by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top South Carolina Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
After analyzing 45 schools in South Carolina, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named University of South Carolina - Columbia the best school in South Carolina in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UofSC make an average of $62,177 per year during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Clemson University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in South Carolina.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Clemson go into careers with an average salary of $71,513 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia International University. It ranked #3 on our 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from CIU is $38,951 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 45 schools in South Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Citadel Military College of South Carolina landed the #4 spot on the list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $72,085 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Furman University. The school came in at #5 in South Carolina on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Furman make an average of $68,635 per year during the early years of their career.
College of Charleston landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from C of C make an average of $56,416 per year during the early years of their career.
Greenville Technical College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from GTC is $39,473 during the early years of their career.
Wofford College landed the #8 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $68,964 during the early years of their career..
Anderson University South Carolina did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking, coming in at #9.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Anderson University South Carolina go into careers with an average salary of $42,101 during the early years of their career.
University of South Carolina - Upstate came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from USC Upstate go into careers with an average salary of $48,587 during the early years of their career.
Spartanburg Methodist College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking, coming in at #11.
During the early years of their career, graduates from SMC make an average of $42,895 a year.
Coastal Carolina University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina University is $47,258 during the early years of their career.
Winthrop University landed the #13 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Winthrop is $47,185 during the early years of their career.
Trident Technical College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking, coming in at #14.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Trident Technical College make an average of $38,253 per year during the early years of their career.
Presbyterian College landed the #15 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from PC go into careers with an average salary of $60,194 during the early years of their career.
Midlands Technical College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
The low student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,701 during the early years of their career..
Florence-Darlington Technical College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Florence-Darlington Technical College go into careers with an average salary of $32,748 during the early years of their career.
Horry-Georgetown Technical College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Horry-Georgetown Technical College make an average of $35,507 per year during the early years of their career.
Southern Wesleyan University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SWU make an average of $47,756 per year during the early years of their career.
Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $35,761 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #21, Bob Jones University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Bob Jones University make an average of $44,354 per year during the early years of their career.
Spartanburg Community College landed the #22 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Spartanburg Community College is $37,097 during the early years of their career.
North Greenville University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking, coming in at #23.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from North Greenville is $43,035 during the early years of their career.
Tri-County Technical College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from TCTC make an average of $40,101 per year during the early years of their career.
Lander University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in South Carolina list.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $42,396 during the early years of their career..
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.