Southern Wesleyan University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Southern Wesleyan University

Southern Wesleyan University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Central, South Carolina (suburb: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 747 students of which 995 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. Southern Wesleyan University is categorized as “20” 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 99.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,140 and an ACT midpoint of 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $15,464, with published in-state tuition of $29,800 and a Pell grant recipient share of 43.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $26,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 52.2%, and the first-year retention rate is 69.0%. Graduates earn a median of $47,756 ten years after enrolling, compared with $41,489 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 104400.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.2% 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.