Clemson University
Public Research University in Clemson, SC. Six-year graduation rate 87%. Median 10-year earnings $71,513.
A decade after enrolling, the median Clemson University student earns $71,513 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. Completion is a strength: 87% of students finish within six years. Graduates carry a median of $21,500 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.30 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 87% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Clemson University admits 38% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in five applicants are turned away. The applicant pool is large — 61,517 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. About 21% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 35% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 620–700 | 1,698 (35%) |
| SAT Math | 620–710 | |
| ACT Composite | 28–32 | 966 (20%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Clemson University →Academics
A 87% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 93% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 23,091 undergraduates puts this among the larger schools, which usually means more choice and less individual attention.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 22,778 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $25,003 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $13,607 at $0–30k versus $27,922 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 77% of students at an average of $13,365. About 32% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 4,504 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $13,607 |
| $30–48k | $14,109 |
| $48–75k | $18,851 |
| $75–110k | $24,833 |
| $110k+ | $27,922 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,196 of these 22,778 students, totalling $46,319,098 — an average of $6,437 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Pickens County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)