| Location: | Southeast |
| Setting: | Small Town Setting |
| Type: | Public |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Bearcats |
Lander University is a public university located in Greenwood, South Carolina. It is the state's smallest publicly-funded baccalaureate institution.
Lander University was founded by Methodist clergyman Samuel Lander in 1872 as Williamston Female College in Williamston, South Carolina. It remained a private institution for 26 years. In 1898 the College gained the support of the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The college moved to Greenwood in 1904 and was renamed Lander College in honor of its founder who died in the same year. It remained a women's college until 1943 when men were first admitted.
In 1948, when the Methodist Conference, pursuant to a policy of consolidation of its education efforts decided to end support of Lander College, interested citizens of Greenwood formed the Lander Foundation as a non-profit corporation and leased the College from the Church.
In 1951, the County of Greenwood obtained the College name and property from the Methodist Conference. The South Carolina General Assembly created the Greenwood County Education Commission, known as the Lander Foundation, to serve as the board of control of the College. Lander thus became the only four-year liberal arts college in the United States to be controlled and financed by a county government.
In 1973, Lander College became a state-supported college and in 1992 its name was changed to Lander University. The institution is now completely co-educational.
The University is situated near the center of the City of Greenwood. The city of Greenwood has a population of 23,000 with a county population exceeding 66,000. Greenwood is located in the Piedmont of western South Carolina, just 2-4 hours from the beautiful South Carolina beaches or the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Lander is situated on a wooded site of approximately 123 acres. In addition to six major buildings erected since 1973, campus improvements have included extensive renovations to a number of older facilities, new housing complexes, athletics fields and parking lots. Lander looks to the future with a new 10-year Campus Master Plan, introduced in 2003. The first phase of the plan, the creation of a campus entrance, is complete, and a new residence hall for 300 students opened in 2006. An expanded dining hall opened in January of 2007.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 42% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Peach Belt Conference) Baseball (Peach Belt Conference) Track (Peach Belt Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | In-State | Out-of-State | |
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 6,588 | $ 13,528 | |
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 230 | $ 230 | |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 3,006 | 33% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 4,327 | 83% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 1,731 | 26% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,196 | 59% | |
Any Aid: |
96% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 85% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 69% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 430, Math: 440 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 530, Math: 540 |
| Application Fee: | $ 35.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Recommended |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
