Berry College vs Fort Valley State University

Metric	Berry College	Fort Valley State University
Undergraduate enrollment	2,245	2,684
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	64.0%	65.9%
Average SAT	1,220	994
Median ACT	27	18
In-state tuition	$41,686	$5,526
Out-of-state tuition	$41,686	$16,932
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$22,320	$10,338
Median debt at graduation	$23,250	$31,000
Graduation rate	69.5%	41.1%
First-year retention	83.5%	78.5%
Median salary (10 yr)	$53,800	$36,666

Metric

Berry College

Fort Valley State University

Undergraduate enrollment

2,245

2,684

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

64.0%

65.9%

Average SAT

1,220

994

Median ACT

In-state tuition

$41,686

$5,526

Out-of-state tuition

$41,686

$16,932

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$22,320

$10,338

Median debt at graduation

$23,250

$31,000

Graduation rate

69.5%

41.1%

First-year retention

83.5%

78.5%

Median salary (10 yr)

$53,800

$36,666

What the numbers say

Berry College is the harder admit at 64.0%, against 65.9% at Fort Valley State University.
Fort Valley State University costs less after aid — $10,338 a year versus $22,320, a difference of $11,982 annually, or roughly $47,928 across four years.
Berry College graduates report higher median earnings — $53,800 against $36,666 ten years after entry.
Berry College graduates a larger share of its students — 69.5% versus 41.1%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Fort Valley State University comes out ahead at 3.5× versus 2.4×.

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 Berry College and Fort Valley State University run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.