No Red Ink
Unlike many universities, we have more faculty than administrators and we operate without a lot of frills and unnecessary expenses. We watch our budget carefully and push as many tuition dollars as possible to the classroom. Right where they belong.
New Buildings, No Debt
At Francis Marion University, we’ve added a half dozen new academic facilities over the past decade, without borrowing any money. We understand that financial responsibility means costs savings for our students. Your tuition dollars don’t go to debt, which is good news for you.
Scholarship Help You Need
FMU has worked hard in recent years to develop new resources for our students to keep costs low. Giving from our donors is growing, which allows us to provide more than $9 million in FMU-specific scholarships. Our average student aid package tops $2,100 per year.
Francis Marion University recently became the only public university on South Carolina to freeze tuition prices for the 2019-2020 school year. We take the title of South Carolina's Best Educational Value seriously.
Why Cost Matters
Low Debt means Low Tuition
South Carolina public universities have borrowed hundreds of millions over the years to build new buildings. When those bills come due, students and their parents have to pay it. Francis Marion University’s practice of raising money privately for new construction, and not building until that money is raised, helps it maintain the state’s lowest cost of attendance.
The list below shows the amount college’s debt added to student tuition at South Carolina universities in 2016-17. See how FMU compares to other in-state colleges.
School Debt included in Tuition
Clemson University: $1,414
Winthrop University: $1,186
SC State University: $984
University of South Carolina (Columbia): $920
Coastal Carolina University: $890
College of Charleston: $879
USC Upstate $590
USC Aiken $482
The Citadel: $421
Francis Marion University: $251
Source: South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
