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2023 Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in South Carolina
There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in South Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in South Carolina to see which associate degree programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
Top Trade Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Trident Technical College the best school in South Carolina for trade school students working on their associate degree. Trident Technical College is a public institution located in Charleston, South Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,438 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $5,059 in tuition and fees if they attend Trident Technical College full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $8,606. Associate Degree recipients from Trident Technical College accumulate an average of $19,444 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at Trident Technical College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 75% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Spartanburg Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in South Carolina list. This medium-sized public school is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and it awarded 617 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from South Carolina who attend Spartanburg Community College full time pay an average of $6,030 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,822. On average, associate degree students take out $9,430 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Spartanburg Community College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 57% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Greenville Technical College is a great place for trade school students working on their associate degree. GTC is located in Greenville, South Carolina and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,217 associate degrees to qualified students.
Full-time students from South Carolina pay an average of $5,882 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend GTC. Out-of-state students pay an average of $10,202. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $19,101 in student loans.
Online courses are available at GTC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 82% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College is a great place for trade school students working on their associate degree. Orangeburg, South Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associate degrees to 258 students in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from South Carolina pay an average of $5,954 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend OCtech. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $7,970. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $10,798 in student loans.
OCtech does offer online classes for certain degree levels. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 84% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Florence-Darlington Technical College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in South Carolina list. Florence-Darlington Technical College is a small public school located in Florence, South Carolina that handed out 315 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from South Carolina who attend Florence-Darlington Technical College full time pay an average of $4,900 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $6,772.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Florence-Darlington Technical College. During the 2020-2021 year, about 65% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Piedmont Technical College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in South Carolina list. This medium-sized public school is located in Greenwood, South Carolina, and it awarded 631 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from South Carolina who attend Piedmont Technical College full time pay an average of $5,315 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $6,593. On average, associate degree students take out $18,799 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Piedmont Technical College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In 2020-2021 about 68% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Midlands Technical College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in South Carolina list. MTC is located in West Columbia, South Carolina and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 888 associate degrees to qualified students.
Students from South Carolina who attend MTC full time pay an average of $5,916 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $13,812. Associate Degree recipients from MTC accumulate an average of $15,672 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
MTC does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 76% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Tri-County Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. TCTC is located in Pendleton, South Carolina and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 820 associate degrees to qualified students.
Students from South Carolina who attend TCTC full time pay an average of $5,936 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $10,832. Associate Degree recipients from TCTC accumulate an average of $10,725 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at TCTC. During the 2020-2021 year, about 46% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Horry-Georgetown Technical College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree trade school programs. Horry-Georgetown Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in Conway, South Carolina that handed out 925 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from South Carolina pay an average of $5,356 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend Horry-Georgetown Technical College. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $8,593. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $18,838 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that Horry-Georgetown Technical College does offer online classes in some areas. In 2020-2021 about 72% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
York Technical College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree trade school programs. Located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the small public school handed out 673 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at York Technical College is $5,882. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $10,824. On average, associate degree students take out $10,385 in loans while pursuing their degree.
One thing to take note of is that York Technical College does offer online classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 80% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Best Trade Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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