Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College vs Clark Atlanta University

Metric	Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College	Clark Atlanta University
Undergraduate enrollment	3,208	3,603
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	75.7%	64.2%
Average SAT	990	—
Median ACT	19	19
In-state tuition	$3,268	$28,310
Out-of-state tuition	$10,588	$28,310
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$6,842	$37,702
Median debt at graduation	$16,750	$27,000
Graduation rate	36.1%	49.0%
First-year retention	69.2%	70.7%
Median salary (10 yr)	$34,996	$42,712

Metric

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Clark Atlanta University

Undergraduate enrollment

3,208

3,603

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

75.7%

64.2%

Average SAT

990

—

Median ACT

In-state tuition

$3,268

$28,310

Out-of-state tuition

$10,588

$28,310

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$6,842

$37,702

Median debt at graduation

$16,750

$27,000

Graduation rate

36.1%

49.0%

First-year retention

69.2%

70.7%

Median salary (10 yr)

$34,996

$42,712

What the numbers say

Clark Atlanta University is the harder admit at 64.2%, against 75.7% at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College costs less after aid — $6,842 a year versus $37,702, a difference of $30,860 annually, or roughly $123,440 across four years.
Clark Atlanta University graduates report higher median earnings — $42,712 against $34,996 ten years after entry.
Clark Atlanta University graduates a larger share of its students — 49.0% versus 36.1%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College comes out ahead at 5.1× versus 1.1×.

How to actually choose

Comparison tables are a starting point, not a decision. Three things matter more than anything in the table above:

Your real aid offer. Net price is an average across all income levels. Two students at the same school can pay amounts that differ by tens of thousands. Wait for actual award letters before ruling anything out on cost.
Your intended major. Earnings vary more between majors at one school than between schools for one major. A computer science graduate from the "lower earning" school here will likely out-earn a general studies graduate from the other.
Whether you will finish. Graduation rate is the metric most predictive of whether the money spent turns into a credential. Campus fit, support services, and commute all feed into it more than prestige does.

Visit before you commit

Both Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Clark Atlanta University run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.