New college rankings include several from SC; which one is the state’s best?

Clemson University ranks as the top college in South Carolina, according to a new study from personal finance website WalletHub.

Of the 951 colleges included in the national study, seven S.C. colleges finished in the top 500, according to the study.

The study ranked colleges based on selectivity (higher ranking for stricter admissions), cost, student-faculty ratio, campus safety and “campus experience,” according to the study.

Erskine College, while it did not make the top 500, had the third-lowest student loan debt rates, according to the study. Meanwhile, The Citadel, which was ranked 473, had the fifth-highest student loan debt, according to the study.

Claflin University and Columbia International University had some of the lowest returns on education investment of the 951 colleges surveyed, but CIU ranked as the 179th best college in the country.

S.C. colleges that made the top 500:

Clemson: 84 (16th in the South)

Wofford College: 160 (35th in the South)

Columbia International University: 179

Presbyterian College: 181

University of South Carolina: 218

North Greenville University: 321

The Citadel: 473