I was accepted to university of South Carolina as a capstone scholar. I like the program itself, but I hate the dorms you have to live in for it. They’re just ugly and dim and honestly pretty creepy. I’d much rather live in one of the other dorms nearbye so I’d still be close enough to participate but not actually live in the capstone building. The only worry I have tho is that if I live in another dorm, I won’t get to be as social with the other capstone people and I’ll be left out. Does anyone have any experience with the capstone scholars at USC? Do you think living in a different dorm is a good idea?
My d actually did live in Capstone for 2 years ( most of her friends moved off campus sophomore yr though) . It is definitely one of the dorms that has not been updated but d didn’t seem to mind at all . She met so many people from that dorm freshman yr and most of her best friends today are from the floor she was on freshman yr. You can choose to live elsewhere but according to d , it might be somewhat inconvenient since they often have activities , meetings , etc that happen in that dorm so obviously it’s easier if you are right there . It’s nice to have the dining hall downstairs as well .D never really complained about the dorm being old .I think it is something you really focus on before you start freshman year and then later it seems like it’s not that big of a deal . D never regretted living there at all . I guess I’ve seen a lot of older dorms ( much worse) looking at colleges with my other kids so it didn’t seem that bad to me …but it’s true that it’s definitely not nice and new like some of them …d did not think it was gloomy however. I do think you might miss out on some social activities or it won’t be as easy to bond with the other Capstone students if you live elsewhere since the majority are there , but that’s just my opinion of course.
I understand what you mean. My son and I went to the admitted student day this weekend. We toured the Capstone dorm as well as the Bates West dorm. I had already heard that they are old, so I didn’t have high expectations. They were both old looking and relatively small. Bates West was an apartment style (so two small bedrooms for four kids), one bathroom, one fairly large living room, and a small (and old) kitchen area. Capstone, as you probably know is suite style – one bathroom connecting two rooms (two kids in each room).
The age and size of the rooms didn’t sway my son. He still wants to live in Capstone for all the reasons you mentioned as well as the sense of community there. When we listened to the presentation, it sounds like a lot of the Capstone kids only live there one year anyway. I’m glad he’s choosing to live in Capstone. I agree with @NJMOM3 in that you’ll go to more social activities and bond more with the other Capstone students if you live there. We also learned that they offer study sessions/tutoring inside the dorm, so living there would be convenient for those. Also, you won’t have to worry about walking home to another dorm for evening activities if you live in Capstone.
With that said, I am sure you will make great new friends no matter where you decide to live. Good luck!
@SwimMom87 …we definitely found that the majority of students did move off campus sophomore year…d was clearly in the minority by staying on sophomore year , but that was only because she didn’t have a car on campus yet. None of her friends minded the dorm being old freshman year …I think the social aspects outweighed the negative. They all ended up moving into really nice brand new off campus housing later anyway. I think your son will be happy with his decision. My d will miss USC !
Thanks for sharing that info, @NJMOM3 ! I’m glad your daughter had such a great experience! I assume from your name that you’re from New Jersey. We are in Ohio, so both of our kids are/will be far from home. My son is super excited to begin his adventure!
@SwimMom87 Do students necessarily need a car when they move off campus? USC/Capstone is one of my son’s choices.
^^ my daughter did not have a car until this yr , her senior year and that was because she needed it for nursing clinicals .She moved off junior year and lives in newer apt which is within walking distance to campus . Since she started at USC freshman yr, there has been a lot of new housing that has gone up that is within walking distance to campus so it is possible to not have car .
@metsgrrrl Agree that a car is not a necessity when living off campus. My D (2nd year) walks to campus from her apartment. Depending what building the class is in, it’s a 10-20 minute walk (there’s a shuttle, but she rarely uses it). Fortunately she has a few friends with cars, so that makes food shopping easy (no meal plan this year). Might be useful later on if he has an internship, but he’ll be fine without one otherwise.