Kid did not make the cut for Honors. Pretty rejected. But has a $25K (at a minimum) a year scholarship and was pre-admitted to Darla Moore school of business for IB. Is there a silver lining here? UGA is free with grades but like USC. Thanks
I don’t know about parents. But I am a student waiting on South Carolina honors (OOS) and I wouldn’t be interested
in SC if the cost is cheaper at UGA. Nowadays a bachelor’s is not enough and a master’s is more important for employment than a bachelor’s. College experience is what you make of it. It is not where you go but how/what you do at the school that you go to. Just my opinion for what it is worth. I went through this when I was deciding on which high school to attend after my middle school. That was 4 years ago, and I was much younger and naive. Now in hindsight, I have realized and have learned that what I made out of my high school experience was the key and not which high school I went to. Plenty of my middle school friends who went to a different high school are not looking at very good options at the moment. I am thinking that if I had gone with them to a ‘better’ high school but had stuck with the wrong crowd, I wouldn’t be where I am today with some good options. So I am applying the same thoughts now as I wait for college acceptances and aid. My parents cannot afford to pay big amounts for my college and nor would I want them to.
First, I am sorry for your kid. With that much upfront merit money, he/she is obviously well qualified, but I often think that there is an element of luck involved in decisions like these.
Now to your specific question. My D is a first year pre-IB major who is also in the HC. Yes, some of the Honors classes are small-- but I was pleasantly surprised at how small her “regular” classes are. First semester she had Financial Accounting (not the Honors version as those sections were all full), which was around 40 students–but it was an 8 AM class so maybe that’s why it was small? This semester she does have an Honors section of Managerial Accounting, which I think is 25 students, so not that much smaller than the regular class last semester.
Her two Intro Spanish courses–again, not Honors courses–were capped at 25 students. Her Intro Mgmt class this semester is around 30 students; it’s a Core Business course so everyone who takes it is in a class of 25-30 (some time slots are of course more popular than others). Many of the IB classes are not offered in an Honors version, so many of your kid’s class sizes in the major will be the same size as the Honors kids.
Was your child offered Capstone?
Silver lining? Got accepted to IB and minimum $25k/year scholarship. That sounds like a gold lining. Most kids would kill for that. I think you’ve got to explain that the glass is not half empty, but just has a few drops missing off the top. Seriously, y’all should be doing the happy dance, not moping. It’s rare to get a free ride, even for superstars. Congrats!
At most universities it’s usually possible to join the honors program later if grades are high.
The pre-admit to IB is a huge advantage. My friend’s DD is doing the near impossible double major of IB and Fashion Merchandising. She could not have been more pleased with the quality of students in the IB program, the professors and course content. USC’s mandatory experience abroad and language requirement is intense and potential employers know it.
I really do appreciate all of your input. Gora14- In our family we are allowed to Mope but for only a short period of time.
mommyrocks- You are correct, you can apply later if you want. LuckyCharms- Yes, he was very well qualified and that’s what made it sting.
One thing that is important to realize is that there is arbitrariness in these decisions. There are numerous applications to go through and LOTS of very well-qualified students in competition. A friend of my daughters was just turned down from his safe school. He has a 4.0, head of a team sport, numerous APs, 1800+ SAT and a minority. Who knows why, but he was extremely well qualified and it is a shock to me. These things happen and you have to realize that being rejected should not be taken personally. He’s been offered the world by another school. The good news in your case is that if there is anything not to be accepted for, it would be the Honor’s college. The scholarship is super and the IB is outstanding. The Honor’s gets you into a slightly nicer dorm building… but the Honor’s classes? you ask? You don’t have to be in the Honor’s program to take them. All you need is a professor to tell them you’re up to it, and they will do this, … and you can get in next year. I would gladly trade my D’s Honor’s college acceptance for your son’s $25k scholarship! Between USC and UGA, I don’t think there is a bad choice.
Second that a pre-admit to IB is big. Niece is non-honors but 4.0 and applied to IB as sophomore and did not get accepted. And she lived in China for years and already pretty fluent. With a pre-admit I think you are good as long as you keep a certain GPA (but it’s not a 4.0) and take the required classes.
For what it’s worth, my older son appealed to the Honors College at Boston University and was accepted. It is not a formal process but his Admission counselor told him that there wasn’t a reason to NOT accept him in a review of his file, it was just the number/quality of applicants that year. He was encouraged by Admissions to reach out to the Head of the Honors College. My son emailed him and had to send a follow up essay as to why it was important to him to be in the Honors program. He is now a junior and loving the Honors program. If it’s worth it to your child, then ask for a reconsideration. The worst they can say is no (which is where he/she is now).
My second son (Freshman) was accepted to USC Honors and pre-admit to the IB program. Loving both.
The Admissions staff has to shoot for a certain yield of students and Honors College/Capstone admits. However, it is not an exact science and students may drop out of the target numbers. What does your child have to lose?
Thank you Dotmom! Great advice and why not try… I appreciate everyone on this thread.
@loop2loop You mentioned that UGA would be “free with grades.” Would you mind elaborating? Is that a program for GA residents only? I’m am in NY, but I’m always curious about free rides!
@STEM2017, check out the UGA Foundation Fellowship Scholarship…for OOS.
In GA for instate students you get the lottery funded Hope scholarship if you have over a 3.0 which pays about 80% and if you have a 3.7 or better (which my kid does) it’s pays 100% or free.
and when I say 3.7, that’s a stripped down (core classes only) non-weighted GPA.
Hope does weight. It adds .5 points to AP and IB classes. So if you have 85 UW grade in an AP/IB class. Hope will calculate as a 90. Hope doesn’t weight honor classes.
@LuckyCharms913 I corresponded with you before regarding Univ of South Carolina’s Honors College and Int’l Business Program. To briefly refresh your memory, my kid is a Senior at a very competitive public HS in CA (around 30 National Merit Semi-finalists every year) with 3.90 unweighted GPA (with many APs and Honors classes) and has just been (luckily) notified by his HS that he has been accorded National Merit Semi-finalist status in CA. He also has good ECs in the field of Int’l Relations and is fluent in 2 languages and conversant in 2 additional languages. Essentially, he might be looking at choosing among UC Berkeley, UCLA and Univ of South Carolina should be he fortunate in being accepted to all of them. Univ of South Carolina has captured my interest not only because it has a number 1 Int’l Business Program but because it would actually cost us less than UCLA or UC Berkeley.
He will be putting down Univ. of South Carolina as his 1st choice on his National Merit Finalist application, and will also be applying to Honors College as an Int’l Business major. From what I can tell, he would qualify automatically for Lieber Scholarship based on his being a National Merit Semi-finalist and would qualify for Cooper Scholarship based on his ACT score and USC’s own weighted GPA. My questions are:
- Does he have to interview with Univ of South Carolina to receive Lieber and Cooper Scholarships?
- Would he also qualify for McNair or Horseshoe Scholarships? It would be best if he could get either McNair/Horseshoe Scholarship and combine that with the automatic Lieber Scholarship, if that is possible.
- What is the ethnic diversity of Honors College and/or Int'l Business college? Are there some minorities such as blacks and Asian-Americans in these two places? I know the majority of students and professors will be white.
- Do you know if there will be good job prospects in South Carolina area after he graduates from IB major, or is it advisable for him to pursue a Masters degree to improve his job prospects? I don't want my kid to study so much if he can help it. :)
- Do students in the Honors College residence dorm share bathrooms between females and males? I know the residence dorm is co-ed.
- I know Univ of South Carolina's Int'l Business Program is good, but how is their International Studies Program? He probably will be majoring in IB but minoring in a language or Int'l Studies. To be frank, my only concern with Univ of South Carolina is that its other Programs (aside from Int'l Business) are not as highly ranked. I am afraid my kid might want to change his major.
Thank you in advance.
@websensation I can answer a few of these and will get back to you on the rest after I check with my D.
- Lieber is automatic for NMF. There is some discretion about Cooper but if his stats are in the posted range, he should get that award. No interview needed and awards would be in a letter.
- McNair and Horseshoe are competitive and candidates are invited to attend a scholarship weekend. When your S applies to the Honors College, his app also serves as the app for those two awards. If he is invited, I believe he must attend to be considered. Attendees get one or the other, so if he receives an invitation and attends the scholarship weekend, he is guaranteed to receive Horseshoe or McNair. I think Lieber stacks with either.
- Don't know, will get back to you.
- My kid expects to start work immediately w/o a master's. She would like to be in an urban area and will cast a wide net. I don't know about opportunities in SC specifically although internships while in school are plentiful. I think one of the reasons the IB program is highly rated is the placement rate. Your S's language skills should make him very marketable.
- Honors Dorm is 2 rooms with a bathroom in between. Both sides of the bath are the same gender so he would share with 1, 2 or 3 other males. There may be girls next door but they will connect to another room of girls through their bathroom. No mixed gender bathrooms in the Honors Dorm.
Many kids only stay in that dorm for one year. My kid and about 15 of her friends are in on-campus apartments this year (650 Lincoln, very close to the B school, brand new and gorgeous) which again are same gender within a unit although co-ed overall. First preference for these buildings (I think there are 3) are Honors kids, Business majors and athletes, with different floors housing different categories as space permits. Other kids move off campus or to the Horseshoe apartments (very nice as well).
- 3 of my D's friends are IR majors. They are all HC students. Will ask D what they think of the overall program.
All IB students minor in a language. They also must choose a second business major besides IB (e.g. Econ, Accounting. Finance, Global Supply Chain, etc). That can make it tough to choose yet another minor like IR while also fulfilling the Honors College requirements, although perhaps your S will get passed through a number of requirements due to AP credits, fluency, etc.
Yes, IB is especially strong. However, when I walked through my D’s dorm last year during move-in, I saw so many different majors listed. My kid was the only IB major on her wing (30 or so students). That says to me that there are really bright students in every major so even if he changes his mind, he should be in good hands.
@LuckyCharms913 Did you ever talk to your daughter regarding IR program? Tx…
- 3 of my D's friends are IR majors. They are all HC students. Will ask D what they think of the overall program.
Regarding McNair - 40 OOS students are chosen to interview. All of those will get at least Horseshoe. Leiber can be stacked with these or other scholarships. Needless to say, there are lots of very qualified applicants based on GPA and scores when it come to the top scholarships. Spend a lot of time on essays. They are read closely and are very important in the top scholar selection process and acceptance into Honors college as a whole. Leiber is automatic, no interview. Beyond Top Scholars (McNair, Horseshoe, Carolina, Hamilton and Stamps) no interview required - stat based.
Honors students in every major can have good outcomes. They have great research opportunities and usually the best professors in their respective departments. They have close relationship with Office of Fellowships and Scholarships and have access to Magellan research funds to support projects. Lots of my D’s friends have ended up outside of SC and the south after school whether for job or grad school.