by our College Data Analytics TeamUniversity of South Carolina-Columbia is a public institution in Columbia, South Carolina enrolling 29,820 undergraduates. It accepts 60% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 79%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #215 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 4%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
University of South Carolina-Columbia ranks #215 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 4%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
University of South Carolina-Columbia was awarded 469 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked UofSC as #215 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, UofSC holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
See all of the rankings for University of South Carolina-Columbia.
University of South Carolina-Columbia has an acceptance rate of 60%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for UofSC.
About 29% of students accepted to UofSC submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 600 and 680. Math scores were between 580 and 680.
UofSC received ACT scores from 15% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 26 and 32.
Learn more about University of South Carolina-Columbia admissions.
At University of South Carolina-Columbia, the student to faculty ratio is 19 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at University of South Carolina-Columbia is 75%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
University of South Carolina-Columbia has a freshmen retention rate of 92%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At UofSC the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 79%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of South Carolina-Columbia.
During the most recent academic year, there were 29,820 undergraduates at UofSC.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of South Carolina-Columbia.
The overall average net price of UofSC is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12,634 | $14,953 | $19,859 | $24,478 | $28,125 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of UofSC, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At UofSC, approximately 41% of students took out student loans averaging $6,319 a year. That adds up to $25,276 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for University of South Carolina-Columbia.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from University of South Carolina-Columbia make around $62,177 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future University of South Carolina-Columbia graduates since it is 26% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at University of South Carolina-Columbia make the most money.
University of South Carolina-Columbia is an public institution found in Columbia, South Carolina. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of University of South Carolina-Columbia.
Contact details for University of South Carolina-Columbia are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | Columbia-Campus, Columbia, SC 29208 |
| Phone: | 8037777000 |
| Website: | www.sc.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_South_Carolina |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/uofsc |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/UofSC |
In the latest year of available data, students from 27 majors graduated from University of South Carolina-Columbia. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 10,863 | NA |
| Finance & Financial Management | 674 | $53,758 |
| Public Health | 566 | $30,219 |
| Nursing | 472 | $79,684 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 463 | $26,963 |
| Marketing | 448 | $47,936 |
| General Biology | 438 | $24,955 |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 433 | $65,446 |
| Computer Information Systems | 373 | $57,440 |
| Health & Physical Education | 357 | $38,613 |
21,511 students took at least one online class at University of South Carolina-Columbia.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at University of South Carolina-Columbia.
Interested in comparing UofSC? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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