Comparing University of SC & University of Tennessee

My guess is the CF is one class year data, not the entire school. It’s third party so it’s hard to know where they source it from.

Yes, UTK, like others, is trying to attract OOS kids. I couldn’t find a residence by state breakdown on the UTK chart - just in state and OOS but yeah the 5 year trend is pretty strong - they’re clearly in transition to a much more robust OOS crowd…

Part of it is money and part of it is the anti semitic and racism incidents that have taken place…trying to diversity the crowd.

But really it’s about - they have a new state system leader in Randy Boyd - and he’s a business guy - so it’s just about the $$.

And if you look at this press release, OOS apps were up over 51.3%. Perhaps their admissions team is focusing more on the OOS like an Alabama does.

So they are pivoting that way…clearly. And that’s likely why some who thought it was a slam dunk are finding it a bit harder to get in - a more competitive pool.

Regular Admission Release | Undergraduate Admissions (utk.edu)

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yes so true. they definitely seem to pivoting to more OOS. honestly when DD applied there we thought of it as safety & now she is basically the only student we know who was accepted. all the other kids were deferred then most got rejected. the UTK acceptance rate (according to their instagram page) is supposedly going from approx 67% in 2022 to about 40% for 2023!

i had honesly never heard of supply chain as a major until going on campus tour!

Same with me and MBA but it’s one of the hot fields in business abd has been bcuz it’s about efficiencies and saving money.

ASU, MichiganState, UTK are all well known but the degree will get hired from any school.

Seems boring (to me) but it’s ‘safe’. FedEx offered me out of MBA and I had one elective in it. That’s it.

wow that’s crazy! seems boring to me too lol

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It’s actually a wide ranging major and can include purchasing, warehousing, transport and much more.

Most bus disciplines are good. All except marketing in my opinion. Or gen bus.

You’ll be fine. Or your student.

I think both UTK and U of SC are equal names. But the majors different and that’s more important in this case.

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I think they are comparable enough not to say that one is “better” than the other. Darla Moore School of Business at UofSC has a great reputation but Haslam is also very good (again, I would consider them comparable). My daughter’s boyfriend is a finance major at UTK and loves the school. When she visits him, my daughter mentions that everyone she meets is very happy at UTK.

My daughter applied to both and we visited both. I loved UTK’s campus and have mentioned on here before that I found it to be the cleanest campus we visited, with the best student tour we did (it was right after things opened up post-Covid). The students who did our tour clearly loved their school. UofSC is also impressive, but we live right over the SC border in NC and UofSC is not far enough away from home for my daughter, so she didn’t consider it. Many of her high school classmates go there and love it.

My daughter also got into FSU and was awarded Capstone at UofSC (she’s a finance major). Even through UofSC was too close to home for her, if she had to choose between the business programs at UofSC & FSU, I believe Darla Moore at UofSC would edge out the business program at FSU. At the time, we were hearing that many of FSU’s beginner business classes were online (and were even before Covid). FSU also has the mandatory 9-hour summer session, and the freshman housing situation there is a bit too Hunger Game-ish.

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Just a thought on DM and I’m a big fan of U of SC but I think you need to differentiate Intl Business vs the rest. It’s a solid flagship like many other, including UTK, but it doesn’t stand out other than the IB major….in my opinion.

I’d personally choose it over UTK for a few reasons including my religion (Jewish) and the campus, etc but obviously that’s always an individual call.

FSU seems to cross shop a lot with U of SC. Similar in many ways. It’s very solid too - especially in finance.

In OPs case she got into one school for sports management and the other for business so it almost seems like that alone has to be where the choice is made.

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ok all of the above points make a lot of sense. most mentioned the business schools, so to play devils advocate, anything to mention about U of SC sports mgmt program in the HRSM school?

If it’s an interest, I would ask the school for career outcomes. Actual jobs / salaries. See if they match your interest. The website is generic in that regard. Or look up people with the degree on LinkedIn - what are they doing and would you enjoy it.

As I look at internships local to me, the Nashville Soccer club is looking for a part time intern for ticket sales. The Preds…NHL…are looking for unpaid interns. Kids that will take school credit. It’s crazy in this job market but given people’s desire to work in sports, they’ll find them.

I know a kid who did Sports at another school (in Florida) - he’s now an Asst SiD at MTSU with some non revenue sports. He spent two summers in minor league baseball

These are the types of jobs I think avail in the major but ask the school.

I’m a failed wanna be sportscaster but from a different era. My guess is Sports is limiting but that can be a good thing too - less jobs but less competition. But if you go for general jobs, you wouldn’t be as attractive.

Business will be more attractive in general but there are a zillion business majors and the discipline matters.

Hospitality, in general, is not a good major…IMHO. One doesn’t need a degree to get in it. Lots of hotels are desperate and looking for summer kids to do front desk and housekeeping under the guise of an internship. That said, this is in the hospitality school but is definitely a unique major

The other thing - U of SC says two internships are required. Do they provide ? If so what are they or what have students done ?

I would be asking for all that type of info. That’s your best bet. But yes do look up kids on LinkedIn with the major.

See what they are doing and if it fits you ? You may even reach out and ask about their experience at school to see - if they had to do it all over, would they ?

This thread is so helpful. We are visiting both in a few weeks to get a feel for each school and compare their communications programs.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH!! this is excellent advice & i really appreciate it! we were thinking if she does wind up choosing U of SC she could always change her major if need be.

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Yea but if you are thinking business, then you better check if it’s possible and / or difficult. If you’re open to other majors like a social science then likely ok.

Maybe she’ll like sports. I checked on LinkedIn. I only could find current students.

I personally like U of SC better but yours may feel otherwise.

Both are solid flagships. Right now UTK has better sports but that’s right now.

yes you are right, we should really look into that! why do you like it better? thanks for all your help!

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Well I’m of the opinion that U of SC is really nice and UTK - isn’t. That’s historical perception though bcuz everyone on here raves about UTK. Historically and you’ll still find it but UTK is considered ugly on all the ugly campus lists. . But again That’s opinion. The area around UTK isn’t nice. U if SC has 5 points not too far away although it’s tough nearby the school supposedly. We stayed at the Holiday Inn a few blocks away and it wasn’t sketchy at all.

I’m in Knoxville regularly. The downtown is being improved but it’s not great. But again that’s opinion.

It’s really preference. So you have to see. Both have nature not too far. U of SC has the beach a couple hours away.

But I’d say if I was in school and I wasn’t a kid who is dying to work in the grind of sports - which likely means off hours and low pay - being a team manager or athletic dept staffer or ticket salesperson - I’d probably go to business school.

Some kids jones for sports. That’s all they want. 24/7. That’s who l, in my opinion, should be in that major. And I’d still check the outcomes if I was them. Where are most ending up ? How much are they making ? What is their career trajectory ? These niche majors are newer.

You have two fine schools. See where she’s most comfortable. And then if it’s U of SC, see what other alternative majors they’d have that would interest her just in case and how hard they’d be to get into them. Even for UTK you should do that. Why ?

some kids will decide business isn’t for them either. So unless your kid is 100% sure, you never truly know. Lots change majors and most schools are flexible on this, short of a few.

You’ll be fine. She’ll go. If she works hard, she’ll have a great experience and then for 90% of us, hopefully an upper middle class or upper class life :). And the cycle will start again !!

Good luck with your student.

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funny you should mention the difference between the 2 cities. we felt (visiting Columbia 2x & Knoxville once) that Columbia seemed more sketchy. i guess that’s hard to gauge if you are only visiting once. BUT after we returned from Knoxville i was reading about a shooting right near our hotel that week which kind of freaked me out!

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Yep all opinion.

Stuff happens everywhere unfortunately. Not to freak u but they had the fake Uber thing in Columbia a few years ago, various racist and anti semitic stuff in Knoxville. I’m even reading on a chain how great Sarah Lawrence is and they had a crazy sex cult thing.

We went to a cool place in Columbia. 5 points. But I think it was a mile off campus.

$hit happens everywhere unfortunately.

But as I noted it’s all opinion when you get to which is nicer etc.

yes! i know my college roomie has daughter who graduated from SC & she was there when it happened!! so scary!

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I’d give a nod to UofSC, but if marketing major I’d see how easy it is to add a solid statistics or data science minor (marketing jobs require those skills nowadays.)
The campus and location seem much better than UTK.

Any honors or special program admission?

Supply Chain seems so much more interesting than Finance, personally, and is equally on-demand by employers, with probably better work-life balance.
In addition, Supply Chain with knowledge of 1 language&culture (through study abroad) where main products are produced would likely lead to interesting opportunities.

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