University of
South Carolina-Union
Public Community College in Union, SC. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $33,699.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $33,699, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 48%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $11,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
62% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. Only 360 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. A 58% 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-Union →Academics
48% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 64% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 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 17:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 267 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $10,359 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($7,340 versus $12,638), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 96% of students receive it, averaging $7,167. About 33% 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 · 123 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 | $7,340 |
| $30–48k | $5,918 |
| $48–75k | $7,482 |
| $75–110k | $13,146 |
| $110k+ | $12,638 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 87 of these 267 students, totalling $489,439 — an average of $5,626 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Union 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)