DD got accepted to both schools with same merit offered… having tough time deciding! Any info or thoughts appreciated!
What is your major?
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Marketing at UTK & sports mgmt at U of SC
What does she want to do ? U of SC sports is solid.
Which campus did she like more ?
My kids wouldn’t apply to UTK but are in state. U of SC was loved.
But on the CC there’s a ton of recent love for UTK. There’s a lot of similarities but the majors are different.
So I’d go by that first. I’m assuming she wants something sports related so if so U of SC might be the better choice.
Ps u say same merit. But is the cost the same ? That’s more important than merit.
Similar vibe as far as campus life/sports/Greek life. Warmer in SC, likely to see snow at UTK. Colombia & Knoxville are similar-sized cities with both UofSC & UTK inside each city. Both cities have airports, if your DD will be flying in.
In past years I would say that UofSC was the tougher admit but UTK has increased in popularity and is harder to get into this year. Marketing & sports management are two different things - which one does she like better?
If out-of-pocket cost is similar, it may come down to the best overall fit and possibly which campus is cheaper and easier to travel to from your home.
DS didn’t apply to UofSC - wasn’t on his radar from a major standpoint but he did apply & get accepted to UTK and we visited a few weeks back. If your DD is an outdoorsy type at all UTK has the Great Smokey Mountains right there. My take on the geography of both cities is it’s easier/quicker to “get out of the city” in Tennessee. @CollegeNerd67 makes a good point about the weather expectation.
The variety of dorm options stood out to us as a positive at UTK - but I don’t know how that might compare to UofSC.
Academically both good schools and likely going to come down to the vibe DD gets from visiting them.
She’s not exactly sure what she wants to do. As parents we thought it would be better to have more of a general business major & not be as limited with a specialized major. We have not figured out exact cost but we are OOS for both & both seem to be similar cost. Did your kids go to U of SC?
yes, the weather is definitely more of a draw at SC! also the southern charm appeals to her bc we are OOS in NJ. UTK does seem IMPOSSIBLE to get into now…we don’t know one other kid who got accepted! also we know several kids at U of SC, plus family nearby. as parents my husband & i were blown away by UTK, we were very impressed when we visited last month.
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speaking of dorm options, i hear there is a housing shortage at UTK? have you heard? @CollegeNerd67 the weather is def more her speed as she is not really the outdoorsy type lol
i just question if UTK is a better university? her counselor recently said U of SC is more regional where as UTK is more national university. @tsbna44 @CollegeNerd67 @Mashinations @tsbna44 what are your thoughts on alumni community for both schools?
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We’re way OOS (MA) and you being in NJ, I will say the weather I wouldn’t see as being a big deal at UTK - it’s still WAY warmer than we experience, even if maybe not as warm as UoSC.
The only reason UTK was even on my sons list was because of the combination of programs they offered (Architecture and Music). We came into the admissions cycle completely unaware of how popular UTK had become. When he was admitted we felt the need to visit and came away with the impression that he would do very well there depending how other decisions - and FA - panned out.
UTK requires Freshmen to live in dorms. On the tour it was suggested that beyond Freshmen year if you wanted to live on campus it typically wasn’t an issue (shortage) but a lot of kids do decide to move off as there are a lot of options in close proximity to the campus. The stat I have on my spreadsheet is 33% of students live on campus. Assuming 25% is freshman required, that supports that statement. Having not visited UofSC - can’t really give a compare.
Without a clear answer of program it’s difficult to say one university is “better” than the other. They both seem to be roughly in the same tier for most programs. I will agree with you that a “general business” degree is never a bad idea if there’s not a firm alternate direction.
We are having the same dilemma here. My son is trying to decide between UTK, Auburn, and Clemson. He’s actually in Knoxville right now touring the campus. We are OOS for all three, but he did get merit from Auburn and UTK. The weather is a big draw for all of the schools because we are in the Northeast.
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No. One Alabama. The other College of Charleston but U of SC was #2.
Historically, in-state - like so many, they wouldn’t even consider UTK. But I made them visit.
It’s all opinion of course but UTK shows up routinely on ugliest campus lists. But no one on CC sees it - everyone loves it so it’s really up to opinion. But not my kids - they visited many times when they were in Destination Imagination and had zero interest.
I agree with the business angle unless someone really wants to be in sports. It’s a cuthroat industry and likely with lower paying outcomes. It has to be your passion if you go that way. If she goes to UTK and takes a love of supply chain, she’ll have zero issue finding a job. They’re one of the top b schools for supply chain.
Both are near nature - Knoxville near the Smokies. Columbia near Congaree National Park and a couple hours from the beach. Both will be pricey to fly to but u of SC is close enough to Charlotte that the student can get a ride if needed.
Usually U of SC has better merit but maybe that’s changing.
You could take a weekend and visit both. They are close enough to make it happen. If you need a center point for saving car rental one way fees you can fly to Charlotte. And drive a bit. And still pull it off.
Or drive from home if close enough.
Edit - I just read you are from the NE and visited.
Alumni - it’s overrated in my opinion. Even at schools like Penn State. This is a fit decision; not one to be based on alumni.
As for @pghmom72 looking for weather with Auburn on their list and Clemson - the weather will be better. But they are both different than UTK. Clemson in the middle of nowhere. And large. Auburn less so. More suburbia. UTK in the city with city issues - homelessness included. All fine schools but all different.
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Can’t help you with Clemson but DS and I toured Auburn the day before UTK. Very similar campus vibe but a couple of big differences:
Auburn is a big school in a little town. Once you go beyond a block or two away from the school there isn’t much. The buildings are a nice distance apart and there is a good amount of green space.
UTK is a big school in a small city. Because of this it’s a little more compressed with less green space but also makes going from building to building very quick. Get outside the campus limits and there’s much more to do (restaurants, nightlife, etc).
If an airplane ride is involved to get to/from, UTK is going to be much easier than Auburn as well.
The students and faculty at both schools were INCREDIBLY friendly and informative and academically I don’t think could go wrong at either.
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This is very helpful. Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback! We’ve seen Clemson many times, so he’s familiar with that campus and we’ve toured Auburn once and he really liked it. I guess it will come down to which type of campus he likes best whether it’s Urban or more rural or suburban.
I will chime in here as this really relates to both my kids. My dd graduated hs in 2021 and got into both SC and UTK, we live in PA and she was looking for a big school with sororities and warmer weather. My nephew was a senior at SC at the time so we heard a lot about it over the years and my dd was almost positive that’s where she wanted to go. She applied to UTK on a whim and that’s the first school she heard back from EA. Her exact words were “I don’t know why I applied there, I know I won’t end up going there.” Flash forward to March of 21 and my husband took her on a tour of all the colleges she got into in the region, including Clemson and UGA. She loved SC as we knew she would, but UTK was her last stop on the tour and she loved it even more than SC. She’s currently a sophomore finance major with an entrepreneurship minor in the business school and is very happy with her life there.
It is true that there’s currently some housing shortage, most kids move off campus after freshman year. But they are building new apartment complexes right near the school and took fewer kids this year to help balance things out. Also, because we live in the northeast, she thinks the weather is fantastic compared to here. I love the airport, especially last year when she didn’t have a car. It’s maybe 20 minutes away and there are direct flights to Philly and other northeast cities every day.
Now I have a ds who is a senior trying to make up his mind between SC and Florida State. He will also be in the business school at both. I personally have never been to SC, we have a trip planned for a tour on the 29th and are trying to find time to get back out to Florida State to take another look at it as well. He did get a Capstone honors invite and lots of merit money at SC, but the cost will only be a little more at Florida State since oos costs are a less there.
So unfortunately I don’t have much to say about SC versus UTK since I’ve never been to SC, but I think they are very similar in what they offer and oos costs.
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Are there many kids at UTK from the north east specifically PA? I know Clemson has a good size contingency.
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Not sure how old the data is and it is 3rd party but UTK has never been known for being diverse geographically but reading all the love on this website the last year or two it might be changing. The merit wasn’t as strong, as say a U of SC.
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Collegefactual link has bad data… not sure what they’re pulling from but UTK is a school of ~25K undergraduates. That lists shows a total of something closer to 5K.
The second link shows their OOS freshman enrollment going from 23% in 2018 to 45% in 2022 - I would call that a pretty dramatic shift.
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Yes, there are a good amount of kids from the northeast and PA in particular. One of her suite mates last year that was randomly assigned to their suite lives an hour from us and I can personally think of at least 6 or 7 kids off the top of my head who are current students that live in our area.
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