South University-Columbia
For-profit College in Columbia, SC. Six-year graduation rate 21%. Median 10-year earnings $34,421.
Ten-year median earnings of $34,421 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 21% graduate within six years. Graduates carry a median of $26,123 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.76 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 21% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 21% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 57% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 21:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. Being a for-profit four-year institution is the single most useful context for these numbers — the sector's spread is wide enough that the school-level figures matter more than usual.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 445 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $26,884 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $26,588 at $0–30k against $29,386 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 91% of students get grant aid averaging $7,398, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 65% take federal loans.
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 · 19 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 | $26,588 |
| $30–48k | $30,474 |
| $48–75k | $32,022 |
| $75–110k | $29,386 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 288 of these 445 students, totalling $2,281,319 — an average of $7,921 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Richland 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)