University of South Carolina Aiken

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of South Carolina Aiken

University of South Carolina Aiken operates as a public institution located in Aiken, South Carolina (suburb: large), with a total reported enrollment of 2,962 students of which 3,573 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. University of South Carolina Aiken 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 78.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,120 and an ACT midpoint of 20. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $11,641, with published in-state tuition of $10,760 and a Pell grant recipient share of 39.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,275, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 40.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 66.8%. Graduates earn a median of $45,603 ten years after enrolling, compared with $39,689 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 154600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 61.9% 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.