Southern Wesleyan University
Private College in Central, SC. Six-year graduation rate 57%. Median 10-year earnings $47,756.
Ten years after entry, the median Southern Wesleyan University student earns $47,756 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 57%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Southern Wesleyan University admits 100% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. The applicant pool is small at 427, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. Yield sits at 33% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 11% 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 | 530–620 | 15 (11%) |
| SAT Math | 510–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–28 | 12 (9%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Southern Wesleyan University →Academics
57% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 69% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. A 28% 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. At 10:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. 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 771 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $20,134 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($14,084 versus $17,381), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 100% receive grants worth $18,779 on average. 90% 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 · 158 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 | $14,084 |
| $30–48k | $14,218 |
| $48–75k | $14,230 |
| $75–110k | $14,899 |
| $110k+ | $17,381 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 694 of these 771 students, totalling $5,231,510 — an average of $7,538 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Pickens 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)