# University of South Carolina-Columbia

Public college in Columbia, SC. IPEDS ID 218663.
Source page: https://educationguide.com/colleges/university-of-south-carolina-columbia · Data: https://educationguide.com/data/colleges/university-of-south-carolina-columbia.json · Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score

## Key numbers
- Acceptance rate: 60% (Fall 2024, College Scorecard)
- Average net price after grants: $22,811 per year (AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25)
- Graduation rate (6 years): 79%; beats 94% of SC colleges and 88% nationwide
- Median earnings 10 years after starting: $62,177; beats 85% of SC colleges and 74% nationwide
- Median debt at graduation: $18,500

## Net price by family income (per year, after grants)
| Family income | Net price |
|---|---|
| 0-30k | $12,634 |
| 30-48k | $14,953 |
| 48-75k | $19,859 |
| 75-110k | $24,478 |
| 110k+ | $28,125 |

Average after grants for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, in-state. Negative values mean grants exceed cost.

## Cost to finish and years to pay back (EducationGuide calculation)
Graduates took 4.13 years on average (69% finished in 4 years; Fall 2017 entrants, IPEDS). Earnings gain = $62,177 (median earnings of former students 10 years after starting college (College Scorecard)) minus $33,516 for high school graduates ages 25-34 in SC (Census ACS 2020-2024).

| Family income | Net price / yr | Cost to finish | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | $12,634 | $52,178 | 1.8 years |
| 30-48k | $14,953 | $61,756 | 2.2 years |
| 48-75k | $19,859 | $82,018 | 2.9 years |
| 75-110k | $24,478 | $101,094 | 3.5 years |
| 110k+ | $28,125 | $116,156 | 4.1 years |

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#value

## Sticker price
- Cost of attendance: $31,638 in-state; about $54,922 out-of-state
- Tuition and fees: $12,688 in-state, $35,972 out-of-state
- Housing and meals: $12,558; books: $1,226

## Admissions
- SAT reading & writing: 600–680; SAT math: 580–680; ACT: 26–32 (25th–75th percentile, Fall 2024)
- Fall 2023: 46,682 applicants, 28,706 admitted, 7,319 enrolled; test scores considered but not required
- Fall 2024: acceptance 60%, ACT 26–32 (College Scorecard)
- Fall 2023: acceptance 62%, ACT 26–32 (IPEDS Admissions)

## Majors (77 bachelor's majors)
| Major | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Engineering | $73,982 | $109,116 | $27,000 |
| International Business | $70,992 | $107,205 | $25,174 |
| Electrical Engineering | $77,161 | $100,042 | $27,000 |
| Chemical Engineering | $75,680 | $98,244 | $27,000 |
| Management Science / Analytics | $68,804 | $98,020 | $22,922 |
| Biomedical Engineering | $57,311 | $97,927 | $26,000 |
| Insurance | $63,417 | $96,539 | $25,995 |
| Business Economics | $62,692 | $94,547 | $25,000 |
| Finance | $62,231 | $92,578 | $25,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $72,370 | $91,296 | $25,000 |
| Accounting | $59,283 | $86,507 | $25,826 |
| Computer and Information Sciences | $68,597 | $84,720 | $25,250 |
| Real Estate | $51,965 | $84,558 | $22,500 |
| Civil Engineering | $69,424 | $84,148 | $27,000 |
| Marketing | $52,374 | $81,945 | $23,750 |
| Nursing | $73,872 | $80,768 | $24,250 |
| Economics | $48,149 | $77,536 | $24,062 |
| Business Administration | $47,993 | $70,527 | $26,000 |
| Geology / Earth Science | $38,432 | $70,284 | $26,500 |
| Kinesiology / Exercise Science | $40,702 | $67,705 | $25,000 |
| Biochemistry | $23,763 | $67,202 | $26,300 |
| Political Science | $33,157 | $65,464 | $25,000 |
| Public Relations and Advertising | $42,974 | $65,248 | $24,250 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations | $45,052 | $64,631 | $24,979 |
| Physiology | $27,374 | $63,534 | $25,000 |
| Mathematics | $49,949 | $62,278 | $22,700 |
| Broadcasting / Digital Media | $33,941 | $62,214 | $21,500 |
| Allied Health (Imaging / Therapy / Tech) | $44,919 | $61,423 | $27,000 |
| Geography | $46,929 | $59,472 | $23,250 |
| Public Health | $31,756 | $58,715 | $24,958 |
| Biology | $28,035 | $58,669 | $24,620 |
| Chemistry | $39,018 | $58,462 | $25,046 |
| Hospitality Management | $36,690 | $56,688 | $26,000 |
| Dance | $33,291 | $55,274 | not reported |
| Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | $25,271 | $55,093 | $18,896 |
| International Relations | $33,612 | $54,781 | $20,500 |
| Journalism | $38,762 | $53,294 | $26,000 |
| Sociology | $30,517 | $53,293 | $27,000 |
| Communications | $35,586 | $53,247 | $25,500 |
| Psychology (Research) | $29,350 | $51,090 | $24,250 |
| Criminal Justice | $35,781 | $50,847 | $25,000 |
| Environmental Science / Conservation | $35,081 | $50,447 | $25,500 |
| Social Work | $28,032 | $49,401 | $24,000 |
| Liberal Arts / General Studies | $33,245 | $48,990 | $26,000 |
| Psychology | not reported | $47,234 | not reported |
| Education (Subject Teaching) | $40,596 | $45,804 | $23,780 |
| History | $27,652 | $45,595 | $22,550 |
| English | $25,729 | $45,185 | $26,000 |
| Music | $38,657 | $45,181 | $27,000 |
| Education (Elementary / Secondary) | $40,785 | $43,687 | $26,000 |
| Anthropology | $23,785 | $42,758 | $23,687 |
| Film and Photography | $23,686 | $40,962 | $25,750 |
| Studio Art | $27,467 | $39,517 | $27,000 |
| Area Studies | $32,064 | not reported | $20,125 |
| Ethnic / Gender Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Information Science / Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical / Space Engineering | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Engineering-Related Fields | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Linguistics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| German | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Spanish / French / Romance Languages | $21,411 | not reported | $23,189 |
| Classics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Human Development and Family Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Neuroscience | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Applied Mathematics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Statistics | $69,543 | not reported | not reported |
| Computational Science | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Philosophy | $30,936 | not reported | $25,000 |
| Religious Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Physics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Security / Homeland Security | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Social Sciences | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Theatre | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Arts and Entertainment Management | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Medical Illustration and Informatics | not reported | not reported | not reported |

## Major to career
- Finance → Financial analyst: median wage $87,630 (Columbia, SC), $93,670 (SC), $102,740 (U.S.)
- Business Administration → Management analyst: median wage $93,250 (Columbia, SC), $100,660 (SC), $101,860 (U.S.)

## Sources and years
- Net price: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25; cost of attendance: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25; tuition: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
- Graduation: Fall 2018 or AcadYr 2018-19 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25; earnings: Treasury AY2009-10, AY2010-11 pooled cohort measured in CY2020, CY2021, inflation adjusted to 2022 dollars; debt: NSLDS FY2020, FY2021 pooled cohorts
- Major earnings (4 yr): Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0).