Albany State University vs University of West Georgia

Metric	Albany State University	University of West Georgia
Undergraduate enrollment	5,956	7,520
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	—	51.6%
Average SAT	—	1,032
Median ACT	—	21
In-state tuition	$5,656	$6,088
Out-of-state tuition	$17,008	$17,800
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$11,898	$12,786
Median debt at graduation	$25,024	$23,970
Graduation rate	31.1%	43.5%
First-year retention	78.6%	77.5%
Median salary (10 yr)	$40,674	$49,587

Metric

Albany State University

University of West Georgia

Undergraduate enrollment

5,956

7,520

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

—

51.6%

Average SAT

—

1,032

Median ACT

—

In-state tuition

$5,656

$6,088

Out-of-state tuition

$17,008

$17,800

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$11,898

$12,786

Median debt at graduation

$25,024

$23,970

Graduation rate

31.1%

43.5%

First-year retention

78.6%

77.5%

Median salary (10 yr)

$40,674

$49,587

What the numbers say

Albany State University costs less after aid — $11,898 a year versus $12,786, a difference of $888 annually, or roughly $3,552 across four years.
University of West Georgia graduates report higher median earnings — $49,587 against $40,674 ten years after entry.
University of West Georgia graduates a larger share of its students — 43.5% versus 31.1%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — University of West Georgia comes out ahead at 3.9× versus 3.4×.

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 Albany State University and University of West Georgia run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.