Helms College vs Miller-Motte College-Columbus

Metric	Helms College	Miller-Motte College-Columbus
Undergraduate enrollment	183	190
In-state tuition	$17,924	—
Out-of-state tuition	$17,924	—
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$25,358	$21,179
Median debt at graduation	$9,500	$15,917
Graduation rate	36.4%	12.8%
First-year retention	86.7%	45.2%
Median salary (10 yr)	—	$31,102

Metric

Helms College

Miller-Motte College-Columbus

Undergraduate enrollment

183

190

In-state tuition

$17,924

—

Out-of-state tuition

$17,924

—

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$25,358

$21,179

Median debt at graduation

$9,500

$15,917

Graduation rate

36.4%

12.8%

First-year retention

86.7%

45.2%

Median salary (10 yr)

—

$31,102

What the numbers say

Miller-Motte College-Columbus costs less after aid — $21,179 a year versus $25,358, a difference of $4,179 annually, or roughly $16,716 across four years.
Helms College graduates a larger share of its students — 36.4% versus 12.8%.

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 Helms College and Miller-Motte College-Columbus run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.