University of
South Carolina-Upstate
Public College in Spartanburg, SC. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $48,587.
Ten years after entry, the median University of South Carolina-Upstate student earns $48,587 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 43%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $22,310 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
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 67% puts University of South Carolina-Upstate on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 4,682 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield sits at 24% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 7% 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 | 510–605 | 56 (7%) |
| SAT Math | 495–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–26 | 21 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of South Carolina-Upstate →Academics
Completion is middling: 43% finish inside six years. Retention of 70% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. 35% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,008 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $13,999 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $11,618 at $0–30k, $19,325 at $110k+. About 79% get grants averaging $9,235, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 55% 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 · 670 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 | $11,618 |
| $30–48k | $11,537 |
| $48–75k | $13,394 |
| $75–110k | $17,356 |
| $110k+ | $19,325 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,204 of these 4,008 students, totalling $14,829,852 — an average of $6,729 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Spartanburg 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)