Oh: thank you!
My son has only scholar social under events. I don’t know what that means, but in any event; no Honors College…
They will be sending out honors college acceptances thru mid-February. Way too early to stress.
^^^ my son’s portal includes "Meet the South Carolina Honors College* above scholar social. The tweet on Monday said that all Round 1 Honor’s notifications had been mailed, and I’d assume that would mean the electronic registration would activate as well, but I don’t know for sure.
@icedlatte2 If you could ask your daughter, that would be great! I’m OOS (New Jersey) and just got accepted into the Honors College via the mail packet (the HC link is on my portal as well). I’m a little hesitant about going to school in the South, so it would be great to see what kind of kids are going there.
@lesjubilants I was born and raised in the North East and attended college in PA. My oldest son is a Freshman at USC and absolutely loves it. I would urge you to visit the school. The people (students and faculty alike) are wonderful --warm and welcoming. We met quite a few people from NJ during orientation this past summer.
@lesjubilants adding that my D is a junior at SC from Philadelphia suburbs. Her friends/roommates are from CT, MD (2), KY, MO, and of course several from SC. Nice mix of local and OOS students. She is Catholic and had friends who are Catholic, other Christian religions, Jewish, Muslim, and agnostic/atheist/non practicing. Honors College, in particular, attracts kids from all over. Great weather and really nice, friendly people in SC.
Back to second review… what does anyone know about that? Is it possible that a final decision may be mailed before March … or not?
My understanding (things may have changed) is that some HC acceptances are mailed the week before Christmas. More are mailed out in February. I have heard, but can’t confirm, that more go out in February than in December. So really nothing to worry about if he doesn’t get an acceptance now.
I will note that the instate scholarship is pretty strictly tied to stats. Some students who do not get into the HC (some because they didn’t apply) will nonetheless get a high value monetary award. HC acceptance seems to be more capricious (maybe holistic is a better word) in that acceptance doesn’t always go the highest stats kids. Seems like you need to meet some minimum threshold for stats and then the HC application makes the difference.
My daughter got her HC acceptance today! If you haven’t received a letter and are able to login to Self Service Carolina and go to the Degree Works (or degree evaluation option…) it shows Honors College acceptance as a YES. Of course, they will send out another round in February. I don’t know if it made a difference, but we made an enrollment deposit in November. I would imagine they want to see students who are willing to enroll regardless and committed to the school.
S also received HC acceptance in the mail today. We haven’t put any deposits down yet, as we want to attend an Admitted Students Day first.
I didn’t get anything in the mail yet but on my portal, it says I am invited to the “Meet the Honors College” and that this is only for Honors College admitted students. It also says at the top of that page (once I click one of the available dates for said event) that I was accepted. I know this is stupid but my ED school got my hopes up by accidentally requesting a certain enrollment form from every student before decisions were released and I ultimately got rejected. I am correct in thinking this is not a bug, right? Thanks!
I do not believe that enrollment deposits play any role in acceptance to HC. We certainly didn’t pay one, and none of the people we met in the program currently paid a deposit before being accepted to HC.
@calvary you will feel better when you get the letter, but I think you have a lot to be excited about.
@calvary, I happened to sign on to the USC applicant portal today, and unexpectedly found the same honors college invite for admissions day. Then we got the honors acceptance in the mail this evening.
@VAMom23 @grimss thank you both so much, I will definitely feel better when I get the physical letter but I am hyped nonetheless 
@LuckyCharms913 @VAMom23 Do you know anything about the political atmosphere on campus? I’m pretty liberal, but one of the things that attracted me to South Carolina was the diversity of opinion-- I like a challenge. However, I’m having serious second thoughts. I don’t want to be somewhere where everyone is liberal, but I also don’t want to be somewhere where the vast majority is conservative. Any insights?
@lesjubilants, I asked my son for his thoughts. His impression is that its an accepting and diverse campus, and classroom, but not a political one. So if you are looking for a college where activism is a primary focus, or are looking to clash with opposing views, that is not USC. You have to ask yourself if you are looking for a challenge or collaboration? There are schools with such reputations. One of the things that attracted both my sons to USC is the congenial campus atmosphere. Both explicitly rejected schools with highly charged political atmospheres. Growing up in the DC metro area made them want a break from strife to focus on learning.
Heads up for kids wanting to attend Admitted Students Day. The April 7 date coincides with the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta which drives up prices and books up hotel rooms even in Columbia (easy day trip).
@lesjubilants I think you would find the Honors College kids to be more varied politically and likely quite a bit more liberal overall when compared to the student body as a whole. We are originally from out west but have now lived in SC for some time. There is certainly a conservative majority among middle class white kids in the state and that of course carries over to the state colleges. However, I do not think you would have any problem finding like minded people within such a large student population. Likewise, you will get plenty of exposure to opposing views.
My son was accepted to the Honors College and he is also trying to make a decision here in the near future.
While open to all perspectives, I certainly hope the campus isn’t liberal at all overall. I am tired of the misleading overbearing and unwarranted fake news and those that believe it. No offense to anyone of course. I am so happy our economy and focus on national security is now in good hands.
My son checked his student portal today, and no news from the HC. We assume this means he won’t hear anything until February, which is a real bummer considering the HC is his first choice. Any idea how many kids are accepted to the HC in February? Is the number relatively small in December but higher in February? Not sure what to make of things, other than the wait continues.