Claflin University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Claflin University

Claflin University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Orangeburg, South Carolina (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 1,706 students of which 2,008 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Claflin University is categorized as “21” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 64.9%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $17,800, with published in-state tuition of $18,282 and a Pell grant recipient share of 73.5%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $29,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 50.4%, and the first-year retention rate is 75.5%. Graduates earn a median of $40,304 ten years after enrolling, compared with $29,227 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 110400.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 45.3% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.