South University-Savannah Online vs Valdosta State University

Metric	South University-Savannah Online	Valdosta State University
Undergraduate enrollment	6,433	6,622
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	—	72.3%
Average SAT	—	1,013
Median ACT	—	20
In-state tuition	$18,145	$6,124
Out-of-state tuition	$18,145	$17,836
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$28,049	$10,945
Median debt at graduation	$26,123	$24,779
Graduation rate	6.9%	42.4%
First-year retention	34.0%	71.9%
Median salary (10 yr)	$34,421	$49,361

Metric

South University-Savannah Online

Valdosta State University

Undergraduate enrollment

6,433

6,622

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

—

72.3%

Average SAT

—

1,013

Median ACT

—

In-state tuition

$18,145

$6,124

Out-of-state tuition

$18,145

$17,836

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$28,049

$10,945

Median debt at graduation

$26,123

$24,779

Graduation rate

6.9%

42.4%

First-year retention

34.0%

71.9%

Median salary (10 yr)

$34,421

$49,361

What the numbers say

Valdosta State University costs less after aid — $10,945 a year versus $28,049, a difference of $17,104 annually, or roughly $68,416 across four years.
Valdosta State University graduates report higher median earnings — $49,361 against $34,421 ten years after entry.
Valdosta State University graduates a larger share of its students — 42.4% versus 6.9%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Valdosta State University comes out ahead at 4.5× versus 1.2×.

How to actually choose

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