University of South Carolina Aiken
Aiken, SC
University of South Carolina Aiken is a public university in Aiken, South Carolina, a suburb of a large city, with 2,962 undergraduates. Health professions and education are its signature fields: together they make up 30% of its bachelor's degrees, two and a half times their share across the colleges we cover. 40% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $45,603 ten years after starting.
University of South Carolina Aiken admitted 2,316 of 2,905 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (79.7%).
- Acceptance rate
- 79.7%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $10,760
- $21,218 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $11,641
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 17–23
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of South Carolina Aiken is known for
Measured by the 571 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Health professions
19.1%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 9.1% share across the colleges we cover.
Education
11.2%
of its bachelor's degrees: about three times the 3.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations14325.0% of degrees$58,908−14% vs $68,257 nationally
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing10919.1% of degrees$78,231−12% vs $88,910 nationally
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods5710.0% of degrees$43,728−8% vs $47,382 nationally
- Psychology427.4% of degrees$45,163−11% vs $50,706 nationally
- Biology386.7% of degrees$45,363−21% vs $57,214 nationally
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness386.7% of degrees$43,178−21% vs $54,562 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Suburb of a large city
Aiken, SC
Undergraduates
2,962
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, small programs
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
16 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
2%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of South Carolina Aiken
Three things University of South Carolina Aiken published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
The admit rate rose from 51% to 80% between fall 2018 and fall 2023.
Both ends are measured rates for classes that have already enrolled: a rate that moved, not a forecast. The fall 2023 figure is the one at the top of this page.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2018 to fall 2023
30% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 15% sent an ACT. University of South Carolina Aiken files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Families paid $11,641 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
79.7%
2,316 admitted of 2,905 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 490–620Math 480–580
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
17–23
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
30%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
15%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at University of South Carolina Aiken?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What University of South Carolina Aiken costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $10,760 ($21,218 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $21,540. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $11,641 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$10,760
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$21,218
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$21,540
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$11,641
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $21,540 full cost.
- Under $30k$8,987Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$8,435Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$11,440Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$16,046Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$17,502Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
40%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
67%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$45,603
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$24,275
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Between fall 2018 and fall 2023 the admit rate rose from 51% to 80%.
What University of South Carolina Aiken says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Essay
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendations
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in South Carolina
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Spartanburg Methodist College81.4%
- South Carolina State University81.7%
- Charleston Southern University76.1%
- Winthrop University75.1%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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