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College profile

University of South Carolina-Upstate

SC · Public · Mid-size suburb · 3,557 applicants 2023

70% admit rate SAT 1000–1170 $14K–$25K/yr in-state — aid decides

A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$25,124/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$48,587/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Worth asking: do students finish? Only 43% graduate within six years here — the standard federal measure. Ask what drives that: course availability, transfers out, students working long hours. Not finishing is the costliest outcome there is.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

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Odds at University of South Carolina-Upstate

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Parent/student verdict

Accessible

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable — net price averages ~$13,557/yr among aid recipients. Major value play for in-state residents.

Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$11,588 — major value play)
  • Students focused on Health Professions (the school's signature program)

The reality

  • You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 1000, or ACT below 19 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

What are your child's odds here?

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Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.

Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Undergraduates
4,038
1,000 - 4,999 including graduate students
In-state tuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid at a given college pay this, minus any merit scholarships — whether you qualify depends on the college's price and policies, not on any fixed income line.
$11,588
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$23,090
+$11,502 vs in-state
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
69.6%
Accessible
SAT middle 50%The middle half of the enrolled first-years who sent this test scored in this range — a quarter of them scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. At a test-optional college the students who submitted are often a minority of the class, so the range describes them rather than everyone who enrolled. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1000–1170
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of the enrolled first-years who sent this test scored in this range — a quarter of them scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. At a test-optional college the students who submitted are often a minority of the class, so the range describes them rather than everyone who enrolled. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
19–25
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$48,587
median, after entry

6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 3% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$43,339
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$48,587
Graduate within 6 yrsThe share of students who start here and finish a bachelor's within six years — the standard federal measure, and the one College Scorecard publishes. It is not a four-year rate. Read it as the odds of finishing at all: nationally about a third of students who start never do, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision.
43%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$22,310

The real cost

What University of South Carolina-Upstate actually costs

If you qualify for need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats.
$13,557/yr
average among aid-receiving families, all incomes — your number depends on your finances
If you don't
$25,124/yr
the full published price for in-state students — out-of-state runs higher

Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by University of South Carolina-Upstate's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.

Get your family's number — University of South Carolina-Upstate's Net Price Calculator ↗ 10–15 minutes; have a tax return handy. It's still an estimate — but it's this college's own, built from your family's numbers, not anyone's average.
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Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.

The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways

+$385K ahead at full price +$432K with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$100,496
~$25,124/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$54,228
$13,557/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$485,870
$48,587/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.1 yrs
at full price (1.1 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

What students study here

Most popular majors at University of South Carolina-Upstate

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of South Carolina-Upstate actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Health Professions
299 degrees · 43.3%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
117 degrees · 16.9%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Education
109 degrees · 15.8%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
85 degrees · 12.3%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
5. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, & Firefighting
81 degrees · 11.7%
Public-sector careers in law enforcement, corrections, security. Strong pensions, modest base.

What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — University of South Carolina-Upstate's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 309 $75,849 $79,947
Computer and Information Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 44 $49,999 $67,286
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 58 $40,775 $61,967
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 103 $34,447 $48,209
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 28 $31,742 $48,139
Political Science and Government. Bachelor's Degree 19 $35,798 $47,796
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. Bachelor's Degree 69 $36,241 $46,121
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. Bachelor's Degree 55 $28,616 $45,761
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 81 $29,720 $45,659
Communication and Media Studies. Bachelor's Degree 55 $34,456 $45,298

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

AI program signal

AI + computing education at University of South Carolina-Upstate

CS degrees (annual)
21
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to University of South Carolina-Upstate

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
18 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Alabama at Birmingham
AL · Public
17 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
NY · Public
$9,168/yr full price (in-state) · $15,956 less before aid for NY residents
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $13,287 less before aid for IN residents
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $11,168 less before aid for GA residents
Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of South Carolina Aiken
SC · Public
80% admit rate (vs 70% here)
Coastal Carolina University
SC · Public
80% admit rate (vs 70% here)
Francis Marion University
SC · Public
82% admit rate (vs 70% here)

Or compare any college side-by-side

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

University of South Carolina-Upstate is a public four-year college in SC. It admitted 70% of applicants (3,557 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.

Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1000–1170, ACT 19–25. 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 3% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.

Cost: about $13,557 a year on average with aid, $25,124 a year at full price for in-state students.

Median earnings ten years after entry: $48,587 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $431,642 ahead with aid, $385,374 ahead at full price.

Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($79,947); Computer and Information Sciences, General ($67,286); Business Administration, Management and Operations ($61,967).

Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/university-of-south-carolina-upstate.json

By major: Art (Studio)BiologyBusiness AdministrationChild DevelopmentCommunicationComputer ScienceCriminal Justice and CriminologyEnglishInformation SystemsLiberal Studies (teacher preparation)Nursing (BSN)Political SciencePsychologySociology
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What families ask next

Can my kid get in? Score odds calculator → See how a higher SAT or ACT changes admit odds — college by college. What will it cost — and pay back? Earnings by major → What graduates actually earn, program by program. What do we do next? Free Family Decision Report Reach / Competitive / Match / Likely for every college on their list, plus the real cost. Start with a 10-second odds check — no email needed. Check odds →