<p>I am a Texas senior in the top 6% of my class (31 out of 617). I got a 32(34m/e, 32cr,27sc) act and 2180 (760m,670r,750w) sat. I am awaiting NM notification but probably got commended. I was in NHS for 2 years, young republicans for 2(though I don't identify with the movement any more). I competed in academic competition in current issues last year and will compete in science this year. I have 30 hours or so of community service mostly helping plant at the school. I played subvarsity basketball for 2 years before quitting to get a job. I worked at a grocery store for a year. I was involved in debate for a year. I am a teacher's aide for my physics teacher. I am taking the most rigorous schedule possible 5 aps and a dual credit class. I have taken hard classes in all my previous years too. All this being said, do I stand ANY CHANCE of getting the mcnair at south carolina or is that just out of my range?</p>
<p>Wavylays- My daughter had similar stats and was National Merit Commended. She did however have more activities in HS. She attended the dinner here in Atlanta, but was not invited to interview. She did interview for the “Haslam” at Tennessee which is similar to the McNair. She obviously did not get it or my name would be VOL Mom. In the past two years we have had a McNair finalist and a McNair Scholar from our local High School. They both had much better stats, top 1-2%, varsity athlete, Nat’l Merit semi finalist, etc.
The McNair finalist was awarded the Presidential Scholarship to Georgia Tech where he is now attending. The McNair scholar from our HS did attend S.Carolina.
My point in all this is it is VERY competitive. I would recommend applying to the Honors College. S. Carolina has awesome out of state scholarships. My daughter has the Cooper which is in state tuition plus $4000. She is a sophomore in the Honors College and loves S. Carolina. Good Luck to you!</p>
<p>Close, but not quite. You will probably get one of their lessor awards. Big benefit comes with the in state tuition</p>
<p>Mark2457 is correct. Although you probably will not get invited to compete for the McNair, you are likely to get accepted to the Honors College with in-state tuition and a $4,000 a year Cooper Scholarship. ALL of this year’s Honors College freshmen received in-state tuition and a merit scholarship, making it less expensive than most of the out-of-state students’ in-state flagship schools. Also, listen to CockyMom when she says:</p>
<p>“I would recommend applying to the Honors College. S. Carolina has awesome out of state scholarships. My daughter has the Cooper which is in state tuition plus $4000. She is a sophomore in the Honors College and loves S. Carolina.” Also, here is what I just posted about the Honors College in another thread:</p>
<p>“Our son received an invitation last year [to the McNair Scholarship recruitment dinner] and blew it off. His mother and I had the same attitude…we didn’t know anything about the McNair or the Honors College at USC. Then, a couple of weeks later, our son received a letter suggesting that he apply to the Honors College because he might be competitive for the McNair. I did some research and thought that he should throw in an application, although we remained skeptical about the Honors College. After much cajoling, our son applied, but still had no interest in attending.</p>
<p>“All that changed after being invited to compete for the McNair. Our son was BLOWN AWAY by what he saw. When he returned home, he said that he was going to attend the Honors College even if he did not win the McNair. The Honors College went from “no interest” to the top of his list. In the end, he selected it over quite a few schools, including Emory, Vanderbilt and the Honors Program as well as a merit scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill.”</p>
<p>I had similar stats and got the Cooper and into the Honors College. But I also got a departmental scholarship, so I would look and see if your major has any of those. You’ll probably be very competitive for that.</p>
<p>Hi jmarietol, you have posted a number of times on the USC page. How are you liking the Honors College?</p>
<p>Remember also if you a national merit scholar you receive the Leiber at USC which is $10,00/year plus computer. That plus honors college admission with any scholarship that gives you in-state rates and you are in good shape. Definitely recommend honors college but start on application now. It’s the most complex my daughter did last year.</p>
<p>A small correction to scmom12’s post 
According to the USC website, the Lieber is $10,000 for in-state students but only $6,000 for out-of-state students (plus in-state tuition, as scmom12 points out.) Precisely, the website says "up to” $10,000/$6,000. I do not know for sure what “up to” means, but I have a theory:</p>
<p>The Lieber is “stackable” onto other USC scholarships. I suspect that the “up to” qualification has been added to make sure that no student’s total scholarship award is greater than the cost of attendance. P.S., to anyone from USC who happens to be reading this post:</p>
<p>It would be helpful if USC would join the discussions, as appropriate. There are schools that do this, such as the “other Carolina” – UNC-Chapel Hill. For example, UNC-Chapel Hill jumps in to squelch untrue rumors, which are particularly rampant around the time of admission notification.</p>
<p>meadowbrookcourt - thanks for the clarification on OOS leiber. the point about usc awards being stackable is very important too. Many schools don’t do that. Also, you can get an unlimited amount of scholarship on paper, but the limit to what you can actually use (especially for purposes of getting overage paid back to you) is a total cost of attendance figure. My daughter had several scholarships reduced to keep her to that amount…but still got overage check.</p>
<p>S was a McNair Finalist (not Scholar, but still an award +computer) AND a Lieber (for NMFinalist) plus he got a departmental scholarship.Then the dept tried to award him another scholarship that he had to decline b/c he was already “packaged” up to the cost of attendance!! Don’t forget the COA includes tuition,room/board/transportation, a book allowance. He too got overage checks each year he was at USC.
It is a wonderful place (the Honors College especially) and one of not so many U’s that allows for that magical stacking of scholarships.
And…they have an awesome football team…GO GAMECOCKS!!!</p>
<p>One change subsequent to when cathymee’s son was at USC is that, per the Website, “A student may receive only one general University Scholarship with the exception of the Lieber Scholarship.” This is an unfortunate result of the poor economy, and the effect it has had on the state of South Carolina’s finances. Fortunately, departmental scholarships remain “stackable” onto general University Scholarships.</p>
<p>MeadowbrookCourt: Sorry, I don’t check this site very often, it gets pretty busy. I really love the Honors College, especially living in the Honors Dorm. It is so great living with pretty much everyone that you have classes with. I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far, and I honestly can’t wait for the next four years!</p>
<p>jmarietol, that’s great! Our son loves it too. The Honors College is a very special place, as is the Honors Dorm. We were at Parents Weekend this past weekend, and were incredibly impressed at the quality of the Honors College students we were introduced to. Also, the facilities and resources are top-notch, which is incredible considering the modest cost; i.e., in-state tuition and an annual merit scholarship for every one of the incoming out-of-state freshmen.</p>
<p>Meadowbrook: That statement from the University still reads to me like a student can get a general University Scholarship plus the Lieber plus a departmental so i dont think there has been any change to policy since S was there. Also, I’m not sure if the McNair counts as a general University Scholarship since its funded outside of the general U budget?</p>