-18%
First-year retention
First-year retention at South Carolina State University fell 18% between 2021 and 2024 (68.7% → 56.5%).
South Carolina · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
South Carolina State University
Orangeburg, South Carolina. 2,757 undergraduate students. 59 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at South Carolina State University
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at South Carolina State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (10.9% → 0.0%).
+52%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at South Carolina State University rose 52% between 2021 and 2024 (13.9% → 21.1%).
+42%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at South Carolina State University rose 42% between 2021 and 2024 (2.1k → 2.9k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. South Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the South Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$38,262+27% · 6→10y
South Carolina median $39,325$30,064
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry29.4%-21% · '97→'24
South Carolina median 44.4%$20,900+368% · '97→'20
At program completion2,757-22% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS58.8%-18% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time81.7%+107% · '01→'24
latest cohort$11,060+203% · '00→'24
out-of-state $21,750SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
7.3%Median federal debt $20,900 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $38,262 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
-21%
South Carolina State University · completion · 150% fell
46.6% → 36.6%
+120%
South Carolina State University · completion · 100% rose
9.6% → 21.1%
-18%
South Carolina State University · retention fell
69.0% → 56.5%
-22%
South Carolina State University · undergrad enrollment fell
3,768 → 2,934
+203%
South Carolina State University · in-state tuition rose
$3,654 → $11,060
+202%
South Carolina State University · out-of-state tuition rose
$7,192 → $21,750
+368%
South Carolina State University · median debt rose
$6,625 → $31,000
-100%
South Carolina State University · cohort default rate fell
18.8% → 0.0%
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Educational Administration and Supervision.$95,203Computer and Information Sciences, General.$75,522Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$63,874Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$56,801Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$46,654Criminal Justice and Corrections.$45,814Psychology, General.$45,463Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$45,315Business Administration, Management and Operations.$43,968Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$40,526Social Work.$39,745Marketing.$39,611Biology, General.$38,985Communication and Media Studies.$38,249Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$37,058Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General.$35,649
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
16 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at South Carolina State University
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$30,020
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 32
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $19,611
- HS-only baseline · SC
- $33,700
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 26
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in South Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“South Carolina State University graduates earn $X” — not “South Carolina State University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending South Carolina State University caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.