Lander University
Public College in Greenwood, SC. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $42,396.
Ten years after entry, the median Lander University student earns $42,396 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $25,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate 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
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
81% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 4,565 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield sits at 23% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 38% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 490–608 | 318 (38%) |
| SAT Math | 460–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–23 | 141 (17%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Lander University →Academics
50% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 70% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 26% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,367 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $15,520 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price varies modestly by income — $11,450 at $0–30k against $19,102 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is widespread — 87% of students receive it, averaging $11,998. 53% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 839 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 | $11,450 |
| $30–48k | $11,778 |
| $48–75k | $13,842 |
| $75–110k | $18,319 |
| $110k+ | $19,102 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,787 of these 3,367 students, totalling $11,203,616 — an average of $6,270 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Greenwood 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)