University of
South Carolina-Lancaster
Public Community College in Lancaster, SC. Six-year graduation rate 25%. Median 10-year earnings $39,426.
Students who entered University of South Carolina-Lancaster reach a median of $39,426 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 25% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $9,616 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.24 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 25% — below national average
Admissions
University of South Carolina-Lancaster accepts 83% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. Only 628 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. A 66% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through.
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 University of South Carolina-Lancaster →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 25% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 43% of full-time first-years return, so roughly three in five leave after one year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 52% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The 24:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 649 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $11,257 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Income makes less difference than usual: $6,306 at $0–30k, $13,884 at $110k+. Most students get help: 86% receive grants worth $6,697 on average. 35% 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 · 337 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 | $6,306 |
| $30–48k | $6,462 |
| $48–75k | $9,072 |
| $75–110k | $12,310 |
| $110k+ | $13,884 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 227 of these 649 students, totalling $1,247,765 — an average of $5,497 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lancaster 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)