Converse University
Private College in Spartanburg, SC. Six-year graduation rate 62%. Median 10-year earnings $40,867.
Students who entered Converse University reach a median of $40,867 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. 62% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $27,000 — a substantial load to service on these earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.66 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
68% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool runs to 2,979, typical for a school of this reach. Only 12% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 24% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 510–630 | 59 (24%) |
| SAT Math | 500–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–26 | 41 (17%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Converse University →Academics
62% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention of 80% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 802 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $19,061 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $14,137 while those at $110k+ pay $29,105. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $18,066. 61% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 233 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 | $14,137 |
| $30–48k | $18,500 |
| $48–75k | $23,610 |
| $75–110k | $24,754 |
| $110k+ | $29,105 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 489 of these 802 students, totalling $3,253,994 — an average of $6,654 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Spartanburg 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)