Private nonprofit · University

Claflin University

Orangeburg, South Carolina · Distant town

64.9%
Admit rate
$17,800
Avg net price
52%
Graduation rate
$40,304
Median earnings

Claflin University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Orangeburg, South Carolina (distant town setting), enrolling 1,706 undergraduates. It is a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). It has a United Methodist religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 1,706 undergradsDistant townAccessible · 65% admitNCAA Division II without football

About Orangeburg, South Carolina

Orangeburg is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. To encourage settlement, the General Assembly of the Province of South Carolina in 1730 organized the area as a township, naming it Orangeburg for William IV, Prince of Orange, the son-in-law of King George II of Great Britain. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
36 miles to Columbia, SC
To the ocean
66 miles
Nearest airport
34 miles to Columbia Metropolitan (CAE)

How Claflin University compares

Selectivity64.9%

More selective than 71% · #10 most selective of 29 in South Carolina

Graduation rate52%

Higher than 43% · #14 of 35 in South Carolina

First-year retention75%

Higher than 47%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,304

Higher than 15% · #25 of 35 in South Carolina

Average net price$17,800

Cheaper than 60% · #14 cheapest of 35 in South Carolina

Median debt at graduation$29,000

Lower than 5%

Student–faculty ratio13 : 1

Lower than 50%

Undergraduate enrollment1,706

Larger than 53%

Percentiles compare Claflin University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in South Carolina.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

1,827students
  • Undergraduate1,70693%
  • Graduate1217%

Undergraduates by gender

1,706undergrads
  • Women1,14367%
  • Men56333%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White2.4%
  • Black89%
  • Hispanic0.8%
  • Other or multiracial7.6%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,706
Graduate enrollment
121
Student–faculty ratio
13 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
73%
First-generation students
32%
Students over 25
10%
Median family income
$25,694
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$65,961
Endowment
$72,574,717

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 457 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From South Carolina82%
  • Other U.S. states18%

Most first-years stay in state — Claflin University draws overwhelmingly from South Carolina.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
64.9%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$18,282
Room & board
$9,480
Books & supplies
$950
Total cost of attendance
$33,530
Average net price
$17,800

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
52%
Graduated on time (4 years)
41%
First-year retention
75%
Transferred to another college
27%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$29,227
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$40,304
Median debt at graduation
$29,000
Students with federal loans
74%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
18%

About 11% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
41%
Low-income (Pell)
40%
First-generation
39%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
1,171
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
69%
Housing charge (year)
$4,030
Meal plan (year)
$5,450
Application fee
$30
Athletics
NCAA Division II without football
Varsity athletes
198 (102 men · 96 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (7)

Track and Field (Outdoor)41
Baseball40
Track and Field (Indoor)40
Basketball32
Softball19
Cross Country13
Volleyball13

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
5.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
14
Property offenses (2022–2024)
15

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,852 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

9.7reported offenses a year
4.7 violent a year5.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
3.3
Rape
2.3
Aggravated assault
2.0
Motor vehicle theft
1.7
Fondling
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$16,354
$30–48k
$21,118
$48–75k
$22,279
$75–110k
$23,502
$110k+
$25,071

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$96,240

$22,279/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

36%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,890
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 36% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,890. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 384 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$40,304
Typical debt at graduation
$29,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
72%
Out-earn a HS grad
42%

Typical debt would take roughly 7.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$38,757
Men
$42,546

Men out-earn women by $3,789 (10%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
93°F
Winter low
37°F
Annual rain
50.5″
Annual snow
0.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.95.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Orangeburg 2, SC US station (1.3 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Claflin University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Claflin University side by side →

Colleges near Claflin University

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.