<p>Hey everyone! I'm actually creating this thread for anyone who might have questions about the Capstone Scholar program, whether you are interested or are going to be in the program this fall. Or if you have questions about the dorm itself, or Gibbes Court (yum!), ask me!</p>
<p>This will be my second year in the Capstone program, and my second year living in the Capstone Residence Hall. Furthermore, I am a Capstone Ambassador for this year, so feel free to ask me questions about that as well. Can't wait to see all of you in the program this fall/ in the future!</p>
<p>I am not exactly sure what the Capstone Scholar program is. I am working on my application for Fall 2013 and was informed that I might qualify for the Honors program. It is very long application and then I saw the requirements and I am not that close (GPA 4.2 ACT 30) to qualifying for the Honors program Can you explain the Capstone Scholar Program and what the requirements are to get it.</p>
<p>What are some of the options for the Capstone Challenge thing? I know there’s skydiving and the climb, but I’m interested in knowing how many other choices there are. Also, are the floors in the Capstone dorm nothing but rooms, or is there a lounge/kitchen/etc. on every floor?</p>
<p>The Capstone Scholars program is a two-year “educational enrichment program” (as stated on the website). Unlike the Honors College, where the benefits are pretty much entirely academic, Capstone is broken up into 4 pillars - Academic, Leadership, Social, and Service. Capstone Scholars take a limited number of classes together (for example, U101, which is a requirement for all Scholars), and also have the opportunity to participate in out-of-class activities. Each semester, Scholars have to fulfill requirements for the 4 pillars. For Academic, Scholars must attend a Capstone Conversation or other approved lecture series event; they also must attend a Capstone Social event, which includes Hot Cookie Friday and Everybody’s Birthday; Scholars also have to participate in a Community service opportunity; finally, there is the Personal Challenge, for leadership. </p>
<p>From the Capstone Website:</p>
<p>2011-2012 Freshman Class -</p>
<p>Approximately 541 Capstone Scholars
59% Female / 41% Male
38% In-State / 62% Out-of-State
Scholars come from 28 different states and 2 different countries
Mean SAT: 1324/ Mean ACT: 29.8</p>
<p>Hope that gives you a good overview! I’d be glad to answer more specific questions</p>
<p>For your question about the Capstone Residence Hall:</p>
<p>There are kitchens on every other floor (or maybe every couple of floors, I’m not sure). You can definitely check the floor plan on the University Housing website, and it will show you which floors have kitchens. Keep in mind, the “kitchen” is basically a sink, a stove, and a countertop. Every floor has a study room, which has a few couches and chairs in them, and some tables for doing work. Most people hang out in the rooms though, unless it’s a big group doing something.</p>
<p>About the Personal Challenge:</p>
<p>I’m going to be honest here - you can literally do ANYTHING for a personal challenge and they will accept it as long as you can explain why it was a challenge for you. Some people choose skydiving because it’s really fun; other people just say that they raised their hand in class. Both are perfectly acceptable. For my 1st semester, I got involved in one of the many clubs on campus; my second semester, I assistant stage-managed a play in the theatre department. In the Capstone Study Shack (where Hot Cookie Friday and some other events are held), they have some former personal challenges written on the walls. Anything goes!</p>
<p>Can you give any insight to the meal plans and the restaurant in the Capstone dorm? My son will be in Capstone on floor 13 in the fall and the meal plans seem soooo confusing.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son for being in the program! I really hope he enjoys it.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure what you want me to answer, so I’ll try and give an overview. Meal plans can be very confusing at first. Basically, you get however many meals that you sign up for a week (ex: 14-plan = 14 meals per week); Breakfast is from 4am to 11am, Lunch is from 11am to 4pm, and Dinner is from 4pm to 3am. You can only use one meal swipe per meal period, and there are different allotted credits for each period. </p>
<p>If you go over, you can pay the remaining balance with Carolina Cash or Bonus Bucks. There are also a wide variety of “Value Meal Deals” at each dining area on campus, where they give you options as to what will fit on each plan (ex: a typical Lunch at Gibbes Court might give you a sandwich, chips, a fruit, and a soda).</p>
<p>Gibbes Court is located in the Capstone Residence Hall. It’s actually a bistro! (Not sure why this is a big deal, but they tell you that). It has a grill area (for burgers and the like), a salad bar, soup, and the hot line, which changes every night. Gibbes is a really convenient place for Capstone scholars but it definitely gets old after awhile to tell your son to try out some other places to eat around campus! </p>
<p>Also, I know it can seem overwhelming at first, especially trying to remember how much money you get for each meal, but you get used to it after about a week!</p>
<p>THis is general advice, not just for Capstone: Best advice we got at orientation is to look at schedule when deciding what meal plan to buy. Meal swipes are only good for time periods mentioned by GamecockGirl, so for instance, if your child is going to get up for class at last minute and not eat before class and has class at 9:05 and 10:10, then may not use many breakfast swipes. So look to see if class times keep you away from brk or lunch (although lunch period is longer). My D lived in dorm over eating place and still almost never ate breakfast there and then participated in religious center that had a supper meeting with meal provided and then worked one night a week at her home church where supper provided. Ended up not using 16+ that we started with. Reduced meal plan second semester.</p>
<p>Remember you can always increase meal plan during semester and you can change it each semester so if you find you don’t use it as much, you can adjust.</p>
<p>Every U101 group is different, but pretty much you’ll have a bunch of seminar-type things to get you introduced to the university, and do related “projects” and exercises. For example, some of the things we did were going to the Study Abroad office, a scavenger hunt around campus, a talk from the student health office, etc. Not only is U101 an overview of the university; it’s also a chance to hear about the different resources that are available to you as a student (Strom, Student Organizations, Tutoring, etc). It’s a pretty fun class, overall!</p>
<p>Is there anything my D can do to increase the likelihood of being invited to be a Capstone Scholar? She has already applied and is very involved in school and community. Thanks!</p>
<p>“All students applying to USC by the Undergraduate Admissions December 1 deadline are considered for invitation into the Capstone Scholars Program. For the Fall 2010 semseter, students needed to have a minimum of 1280 on the SAT or comparable ACT score combined with at least a 3.75 GPA. Criteria is subject to change.” - Capstone Scholars Website</p>
<p>This is really all that I can tell you. I’m not quite sure what goes into selection for the Capstone program, but there is definitely an emphasis on grades/test scores. However, every little thing counts!</p>