<p>My son is planning on applying to 4 schools, which is making me very nervous. He does have a safety school (I agree) that he has seen and likes just fine. I have bugun to hear about College of Charleston but really don't know anything about the school and would love to hear some input about it. What other school might it be compared to? What other schools do kids apply to who apply to CoC? What are the strengths and weaknesses? The student body? More conservative vs. liberal? Is it a particularly religious school? </p>
<p>I would appreciate knowing more about it so he can decide if he should consider applying there.
Thanks very much.</p>
<p>Boxcar, I live in Charleston. I think CofC is a pretty good school. Just under 10,000 students. I would say politically, it is probably middle of the road, maybe leaning slightly left. Charleston and SC in general is conservative, but not so much CofC. It is not a religious school, but I would say it probably reflects the religious views of the students. I think the state of SC in general has a strong religious base much like other states in the South. The city of Charleston itself has lots of old churhes. The campus is absolutely beautiful and located smack in the middle of downtown Charleston. Students can step off campus and feel like they stepped onto the movie set of Gone With the Wind. It has approx a 65/35 girls to guys ratio. No football team, but a great basketball team. They are also well known for their sailing team. Of course, they have all the other sports, baseball, volleyball, tennis, golf, etc. Two of my neighbors are professors there. Housing is tough to find. I don't know what the situation is now, but I know at one time a big complaint was there wasn't enough dorm space for everyone. Lots of students rent locally. Cars are not needed at all and parking downtown in general is a pain. CofC is very popular for in-state students. CofC has gotten tougher to get into the past few years with a rising avg SAT somewhere around 1200. About 1/3 of the students are OOS. The high girl to guy ratio isn't too big a deal as The Citadel is almost right next door and it is probably 85/15 guys to girls. CofC seems to be good in the math and sciences and has a good relationship with the Medical University of SC (MUSC) which is also downtown. For in-state SC students, the three most popular public universities are Clemson, USC and CofC, but not necessarily in that order. Other schools that students around here like in addition to CofC are: Furman, Winthrop, Wofford, UNC and UGA. I think it is a great school. My S did not apply there simply for the reason that he wants to go away for college. If I can answer any other questions, just PM me.</p>
<p>I know of a lot of teachers at my school that went there for education. I used to want to be a teacher and that was where many people recommended I go. It seems to be a very strong school for it.</p>
<p>Charleston is my favorite place in South Carolina! I just love it. Most of my friends that are girls want to go there. It's definitely a popular school in my town (which is just 20 minutes from Columbia).</p>
<p>I would think instate, but I don't have stats. Lukester said above that 1/3 are OOS, which I assume means out of state.</p>
<p>About the friends thing, I think 5 girls from my school went last year and they were pretty much best friends. I wouldn't let that stop you. My town is tiny and pretty much everyone knows everyone and a lot of people go to school because of where their friends do.</p>
<p>I go to c of c a lot of students are actually from out of state, if you are unsure about yoursun being admitted there's a page for freshman on c of c's website <a href="http://www.cofc.edu%5B/url%5D">www.cofc.edu</a> where it gives you what gpa you should have and instate out of state sat/act scores. Living here at college in sorority housing i hate the parking, but the greek life, and student life overall is fantastic there's always something to do , and there's a milllion clubs to join, not to mention most of the faculty at c of c are ery caring people. It also has some really good programs like the education department, communication, religious studies, and sciences</p>
<p>This school is okay. The campus is beautiful and the professors are hit or miss. I met some very good ones, and some fairly indifferent, aloof ones. However, the teachers were good about meeting with students to help. Actually some of the humanities teachers were phenomenal, and really incited interesting class discussions. There were also a variety of campus sports to join, and I was able to snag a decent internship out of a professor while there. I also did research with another and did a poster.</p>
<p>The weather was nice, and you’re close to the beach, but the town has some problems. First the crime here is VERY bad. I was robbed twice (living 3 blocks off campus), and had a friend literally get shot by a deranged homeless man (survived). And alcoholism is more problematic here than even other campuses because the only attractions downtown available to students are bars. Recently a very cool music store and movie theater were shut down. All that remains is places to drink and eat, many of which are outrageous. </p>
<p>Also name recognition of the school seems to be improving, but the school nonetheless won’t exactly beef up your resume. I’ve never directly been shunned for going here by interviewers (in NJ currently), but nobody has seems to have heard of the school either. Lots of people that stay in the area end up working menial jobs. The worst part? The sheer cost of this school. The school increased its out of state tuition by 1.5x in the four years I was there to fund a new basketball stadium. I definitely wish I went to Rutgers to have a real career network and alumni network to work with…I’m going back to school but regret this place because of the price.</p>
<p>The College of Charleston is often mistaken for a private university although it is, in fact, a public school. It is very popular with out-of-state students, however, and that may be partially responsible for creating the impression that it is private. According to the C of C’s Institutional Research Office 45.6% of all newly enrolled freshman last year were from states other than South Carolina. The overall percentage of out-of-staters among the total undergraduate population is lower, but still substantial at 36.9 %.</p>
<p>As Lukester noted, housing is at a premium. Although more than 90% of freshmen live in college-owned dorms, only a third of the total undergrad student body lives on campus.</p>