University of
South Carolina-Columbia
Public Research University in Columbia, SC. Six-year graduation rate 79%. Median 10-year earnings $62,177.
Students who entered University of South Carolina-Columbia reach a median of $62,177 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Completion is a strength: 79% of students finish within six years. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,500, 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.35 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 79% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
University of South Carolina-Columbia accepts 60% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 52,703 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 23% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 29% 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 | 600–680 | 2,141 (29%) |
| SAT Math | 580–680 | |
| ACT Composite | 26–32 | 1,096 (15%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of South Carolina-Columbia →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 79% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 92%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 15% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 28,113 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $24,488 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $12,634 at $0–30k versus $28,125 at $110k+. 80% of students receive grant aid, averaging $7,181 — common but not automatic. About 42% 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 · 7,311 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 | $12,634 |
| $30–48k | $14,953 |
| $48–75k | $19,859 |
| $75–110k | $24,478 |
| $110k+ | $28,125 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 11,707 of these 28,113 students, totalling $73,981,788 — an average of $6,319 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)