Columbia International University

Not to be confused with Columbia University in New York, Columbia International University is another private institution in Columbia, South Carolina (less than 10 miles from Benedict College, in fact). To be fair, Columbia International University has been ranked as the number one college in South Carolina and offers a wide variety of programs, as well as a 68% graduation rate.

But that doesn’t help its case as a money-smart option, according to PayScale. The small number of students at Columbia International University pay over $33,000 a year for their education and, upon graduation, find themselves hard up to land a job that can make up for the cost of their education. PayScale judges the ROI at Columbia International University to be -$115,700.