University of South Carolina Aiken
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 7.7-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 49 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 38 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing10 · 20.4%
- No Data38 · 77.6%
- Failing1 · 2.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 5
Action history · 7
- Feb 2024Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2022Grant Substantive Change: OtherSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Dec 2021Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Dec 2021Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2018Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,571 students received $9.2M in Pell grants, alongside $15.1M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 899 borrowers who entered repayment, 22 (2.4%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at USCA
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 7
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
USCA vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions USCA selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectUniversity of South Carolina Aiken | 40% | — | 4,022 | $11,641 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs |
| 37% | 82.6% | 3,242 | $18,097 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs | |
| 72% | 86.0% | 4,454 | $23,015 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs | |
| 39% | 96.0% | 3,246 | $11,139 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs | |
| 51% | 96.8% | 3,339 | $11,363 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs | |
| 44% | 98.6% | 3,305 | $9,032 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs | |
| Peer group median | 42% | 96.0% | 3,322 | $11,502 |
Institutions like USCA
Explore the federal data for institutions in USCA's comparison group.
- Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsSouth Carolina
South Carolina State University
Grad rate37%Admit rate82.6%Enrollment3,242Net price$18,097View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsVirginia
Christopher Newport University
Grad rate72%Admit rate86.0%Enrollment4,454Net price$23,015View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsWest Virginia
West Virginia State University
Grad rate39%Admit rate96.0%Enrollment3,246Net price$11,139View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsWest Virginia
Shepherd University
Grad rate51%Admit rate96.8%Enrollment3,339Net price$11,363View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsWest Virginia
Fairmont State University
Grad rate44%Admit rate98.6%Enrollment3,305Net price$9,032View data
USCA Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The IE Office provides funding and assistance to academic departments and administrative units with assessment surveys and tests, routinely administering the ETS Proficiency Profile and Major Field Tests, and coordinating various national and internal surveys.
Visit IR office page- Nicole SpensleyDirector of Institutional Effectiveness, Research & Compliance
- Jeffrey GriceAssistant Director
- Isha PawarStatistical and Research Analyst
- Lloyd A. DaweSACSCOC Accreditation Liaison
- Jessica BarlowAssessment Coordinator
Common Data Set
USCA's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C11,808 applied → 1,510 admitted (83.6%) → 526 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Accessible — 83.6% acceptance rate.
Admit rate by gender
C1Admit rate varies by gender.
High-school class rank
C10Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Affordability & Value
Where grant aid comes from
H19% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H567% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $27,003 on average.
Academic Experience
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~17% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1982 transfer applicants → 615 admitted (62.7%) → 354 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about University of South Carolina Aiken
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about USCA.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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