Covenant College vs Piedmont University

Metric	Covenant College	Piedmont University
Undergraduate enrollment	939	1,117
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	86.5%	93.3%
Average SAT	1,294	1,129
Median ACT	26	23
In-state tuition	$42,040	$31,700
Out-of-state tuition	$42,040	$31,700
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$26,265	$20,599
Median debt at graduation	$22,500	$25,000
Graduation rate	71.5%	47.4%
First-year retention	88.2%	69.8%
Median salary (10 yr)	$50,412	$49,130

Metric

Covenant College

Piedmont University

Undergraduate enrollment

939

1,117

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

86.5%

93.3%

Average SAT

1,294

1,129

Median ACT

In-state tuition

$42,040

$31,700

Out-of-state tuition

$42,040

$31,700

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$26,265

$20,599

Median debt at graduation

$22,500

$25,000

Graduation rate

71.5%

47.4%

First-year retention

88.2%

69.8%

Median salary (10 yr)

$50,412

$49,130

What the numbers say

Covenant College is the harder admit at 86.5%, against 93.3% at Piedmont University.
Piedmont University costs less after aid — $20,599 a year versus $26,265, a difference of $5,666 annually, or roughly $22,664 across four years.
Covenant College graduates report higher median earnings — $50,412 against $49,130 ten years after entry.
Covenant College graduates a larger share of its students — 71.5% versus 47.4%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Piedmont University comes out ahead at 2.4× versus 1.9×.

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 Covenant College and Piedmont University run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.