Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0College of Charleston is 8 miles from Folly Beach
No college sits inside Folly Beach’s boundary, but College of Charleston’s campus in Charleston, with 10,861 students on campus, is 8 miles from the center of town, and Trident Technical College is 18.4 miles away in Charleston. About 2% of Folly Beach’s residents are enrolled in college, below South Carolina (6%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Folly Beach. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Folly Beach
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Folly Beach
Two private colleges within 9.4 miles, and three public colleges within 8.8 miles.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $75–110k, where Folly Beach’s median household income ($102,279) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college within 15 miles of Folly Beach: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid.
Questions about college near Folly Beach
Is Folly Beach a college town?
No. About 2 of every 100 Folly Beach residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below South Carolina (6). The nearest campus, College of Charleston, is 8 miles away in Charleston.
What colleges are near Folly Beach?
Within 15 miles: College of Charleston (8 miles, 10,861 students on campus), Medical University of South Carolina (8 miles, 2,521), Charleston School of Law (8.5 miles, 675), Citadel Military College of South Carolina (8.8 miles, 2,976) and American College of the Building Arts (9.4 miles, 140).
What is the closest community college to Folly Beach, and what does it cost?
Trident Technical College in Charleston, 18.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,546 a year for South Carolina residents; the federal net price, $1,406, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does College of Charleston cost if we live in South Carolina?
Tuition and fees are $12,978 a year in-state and $38,296 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $12,133 (under $30,000 income) to $24,996 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Folly Beach. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →