University of South Carolina: Columbia is a public institution in Columbia, SC with an acceptance rate of 60% and 28,470 students. The middle 50% of admitted students score 1180–1360 on the SAT and present an average GPA near 2.85. The average net price after financial aid is $24,532 per year.
About University of South Carolina: Columbia
A public 4-year urban university in Columbia, SC.
University of South Carolina: Columbia is a college in Columbia, SC. It enrolls roughly 28,470 students. The most recent acceptance rate is 60%. Admitted students typically score between 1180 and 1360 on the SAT.
Your chances at this school
A clear-eyed view of how your profile compares to admitted students — and the things that would move your odds the most.
Selective — strong academics get you in the conversation. Here is what would make your application as competitive as possible.
Things that would move your odds the most
- Aim for an SAT of 1180+Hitting the 25th percentile puts you in the competitive range for admitted students.
- Maintain a GPA of 2.85 or higherAdmitted students typically present grades at or above this level.
- Build a single deep extracurricular peakDepth beats breadth at selective schools — one nationally-visible accomplishment outperforms ten clubs.
- Strengthen one teacher recommendationA specific, personal letter from a teacher who knows your work moves the needle.
Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.
Admissions
What it actually takes to get into University of South Carolina: Columbia. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.
Admitted student profile
Range shown is the middle 50%.
This school doesn't require test scores, so these ranges reflect only students who chose to submit — applicants who submit tend to have higher scores. The real admitted range likely runs lower. Don't rule yourself out on scores alone.
Application requirements
- Personal essay required
- Tests sometimes required
- $70 application fee
Deadlines (2026-27)
- Early Action
- Oct 15, 2026
- Regular Decision
- Dec 1, 2026
Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.
Cost & financial aid
Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at University of South Carolina: Columbia after grants and scholarships.
Net price by family income
Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.
Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.
Academics & majors
Where students at University of South Carolina: Columbia concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.
Student body
Who attends University of South Carolina: Columbia. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.
Race & ethnicity
- White78%
- Asian4%
- Hispanic6%
- Black10%
- International2%
Gender
- Female59%
- Male41%
Outcomes after graduation
What University of South Carolina: Columbia graduates do next — and what they earn.
Is it worth it?
Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.
- Median earnings
- $62.2k
- Typical debt
- $18.5k
- Avg. net price
- $24.5k/yr
- These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
- Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
- Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
- Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.
What this means
$62k is near the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 78% graduation rate is above the national average.
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