A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 4× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full ~$24,239/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$34,724/yr) still runs about 4× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything.
  • Worth asking: do students finish? Only 33% graduate within six years here — the standard federal measure. Ask what drives that: course availability, transfers out, students working long hours. Not finishing is the costliest outcome there is.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

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Odds at Tougaloo College

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Most families report the weighted one — it's the higher number, with honors and AP credit in it.

This reads the numbers — admit rate, scores, GPA. The real decision also weighs essays, recommendations, activities, and course rigor.

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Live odds from each college's own published admissions data.

Parent/student verdict

Moderately selective

Solid match for academically prepared students. Heavy discounting — among aid recipients average ~$17,043/yr net; strong students should also check the merit grid.

Best for

  • Students drawn to Social Sciences or Biological & Biomedical Sciences (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

What are your child's odds here?

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Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.

Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Undergraduates
639
Under 1,000 including graduate students
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid at a given college pay this, minus any merit scholarships — whether you qualify depends on the college's price and policies, not on any fixed income line.
$12,407
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split) · 2023–24 federal figure
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
53.2%
Moderately selective
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$34,724
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$25,777
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$34,724
Graduate within 6 yrsThe share of students who start here and finish a bachelor's within six years — the standard federal measure, and the one College Scorecard publishes. It is not a four-year rate. Read it as the odds of finishing at all: nationally about a third of students who start never do, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision.
33%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$30,046

The real cost

What Tougaloo College actually costs

If you qualify for need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats.
$17,043/yr
average among aid-receiving families, all incomes — your number depends on your finances
If you don't
$24,239/yr
the full published price

Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Tougaloo College's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.

Get your family's number — Tougaloo College's Net Price Calculator ↗ 10–15 minutes; have a tax return handy. It's still an estimate — but it's this college's own, built from your family's numbers, not anyone's average.
Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.

The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways

+$250K ahead at full price +$279K with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs)
$96,956
~$24,239/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$68,172
$17,043/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$347,240
$34,724/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.8 yrs
at full price (2.0 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

What students study here

Most popular majors at Tougaloo College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Tougaloo College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Social Sciences
23 degrees · 31.9%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
2. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
22 degrees · 30.6%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
3. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness
10 degrees · 13.9%
Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.
4. Education
9 degrees · 12.5%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
5. Psychology
8 degrees · 11.1%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Tougaloo College's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Sociology. Bachelor's Degree 6 $42,121

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

AI program signal

AI + computing education at Tougaloo College

CS degrees (annual)
7
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Tougaloo College

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of South Carolina-Columbia
SC · Public
8 stats-based + 3 competitive scholarships
Auburn University
AL · Public
3 stats-based merit scholarships
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
TN · Public
2 stats-based merit scholarships
Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
CUNY Hunter College
NY · Public
$13,905/yr full price (in-state) · $10,334 less before aid for NY residents
CUNY Lehman College
NY · Public
$14,121/yr full price (in-state) · $10,118 less before aid for NY residents
CUNY Brooklyn College
NY · Public
$14,151/yr full price (in-state) · $10,088 less before aid for NY residents
Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
76% admit rate (vs 53% here)
Jackson State University
MS · Public
91% admit rate (vs 53% here)
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
98% admit rate (vs 53% here)

Or compare any college side-by-side

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Tougaloo College is a private nonprofit four-year college in MS. It admitted 53% of applicants (1,976 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.

Cost: about $17,043 a year on average with aid, $24,239 a year at full price.

Median earnings ten years after entry: $34,724 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $279,068 ahead with aid, $250,284 ahead at full price.

Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Sociology ($42,121).

Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/tougaloo-college.json

By major: Sociology
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What families ask next