Paine College vs South University-Savannah

Metric	Paine College	South University-Savannah
Undergraduate enrollment	388	270
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	95.4%	—
In-state tuition	$14,596	$18,145
Out-of-state tuition	$14,596	$18,145
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$16,670	$28,743
Median debt at graduation	—	$26,123
Graduation rate	14.4%	9.1%
First-year retention	53.6%	22.2%
Median salary (10 yr)	$33,338	$34,421

Metric

Paine College

South University-Savannah

Undergraduate enrollment

388

270

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

95.4%

—

In-state tuition

$14,596

$18,145

Out-of-state tuition

$14,596

$18,145

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$16,670

$28,743

Median debt at graduation

—

$26,123

Graduation rate

14.4%

9.1%

First-year retention

53.6%

22.2%

Median salary (10 yr)

$33,338

$34,421

What the numbers say

Paine College costs less after aid — $16,670 a year versus $28,743, a difference of $12,073 annually, or roughly $48,292 across four years.
South University-Savannah graduates report higher median earnings — $34,421 against $33,338 ten years after entry.
Paine College graduates a larger share of its students — 14.4% versus 9.1%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Paine College comes out ahead at 2.0× versus 1.2×.

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 Paine College and South University-Savannah run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.