We are near Baltimore and are deciding between University of Maryland Scholars program and USC Honors (at least my daughter could register for the Honors tour so we presume that’s the case based on comments in this forum). We know two USC students from our area who each told us they get to USC by flying BWI-RDU and then driving about 4 hours. I prefer not to drive 18 hours round trip. It seems to me the best choice is to drive about 1 hour to DC and fly from Reagan Airport in DC to the Columbia regional airport: CAE, but both students and their parents dismissed it. The round trip for April for two people is about $400 BWI-RDU vs. $700 for DCA-CAE which is a substantial difference, but I would also have to rent a car for RDU and would save 6 hours drive time (2 hours round trip in car Home-DC vs. 8 hours round trip RDU-USC-Columbia). Any advice from Marylanders or others? I think for us my idea makes the most sense but I would like some input from those with experience.
And if anyone wants to give their opinions on comparing the schools - my daughter would be a kinesiology major at UMD and an exercise science major at USC with the goal of getting a DPT for physical therapy. She received instate tuition for USC and may get a bit more. USC is a bit cheaper but travel costs would probably even it out so cost is a non-factor
I’d say flying into Charlotte and driving to Columbia would be your best bet. I drive regularly from the Charlotte area to Columbia, it’s about an hour and a half drive from the airport
My D is at SC and we live in the Philadelphia suburbs. I have driven her to BWI (3 hours RT) to fly to Charlotte, but that was to save substantial money at Thanksgiving (and she has a car down there so no rental or shuttle cost to get to and from Charlotte-Columbia). Sometimes flights into CAE are reasonable ($100 or so each way to PHL with enough lead time) so keep checking. And those flights often include a plane change at Dulles, so you might look at that airport,too. The Columbia airport is fairly close to campus so you’re right, no need for a rental (Uber is about $15 each way). You won’t need a car at all once you’re down there as there are many hotels a quick walk from campus.
FWIW, driving on I-95 should take about 7-1/2 hours max if you time it to avoid DC and Richmond rush hours. It’s an easy drive once you pass Richmond.
If your D does decide on USC, she’ll probably find people to drive with after first year which will cut down on the costs. Many of my D’s friends had cars as of 2nd year even though their off campus apartments were within walking distance of campus. My kid took our old (2004) car for 3rd year primarily because of an internship — but it did mean no driving for us, which was nice.
UMD is a fine school, but your D won’t go wrong with the SCHC if she likes the campus, atmosphere, etc. I have no knowledge of those specific majors at either school, but there are scads of very smart kids with a whole variety of majors in the Honors College, and the early registration and dual advisors (one for Honors and one for her major) is invaluable. USC is also very generous with AP credit (don’t know about UMD) in case that’s a factor.
My son is an exercise science major in Capstone at USC. First year, so has not dug into the program yet. He just loves USC. The ASPH has a hefty per semester fee for OOS residents. it is about $1,300 in state. Aside from that, he is very happy. He is hoping to do PT as well, and is interested in the joint Athletic Training PHD program. During orientation last year I asked questions about admit rates to DPT programs and the Dean responded, “Good question”. They had not been tracking that. They did say, and I was confirmed by other schools, that DPT admission is highly competitive. My son chose USC over Miami U in Ohio and U. Delaware. Hard to know what you don’t know, but I think he made a good choice.
We live in Fairfax County. I drive down 95.during non summer, non holiday times I am there in 6.5 -7 hrs. But The trip home in Aug was 11 hrs. Sometimes he takes a flight out of CAE to DCA. It is quick and easy. There is also Amtrack, but the departing train from Columbia leaves really early. I would fly into Columbia and Uber. Costs for everything in April admitted student days tend to run high because it coincides with a Golf tournament. So be prepared to have expensive hotels. If you can’t get close to campus, driving may be a better option.
Oh, and as LuckyCharms913 said, your dau should have no problems finding rides home if she attends. I paid $$ for Thanksgiving flights only because my son had night classes and his rides didn’t want to wait all day for him to go to class. Same at finals…everyone finished on different days.
And to LuckyCharms913 other point, my son has his first Exercise Science class this semester because AP credits let him place out of other entry level classes.
There is a Columbia to Charlotte airport shuttle - called, wait for it - ColumbiaCharlotte shuttle. I think about $55 each way. Worth it to have more options for lower $ flights into Charlotte. It markets to students but I know lots of adults around here (Columbia) that use it to have someone else do the driving.
Yea, the April dates are the same as weekend for The Masters which books up hotels even in Columbia (about 1-1 1/2 hours to Augusta National.
Also, D in CT has changed planes in Baltimore when flying Southwest so that might be option - they fly into Charlotte, but not Columbia.
We are in NoVa and direct flights from Washington Dulles to Columbia are consistently in the $200-300 range. When we went to visit a late 2016, it was $200 and a super fast, super easy trip. That is one of the things that sold us on USC. DD will have her car at school and a neighbor friend will also be there so I anticipate them driving back and forth together for longer breaks. Dulles isn’t terribly close to Baltimore but not that far, either. Definitely worth checking into.
My d always flew from philly into Charlotte with no problems at all . She also used the columbia Charlotte shuttle mentioned above several times and that worked out great. D ended up having tons of close friends from Maryland ( Baltimore , Annapolis etc)…you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many students there are from that area who can help with rides .A few times ( before she had a car ) I actually drove d to Maryland to meet up with some of her friends who had cars and drove her the rest of the way back to school after breaks etc .
My daughter is a freshman in the South Carolina Honors College and loves it (also got into UMD and chose U of SC). She absolutely loves it.
We are in upper Montgomery County, and she flies back and forth quite a bit, United from IAD or American from DCA - both direct into CAE. I recognize that we are much closer to those airports than you are, but it is so, so easy to get from CAE to campus that it might be worth it for you to drive her to DCA or IAD.
As mentioned above, BWI-CLT on SW is direct, but then she has the shuttle ride on that end. It’s not a big deal, $110 RT, but I’ve found that when you add in the shuttle cost, you won’t save that much money (you will save time since you’re in Baltimore).
Hi @TerpDad888 We’re also close to Baltimore. We like Southwest, so we’re flying into CLT from BWI and then renting a car to drive the 1 1/2 hours to visit USC. My D is also trying to decide between UMCP and UofSC (haven’t heard from honors or Capstone scholars yet), plus one other great school she’s gotten into so far.(She still has 6 other schools to hear from) She’s a public health major. We hear the Kinesiology program at UMCP is excellent! HTH!
Thank you all again for these responses both on the schools and travel. We are going with BWI-Charlotte. As to which school, fortunately either choice seems a win as all I’m hearing is how the vast majority of students love both schools and I’ve learned how the USC Honors College is so highly regarded. From these posts it also has a very nice community.
We’re in Montgomery county. I absolutely love driving down, as there are a number of great BBQ restaurants on the way. We’ve flown a few times and my daughter also has taken the bus. All have been pretty cheap and easy. We’ve flown through DCA and it is fast and convenient. The Columbia airport is fabulous. I have a friend in Georgia and he regularly drives there instead of going through Atlanta because he says it saves him time. We had an early flight coming home and they told us to show up half an hour in advance. That turned out to be plenty of time. Flight costs are typically around $200 rt. Daughter also came back once on the bus. We purchased two seats for her, primarily because of her luggage, and she stretched out and slept. She said this worked out great also.