Miller-Motte College-Conway is 12.4 miles from Surfside Beach
No college sits inside Surfside Beach’s boundary, but Miller-Motte College-Conway’s campus in Conway, with 164 students on campus, is 12.4 miles from the center of town, and Horry-Georgetown Technical College is 13 miles away in Conway. About 6% of Surfside Beach’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as 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 Surfside Beach. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Surfside Beach
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Surfside Beach
Two private colleges within 13.6 miles, one public college within 13 miles, and Horry-Georgetown Technical College 13 miles away.
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 $48–75k, where Surfside Beach’s median household income ($70,106) 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 Surfside 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 Surfside Beach
Is Surfside Beach a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Surfside Beach residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as South Carolina (6). The nearest campus, Miller-Motte College-Conway, is 12.4 miles away in Conway.
What colleges are near Surfside Beach?
Within 15 miles: Miller-Motte College-Conway (12.4 miles, 164 students on campus), Coastal Carolina University (13 miles, 10,318), Horry-Georgetown Technical College (13 miles, 5,432) and Galen Health Institutes-Myrtle Beach (13.6 miles, 629).
What is the closest community college to Surfside Beach, and what does it cost?
Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Conway, 13 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,468 a year for South Carolina residents; the federal net price, $4,159, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Coastal Carolina University cost if we live in South Carolina?
Tuition and fees are $11,640 a year in-state and $29,628 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $9,563 (under $30,000 income) to $20,219 (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 Surfside 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 →