Short answer: in the latest federal data, Morris College tuition and fees were $16,728 for 2024-25, and the full cost of attendance was $31,576 a year. Students who received federal aid paid an average net price of $22,920 after grants. This page compares Morris College, a private historically Black college in Sumter, with three other private HBCUs in South Carolina: Benedict College and Allen University in Columbia and Claflin University in Orangeburg. Every figure comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, release dated November 2, 2026 (College Scorecard data).
Morris College tuition and cost at a glance (2024-25)
| Figure | Morris College (Sumter, SC) | Benedict College (Columbia, SC) | Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC) | Allen University (Columbia, SC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of attendance | $31,576 | $31,592 | $33,874 | $25,423 |
| Tuition and fees | $16,728 | $18,103 | $19,075 | $14,304 |
| Average net price after grants | $22,920 | $17,734 | $16,532 | $13,432 |
Cost of attendance is the school's full yearly budget for a first-year student: tuition and fees, housing, food, books and other expenses. All four are private nonprofit colleges, so they charge the same tuition whether or not you live in South Carolina. Net price is what students who got federal aid paid on average after grants and scholarships.
Morris College and Benedict College had almost the same cost of attendance ($31,576 and $31,592), $16 apart. Claflin University was highest at $33,874, and Allen University was lowest at $25,423, $6,153 below Morris. Morris tuition and fees ($16,728) were $1,375 below Benedict and $2,347 below Claflin, but $2,424 above Allen.
After grants, the order changes. Morris College had the highest average net price of the four at $22,920: $5,186 more than Benedict ($17,734), $6,388 more than Claflin ($16,532) and $9,488 more than Allen ($13,432). A lower list price does not always mean a lower bill.
Net price by family income
These are College Scorecard averages for students who received federal aid. The Scorecard does not report a figure when too few students fall in a band, so three Morris College bands are blank:
| Family income | Morris | Benedict | Claflin | Allen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0-$30,000 | $23,027 | $16,910 | $15,501 | $14,391 |
| $30,001-$48,000 | $18,559 | $17,914 | $16,939 | $10,455 |
| $48,001-$75,000 | Not reported | $17,916 | $19,186 | $11,444 |
| $75,001-$110,000 | Not reported | $19,492 | $20,238 | $15,247 |
| Over $110,000 | Not reported | $20,292 | $26,479 | $18,411 |
For families earning up to $30,000, Morris College averaged $23,027, compared with $16,910 at Benedict, $15,501 at Claflin and $14,391 at Allen. In the $30,001-$48,000 band Morris averaged $18,559, closer to Benedict ($17,914) and Claflin ($16,939). Allen University had the lowest average in every band.
Estimate your own price
Every college must post a net price calculator. Your own price depends on your family's finances and any scholarships you receive, so run each calculator before you compare offers. The calculators below returned HTTP 200 on November 9, 2026. Morris College's own website (morris.edu) returned HTTP 403 to automated checks that day, and the calculator link on Claflin University's tuition page returned HTTP 404, so we link Claflin's financial aid office instead:
- Morris College net price calculator (hosted by College Board, as reported to the Department of Education)
- Benedict College net price calculator (linked from Benedict's financial aid office)
- Allen University cost of attendance and net price calculator
- Claflin University financial aid
Other numbers worth comparing
| Figure | Morris | Benedict | Claflin | Allen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admission rate | Open admission | 96% | 65% | 73% |
| Graduation rate | 22% | 43% | 47% | 25% |
| Share of students with Pell grants | 77% | 70% | 75% | 83% |
| Median federal debt at graduation | $25,150 | $27,000 | $27,000 | $29,000 |
| Median earnings 10 years after entry | $37,276 | $36,562 | $44,351 | $32,754 |
| Undergraduates | 383 | 1,536 | 1,706 | 576 |
Morris College is an open-admission college, according to NCES College Navigator. It is also the smallest of the four, with 383 undergraduates, and had the lowest graduation rate (22%) and the lowest median federal debt at graduation ($25,150). Claflin University had the highest graduation rate (47%) and the highest median earnings 10 years after entry ($44,351). At all four colleges, at least 70% of undergraduates received Pell grants.
A note on sources: NCES College Navigator, which uses the same federal IPEDS survey, lists Morris College's 2024-25 on-campus cost as $31,662 with tuition and fees of $16,664, and a 2023-24 average net price of $19,180 (College Navigator: Morris College, checked November 9, 2026). The two federal tools count students and years differently, so their figures do not match exactly. Our Morris College profile shows both.
For more schools, use our side-by-side comparison, see net price vs. sticker price, or browse South Carolina college costs.
Data: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution file released November 2, 2026. Cost of attendance, tuition and admission rate are for 2024-25. Net price, debt, earnings and graduation rate are the most recent cohorts in that release and lag by a year or more. Check each college's website for current rates.