Coker University

Private · Moderately Selective · SC

Photo: Jud McCranie (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationSC · South

SettingRural

Undergrads840

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate32.4%

6-yr grad rate39.5%

Drop-out rate30.6%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$33k

Out-of-state tuition$33k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity52%

Gender diversity56.8%

International7.4%

Identity—

Overview

Coker University is a small private university in Hartsville, South Carolina, built around round-table classrooms — discussion seating rather than lecture rows — that signal its emphasis on direct, personal instruction. It is a teaching-focused campus where access to faculty, not research prestige, is the selling point.

Academics

Business, education, and health-related fields anchor the curriculum, taught in small sections where the round-table format keeps class dynamics conversational. Coker has broadened its athletic offerings and career-facing majors in recent years, and pre-professional advising is built directly into smaller departments rather than routed through one large central office.

Campus & student life

Hartsville is a small South Carolina town, and Coker's campus is compact and walkable, with much of student life centered on campus itself rather than an off-campus city scene. Athletics participation is high relative to the size of the student body, giving many students a built-in social and organizational structure through their teams.

Getting in

Coker admits most applicants who apply and evaluates high school performance holistically rather than through rigid cutoffs, with essays and interviews used more to gauge fit with the round-table teaching model than to filter aggressively. Merit aid is a meaningful part of how the school builds its class.

After graduation

Graduates in business, education, and health fields typically move into regional employers and school systems across the Carolinas. The alumni network is small but personal, reflecting the same close-contact culture the college emphasizes for current students.

coker.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate94%

Enrolled mid-50%1080

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying