Limestone University
Private College in Gaffney, SC. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $44,999.
Ten years after entry, the median Limestone University student earns $44,999 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is the weak point: 35% graduate within six years. Debt is the pressure point: a median of $27,639 at graduation.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.61 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 97% of applicants are accepted. 3,027 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Only 12% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Limestone University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 64% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. 38% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The part-time picture is harder: 29% return, against 64% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Average net price after grant aid is $19,369 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $16,772 at $0–30k, $23,320 at $110k+. 96% of students get grant aid averaging $21,504, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 68% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 | $16,772 |
| $30–48k | $15,920 |
| $48–75k | $18,607 |
| $75–110k | $23,314 |
| $110k+ | $23,320 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cherokee County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026