Cost & financial aid brief
University of South Carolina-Columbia Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does University of South Carolina-Columbia cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 28% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that for the 2025-26 academic year, first-year students received an average need-based grant of $14,693.
The average total package was $17,598, and the average share of need met for those aided students was 61%. Of the 3,757 first-year students determined to have need, 634 had their need fully met.
The university also reported that for the 2025-26 academic year, 2,944 first-year students received merit awards averaging $4,353.
The published cost of attendance at the University of South Carolina-Columbia is $31,638. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $12,634.
For the middle band, families earning $48,001–$75,000, it is $19,859, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $28,125. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $15,491.
Azimuth ranks the university #801 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 28% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $8,827.
The average net price across all aid recipients is $22,811, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $7,177. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $21,500, with about 90.9% of federal aid recipients borrowing.
That debt is above the peer median of $20,076 by $1,424. For parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS borrowing is $31,393.
The estimated payment on the median federal debt if repaid over ten years is $244 a month.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Federal borrowing is widespread at the University of South Carolina-Columbia: 90.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among completers, the median federal student debt is $21,500.
That median is above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,424, a narrow gap. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $31,393.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 52% of graduates in a recent cohort of 5,348 borrowed from any source. The average cumulative debt per borrower was $34,211.
Federal loans were held by 50% of graduates, at an average of $19,814. Another 14% of graduates carried private loans, averaging $53,477.
The return picture at the University of South Carolina-Columbia is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $67,741 four years after completion, a figure in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
That median sits above the $65,610 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,131. Yet graduates earn about $10,288 less than expects for similar students, an outcome in the 18th percentile nationally.
Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a downside scenario of $49,255 and an upside scenario of $94,779. Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $21,500, which is above the $20,076 peer median by $1,424.
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. The earnings sit above the peer median, but the shortfall against the model's expectation for similar students tempers the return story.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $31,393. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.
Repayment figures are in the Financial GPS card below. Borrowing populations and model assumptions.
Parent loans: what can the family afford?
How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families
- Median Parent PLUS debt
- $31,393
- Estimated parent payment
- $399/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | High pressure |
| $150,000 | Safe |
| $200,000 | Safe |
The model holds the parent balance fixed and varies parent income. Read the assumptions and limits.
Student and parent loans: the monthly payments
Financial GPS
What does repayment look like?
- Institution median student debt
- $21,500
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $31,393
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $244/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $399/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $643/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Student payment as a share of available income
At median graduate earnings of $67,741, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
6.5% of income above the allowance · Excellent
- Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
- Good 8–under 12%
- Concerning 12–20%
- High risk Over 20%
How this estimate works
These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.
Net price and borrowing. The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. College Scorecard data and documentation.
A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.