COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · CHARLESTON, SC
Is College of Charleston worth the money?
Yes — at resident pricing. A College of Charleston degree clears +$597K in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.
A public four-year school in Charleston, South Carolina, priced as a South Carolina resident — earnings rolled up from 37 FREOPP-reported programs.
IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.
- 30-year net value · resident pricing
- +$597K
- Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
- $47,835
- Breaks even by age
- —
- FREOPP program coverage
- 37 programs
College of Charleston tuition & cost
- Annual tuition · South Carolina resident
- $12,978
- Annual tuition · out-of-state
- $36,858
- Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
- $108,040
Sticker tuition, before aid. Priced as a South Carolina resident; the out-of-state line is the non-resident rate. Total cost of attendance adds fees, housing, and living costs over 4 years (IPEDS 2023).
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)
College of Charleston runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and South Carolina’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.
What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 37 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.
Questions
- Is College of Charleston worth the money?
- At resident pricing, yes: College of Charleston clears +$597K in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $108,040 and median earnings of $47,835 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
- How much is tuition at College of Charleston?
- College of Charleston's annual sticker tuition is $12,978 for South Carolina residents and $36,858 for out-of-state students, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $108,040 (IPEDS 2023).
- What is the total cost of College of Charleston?
- Over 4 years, College of Charleston's sticker cost of attendance is $108,040 — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at South Carolina prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $47,835.
- What is out-of-state tuition at College of Charleston?
- Non-resident annual sticker tuition at College of Charleston is $36,858, versus $12,978 for South Carolina residents — a premium of $23,880 a year.
- How long until a College of Charleston degree pays for itself?
- Under our defaults the degree path finishes +$597K ahead at the 30-year horizon; the year-by-year crossover depends on your loan share and time horizon — run your own assumptions on the calculator.
- What could change the number for College of Charleston?
- Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices College of Charleston as a South Carolina resident — non-resident tuition is a different trade (see the out-of-state tax in South Carolina). And the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages).
Keep going
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Is College of Charleston worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/college-of-charleston