-income financing structure recoups this cost.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Families above $110,000 pay $20,388 per year, less than the $75K-$110K bracket above - an inverted-bracket anomaly worth flagging. Total four-year cost runs about $81,552. At this price, outcomes include 14.4% completion and median ten-year earnings below high-school-grad baselines.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 20.5% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 28.6% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 23.5% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 26.6% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Paine College’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Acceptance rate | 95.4% |
| Enrollment | 388 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 75.6% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $3,659 |
Paine admits 95.4% of applicants, putting it in fully open-access territory. SAT and ACT mid-range data are not reported in current Scorecard data. The combination of essentially universal admission with a 14.4% completion rate represents an extreme structural mismatch: the school is admitting nearly every applicant but graduating fewer than one in seven. For most prospective students, the admission ease should not be read as a green light - the completion data is the binding signal.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paine College (this school) | 14 | $16,670 | $33,338 |
| Prairie View A & M University | 27 | $13,570 | $45,411 |
| Tuskegee University | 26 | $35,013 | $49,641 |
| Elizabeth City State University | 23 | $6,364 | $40,026 |
| Virginia State University | 21 | $15,840 | $45,543 |
| Edward Waters University | 15 | $13,649 | $34,782 |
Who Thrives Here
Paine serves primarily Black students from the Augusta/Aiken region with deep ties to the Methodist Episcopal Church heritage. Enrollment is just 388 students, with a 75.6% Pell rate. The institutional mission is historically significant; the completion rate is 14.4% and early-career earnings are $21,400, so most enrolling students leave without a credential.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Paine College scores 14/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $16,670 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $33,338 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, its 14.4% graduation rate, a three-year loan repayment rate of 28.6% (median across the schools we score: 73.6%), a long payback period.
Paine College: Common Questions
Is Paine College worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Paine College scores 14/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $16,670 a year after aid against $33,338 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Paine College cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $16,670 a year, or roughly $66,680 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Paine College graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $33,338 ten years after enrolling, at or below the $41,800 median for high-school graduates (NCES, 2022). With little earnings gap to cover the cost, the financial return is hard to make.
How long does it take to pay off Paine College?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at more than 50 years for Paine College. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
What is the graduation rate at Paine College?
The six-year graduation rate is 14.4%. The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
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Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.