LaGrange College vs Paine College

Metric	LaGrange College	Paine College
Undergraduate enrollment	636	388
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	62.1%	95.4%
In-state tuition	$35,400	$14,596
Out-of-state tuition	$35,400	$14,596
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$20,875	$16,670
Median debt at graduation	$25,730	—
Graduation rate	46.9%	14.4%
First-year retention	67.2%	53.6%
Median salary (10 yr)	$51,745	$33,338

Metric

LaGrange College

Paine College

Undergraduate enrollment

636

388

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

62.1%

95.4%

In-state tuition

$35,400

$14,596

Out-of-state tuition

$35,400

$14,596

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$20,875

$16,670

Median debt at graduation

$25,730

—

Graduation rate

46.9%

14.4%

First-year retention

67.2%

53.6%

Median salary (10 yr)

$51,745

$33,338

What the numbers say

LaGrange College is the harder admit at 62.1%, against 95.4% at Paine College.
Paine College costs less after aid — $16,670 a year versus $20,875, a difference of $4,205 annually, or roughly $16,820 across four years.
LaGrange College graduates report higher median earnings — $51,745 against $33,338 ten years after entry.
LaGrange College graduates a larger share of its students — 46.9% versus 14.4%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — LaGrange College comes out ahead at 2.5× versus 2.0×.

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 LaGrange College and Paine College run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.