What kind of school it is, and where it stands
Let’s start with the basics, because the basics organize everything else. Presbyterian College is a private nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. The Carnegie system, which classifies colleges and universities in the United States according to what they do, places it among small, selective-admission baccalaureate colleges focused on arts and sciences.
There is one phrase in that classification worth pausing over: highly residential. Based on 2019-20 data, Carnegie classifies it this way because at least half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time. This is not a decorative detail. If your child attends this school, they will most likely live there rather than commute from home every day. And here is the first practical truth that can spare you a surprise: the cost of living on campus is almost never included with tuition in the glossy brochure. You have to request it separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other on your list.
The exact location is Clinton, South Carolina, in Laurens County. The area surrounding the campus is classified as a town, far from large urban areas. That locates the school, not your family: if you do not live nearby, your task is to calculate separately where your child would live and how they would get around, because this census designation does not answer that question for you.
As for the academic level it offers: IPEDS, the federal database that organizes all this information, records the doctoral degree as the highest level the institution reports offering and classifies it as an institution where the primary level is bachelor’s degrees or above. That is an institutional fact, not a promise about your child’s specific major. If your child is interested in a pathway connecting undergraduate and graduate study, that connection must be verified program by program rather than assumed from the school’s general profile.
One last piece of identity addresses a question many families ask themselves without saying it aloud: Presbyterian College is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 do carry at least one of those three designations; this is not one of them. That does not say which students it serves well or how your child will feel there. What it does tell you clearly is that you will have to find out for yourself by asking which organizations and cultural centers currently exist on campus.
The size of the community, and who makes it up
Presbyterian College had 1,136 students enrolled in the official fall count: it is a midsize school. But that number contains a distinction worth making: 903 are undergraduates and 233 are graduate students. If your child is entering a bachelor’s degree program, the number that matters is 903, not the total. Compared with the 941 selective private schools of this same type included in the census, it is on the smaller side: seven out of ten have more students.
As for who makes up that community, here is the fact that carries the most weight for many Latino families: among undergraduate students reported in fall 2023, 9 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority, and compared with similar schools, its position is below the midpoint of the group. This does not make the school bad or any other school good; it simply describes who is enrolled today. If your child will be one of the few, the task is to ask during the visit which student organization, cultural center, or person in the admissions office speaks Spanish, and to talk with a Latino student who is already there before deciding.
The undergraduate population is almost evenly divided between men and women: 49 out of every 100 are women. As for adult students from 25 to 64 years old, the percentage rounds to zero—which does not mean there are none, but rather that they are almost nonexistent in this community. Where entering students came from is simply not reported for this school in this cycle.
How the academic year works, and how broad the offerings are
The academic calendar follows semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. In its official report, the school stated that it accepts credit for AP exams, but it did not check the box for credit based on life experience. It also stated that it accepts credit for military training and enrolls high school students in college courses for credit, both within and outside a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a hard truth without embellishment: saying that the school accepts AP does not mean it will grant credit for any exam your child takes. It does not say what scores are required, how many credits are granted, or whether those credits apply to the specific major your child is interested in. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for the academic offerings: in the most recent year reported, Presbyterian College awarded 224 bachelor’s degrees across 16 fields of study. The field awarding the most degrees was business and management, with only 21 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year—no other area surpassed it, but no single field accounts for the bulk of the degrees either. The offerings are distributed, with no one major dominating the landscape. With numbers this small, the count can shift considerably from year to year, so if your child is interested in a particular program, request the past three years of data for that exact program, not merely a snapshot of one year.
As for the relationship between students and faculty: the official ratio is 11 students for each full-time-equivalent faculty member, a low figure compared with similar schools. But be careful: this aggregate ratio, by itself, does not tell you the actual size of first-year classes. It is an institutional average, not a guarantee of small classes.
Structured academic pathways and opportunities
The institution reports offering study abroad as well as pathways related to teacher certification: preparation for certification below the postsecondary level, the ability to complete preparation there in certain teaching specialties, and state approval of the initial teacher-certification program. If your child is interested in teaching, this is worth exploring directly with the school.
How admission works: acceptance, actual enrollment, and transfers
This is where it helps to sit down and take your time, because several numbers look similar but mean different things.
Presbyterian College does not have open admission: it reviews specific components before making a decision. Of nine considerations tracked in the federal report, it marks three as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, and completion of the college-preparatory coursework the institution requires. Other components are not required but are considered if submitted: class rank, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, work experience, an English proficiency exam when applicable, and whether a family member attended the school. That last factor—legacy status—is something your child cannot change. If it does not apply in your child’s case, do not spend energy on it; spend that energy on what is within your child’s control. The published application fee, incidentally, is $0.
Now for the numbers showing what happened in practice. Of the 3,359 first-time applicants in the 2023 cycle, 2,430 were offered admission: 72 out of every 100. Compared with similar selective private schools, this is a typical rate, positioned slightly below the midpoint of the group. Seven or eight out of ten receive a yes. But—and this is important—that figure comes from a single cycle, not a fixed rule of the institution. When your child is ready to apply, check the number again for the relevant year.
Here is the fact that most surprises families: out of every 100 admitted students, only 11 ultimately enrolled. Put another way, out of every 9 young people who receive a yes, about one ends up attending. The others had a place but did not take it. Compared with similar schools, this is a low rate. And here is the hard truth, without drama: this is not a stain on the school. The federal record does not say why each person chose what they chose. What matters for you is this: what others decided does not predict what your child will be offered. Wait for your own letter showing the net price—the actual amount the year would cost—before crossing this school off your list or confirming it.
As for standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Among students who did enroll, 18 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score, and among those students the middle half scored between 550 and 650 in reading and writing, and between 530 and 630 in mathematics. These ranges describe students who were already enrolled, not all applicants, and they are neither minimums nor guarantees.
As for transfers, one fact carries weight: among the first-time, full-time cohort that entered in 2017, 30 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing a degree here. This proportion is on the high side compared with similar schools. Separately, only 42 transfer students from other institutions arrived in fall 2023. Here is something almost no family knows that matters in this case: a student who transfers does not count as a Presbyterian College graduate, even if that student finishes a degree elsewhere. Keep this in mind when we reach the graduation rates later, because it changes what that figure can and cannot tell you.
The published cost: the complete figure, before any aid
At Presbyterian College, among 35 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $17,786. Among 32 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $20,293; among 42 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $26,955. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band, which included 35 students, and the average for the highest-income band, which included 42 students, is $9,169. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $20,058.
$17,786 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in the 2022-23 academic year. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether requesting the financial-aid letter is worthwhile.
None of these figures is a quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the financial-aid letter sent to you. In the meantime, use the net-price calculator on the school’s website.
Financial aid and loans: what students actually receive, and what must be borrowed
The grant and scholarship figure is notable: 100 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students received some type of grant or scholarship aid—a figure that reached the rounded maximum, meaning “all or almost all.” Among recipients, the annual average was $36,885. That is real money, but it is not a price: the average includes students who received much more and others who received much less. What matters is not the size of the grant or scholarship, but what remains after subtracting it—and that is in the previous section, not here.
The Pell Grant, which is federal aid specifically for low-income families, reached 30 out of every 100 students.
As for loans: in 2022-23, 48 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan. This is a typical proportion compared with similar schools—neither among the highest nor among the lowest. Among those who borrowed, the average amount per borrower that year was $6,324. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the program’s four years, the total would be around $25,296, excluding interest—and that calculation should be made before the first signature, not at the end.
One important clarification: that average covers only federal loans in the student’s name for a single year. It does not include PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, debt owed to banks, or credit-card debt. Nor is it the total debt someone has upon graduating—that would require adding all four years, and that number is not in this report.
As a payment option, the institution reports offering a tuition installment plan.
Campus life and available support
Presbyterian College has institution-owned housing with a reported capacity of 1,099 students. Living there is not required for all first-time students—the institution responded that there is no universal requirement, although that does not rule out a requirement for a specific program. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week under the largest plan. The existence of housing does not guarantee that a bed will be available for your child: request the annual rate, the application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or students may be placed on a waiting list, all in writing.
ROTC is available, and the only branch confirmed in writing is the Army. The Navy and Air Force are not marked—that does not mean participation is impossible; it means you need to ask directly.
In athletics, the school competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA for football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country/track and field, as reported. If your child is interested in athletics, the recommendation is straightforward: write to the coach, ask whether there is a place on the team, which division that sport competes in, and whether it offers an athletic scholarship. Ask for the answer in writing.
As for distance education: it is offered at the undergraduate level, but in the fall count, 0 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load at a distance—all students took at least one in-person class. The school reported that it does not offer a complete program in which the entire degree can be completed at a distance. If this is relevant to your family, confirm it in writing for the specific major.
The library operates with paid staff, and its annual expenditures exceeded the $100,000 threshold tracked by the federal government. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending.
Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program for veterans, and a published webpage for services for students with disabilities.
Persistence and graduation: what happened to those who enrolled
This may be the section most worth reading slowly, because here the numbers tell a nuanced story.
Retention: of the 269 first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2022, 199 were still enrolled or had already completed their degree one year later: 74 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, its position is slightly below the midpoint of the group. Remember: not returning is not the same as dropping out. In this figure, someone who transferred and is still studying at another school counts the same as someone who stopped studying altogether. The data do not distinguish between those two paths.
Six-year graduation: of a cohort of 273 bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in 2017, 157 graduated from this same school within six years: 58 out of every 100. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 49 out of every 100—a difference of 9 points that shows how many people need that additional time. Compared with similar selective private schools, its position is below the midpoint of the group.
It is worth looking at the complete breakdown of those 273 students: 157 completed here, 12 completed a shorter program here, 81 transferred without completing at this school, 2 were still enrolled without having finished, and 21 were classified as “no longer enrolled”—a category that does not give the reason and may even include people who completed after the official deadline.
Eight years, a broader view: of an annual cohort of 303 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, including full-time and part-time students, both first-time students and those with prior experience, 61 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school as of August 2023. Compared with similar schools, its position is below the group median.
Here is a fact deserving special attention if your family would qualify for Pell aid: among students in that cohort who received a Pell Grant, only 49 out of every 100 left with a degree or certificate from this school within eight years—19 points below the group that did not receive Pell. A family’s eligibility for Pell today does not determine an individual student’s outcome, but this is a real gap worth asking the school about directly: Is a counselor assigned to these students? Is emergency aid available? Does the institutional grant or scholarship renew automatically each year? Ask for the answers in writing.
What this article cannot tell you
We do not know what happens to Presbyterian College graduates after graduation: how much they earn, where they work, or how much debt they carry when they leave. That information requires another source and is not authorized in this document.
Putting the pieces together
You now know, in considerable detail, one of the three pieces you need to make a decision: what kind of institution this is, what it costs in different scenarios, how selective it is on paper and in practice, and what happened to those who enrolled before your child.
This article does not have the other two pieces; you do. What your child wants to study, how far away they are willing to live, and what they have built during high school. And how much your family can and is willing to pay, with what combination of savings, aid, and loans.
When you put all three together, that is when a plan takes shape. In the meantime, the immediate task is concrete: request the financial-aid letter with the actual net price, verify in writing anything that remains uncertain, and decide based on the amount your family would actually have to pay, not the one shown in the brochure.
Source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) data from the United States Department of Education, corresponding to the cycles and periods cited throughout the article, principally 2022-23 and 2023-24. Best College Aid does not represent Presbyterian College or any government agency; this article organizes and explains official public information.