Public · Community college

Technical College of the Lowcountry

Beaufort, South Carolina · Small city

27%
Transfer rate: $14,724
Avg net price: 18%
Grad / completion: $35,090
Median earnings

Technical College of the Lowcountry is a public associate-granting institution in Beaufort, South Carolina (small city setting), enrolling 1,679 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,679 undergradsSmall cityNear the coast

About Beaufort, South Carolina

Beaufort is a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Written history began 500 years ago with the exploration of the area by Spanish Captain Pedro de Salazar between 1514 and 1516. The Beaufort area has several printed publications. The daily newspaper The Beaufort Gazette is the oldest and most circulated newspaper of record in South Carolina and is the sister publication to the Bluffton-based Island Packet. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Small city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 33 miles to Savannah, GA
To the ocean: 1 mile
Nearest airport: 14 miles to Hilton Head (HHH)

How Technical College of the Lowcountry compares

#76 · Community Colleges with the Best Transfer Rates

Graduation rate18%

Higher than 3% · #42 of 45 in South Carolina

First-year retention58%

Higher than 20%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$35,090

Higher than 50% · #17 of 40 in South Carolina

Average net price$14,724

Cheaper than 51% · #28 cheapest of 47 in South Carolina

Median debt at graduation$10,000

Lower than 46%

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 62%

Undergraduate enrollment1,679

Larger than 80%

Percentiles compare Technical College of the Lowcountry with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in South Carolina.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,18571%
Men49429%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White39%
Black31%
Hispanic23%
Asian1.0%
Other or multiracial6.3%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,679
Student–faculty ratio: 14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 33%
First-generation students: 45%
Students over 25: 32%
Median family income: $23,336
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $60,309
Endowment: $794,060

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 426 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From South Carolina92%
Other U.S. states7.7%

Most first-years stay in state — Technical College of the Lowcountry 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.

Cost

In-state tuition: $6,156
Out-of-state tuition: $11,916
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,300
Total cost of attendance: $23,832
Average net price: $14,724

Outcomes

Graduated: 18%
First-year retention: 58%
Transferred to another college: 27%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $34,001
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $35,090
Median debt at graduation: $10,000
Students with federal loans: 7%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 33%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

18%

Low-income (Pell)

13%

First-generation

14%

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: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

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

$14,531

$30–48k

$15,726

$48–75k

$20,323

$75–110k

—

$110k+

—

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.

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.

43%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,993

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 43% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,993. 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 153 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): $35,090
Typical debt at graduation: $10,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 28%
Out-earn a HS grad: 36%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

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

$33,468

Men

$40,451

Men out-earn women by $6,983 (21%) 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: 91°F
Winter low: 41°F
Annual rain: 45″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Beaufort Wwtp, SC US station (1.8 mi from campus).

What Technical College of the Lowcountry graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

82 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

82———Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

58 grads$28k 1 yr$29k 5 yr$10k debt

58$28,441$28,791$9,500 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

31 grads$67k 1 yr$77k 5 yr$25k debt

31$66,628$77,312$24,719 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesCert.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

26———Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, OtherAssoc.

25 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

25———Business/Commerce, GeneralAssoc.

16 grads— 1 yr$42k 5 yr— debt

16—$42,154—Data ProcessingAssoc.

15 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

15———Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

13 grads$31k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

13$31,348——Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.

11 grads— 1 yr$44k 5 yr— debt

11—$44,270—Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

11 grads$52k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

11$51,808——Culinary Arts and Related ServicesAssoc.

10 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

10———Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

10 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

10———

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 Technical College of the Lowcountry

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Technical College of the Lowcountry side by side →

Piedmont Technical College

Public

Greenwood, South Carolina · Distant town · 47 mi to Greenville

Students: 3,977
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $36k

Tri-County Technical College

Public

Pendleton, South Carolina · Midsize suburb · 27 mi to Greenville

Students: 5,071
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 35%
Earnings: $40k

University of South Carolina-Lancaster

Public

Lancaster, South Carolina · Distant town · 34 mi to Charlotte

Students: 668
Tuition: $8k
Transfer: 52%
Earnings: $39k

Carl Albert State College

Public

Poteau, Oklahoma · Distant town · 76 mi to Fayetteville

Students: 1,308
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 4%
Earnings: $34k

Georgia Piedmont Technical College

Public

Clarkston, Georgia · Large suburb · 9 mi to Atlanta

Students: 2,198
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $35k

Nunez Community College

Public

Chalmette, Louisiana · Large suburb · 7 mi to New Orleans

Students: 1,520
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 19%
Earnings: $35k

Colleges near Technical College of the Lowcountry

University of South Carolina Beaufort

Bluffton, SC · Public · Bachelor's · 2,052 students

18 mi

Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah, GA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 15,243 students

34 mi

Savannah State University

Savannah, GA · Public · Bachelor's · 2,833 students

35 mi

Savannah Technical College

Savannah, GA · Public · Certificate · 3,366 students

37 mi

Empire Beauty School-Savannah

Savannah, GA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 127 students

38 mi

South University-Savannah

Savannah, GA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 270 students

38 mi

Vski Cosmetology School

Charleston, SC · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 31 students

46 mi

Charleston Cosmetology Institute

Charleston, SC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 100 students

48 mi

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.