Francis Marion University
Public College in Florence, SC. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $43,888.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $43,888 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 43%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation reaches $27,000, heavy enough to shape the years right after the degree.
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 0.62 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
Francis Marion University admits 86% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 3,616 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. About 23% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below rest on the 16% 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 | 450–575 | 111 (16%) |
| SAT Math | 420–540 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–24 | 79 (11%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Francis Marion University →Academics
43% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 70% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. 37% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The 13:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,640 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $11,727 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($9,723 versus $17,435), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 89% receive grants worth $10,924 on average. About 53% 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 · 627 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 | $9,723 |
| $30–48k | $9,449 |
| $48–75k | $11,582 |
| $75–110k | $13,788 |
| $110k+ | $17,435 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,394 of these 2,640 students, totalling $9,004,340 — an average of $6,459 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Florence 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)