S trying to make a decision. He really wants UGA but was waitlisted (34 ACT, 3.8 GPA, 9 APs). He got in Penn State, U of Maryland, Clemson, Case Western ($100 K scholarship), FSU, U South Carolina and Pathways program at GT. He now wants to stay closer to home (GA) and wants to follow the money but obviously have a good college education/ experience. He’s down to FSU and USC (with in-state tuition and Capstone). Does the Capstone program really make a difference?
My kid is not Capstone but from everything I hear from parents/students in it, they love it. What is your son’s intended major? Did he get $ from FSU?
He did not get $ from FSU because of his GPA. So total for FSU would be $33K and USC would be ~ $25K. We haven’t tried asking for anything from FSU but we may, based on his other scholarship awards. His major for now is Psychology but interested in a pre-med track. Maybe even criminology?
@Leaddog I think SC is a great option, especially with the merit money and Capstone. I don’t know as much about FSU but we’ve been really pleased so far (our son is a freshman). His program (sport and entertainment management/business minor) has already provided him with great learning experiences in and out of the classroom. It looks like Capstone will do the same for your son.
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@lastone03 Thank you so much for your insight. Is your son in the Capstone dorm and if so, does he like it?
@Leaddog No. He isn’t in the Capstone program. I have heard, though, that Capstone and Columbia halls foster great relationships.
@lastone03 I see your son isn’t in the dorm. I wish I knew about the dorm from a guy’s perspective. He really like the welcoming feeling from USC when he visited.
@Leaddog My son has a friend (guy) that is a sophomore that is in Capstone and lived in Columbia Hall as a freshman. The dorm, as I recall, is pretty no frills, but he really enjoyed it and met some nice people.
And you are correct, the atmosphere at SC is very friendly. We’ve met a lot of nice kids down there while visiting our son. We knew nothing about SC (other than what we read on the website) before we went to Admitted Student Day last year. We were really impressed and our son feels like he made the right choice.
Capstone scholars is very well-done.
Give a second look at Case though, if it’s affordable, really strong.
Did you do admitted students day and Capstone presentation? That kinda put our daughter over the edge. For what it’s worth, our daughter was accepted to UGA but is choosing USC. She actually was nervous that UGA had a small percentage OOS students, and we certainly loved the merit at USC. The Capstone program fosters leadership, personal growth, and overall seems like an excellent way to connect with students outside of the classroom.
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@MYOS1634 I love the Case option but now my son thinks it’s too small. We may go take a look anyway.
@doglover2001 We were scheduled for the Scholars Social and admitted students day over the weekend but unfortunately had to cancel. I really think that would have pushed him more in that direction. I agree about the lack of OOS students at UGA and FSU seems to have a heavy percentage of Florida students. I see that USC has lots of students from Northern states. I think the Capstone program would be perfect for him.
Case is not small 
it’s a university with several colleges. Have you visited?
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I can’t really speak to USC, but FSU has been a wonderful experience for three of mine. The youngest has done the honors program and study abroad, and has had solidly excellent experiences over the last three years. He turned down GWU, Macalester, and Boston College for FSU and doesn’t regret it for a minute.
Best thing about FSU? You know all that hype about “family”? It’s not hype. People really are that friendly. It was almost surreal at first.
But it sounds like your son has two good choices, so good luck to him either way.
What is the COA for each school ?
FSU non-resident will be about $33,000 per year for tuition, fees, room & board. South Carolina should be considerably less.
How did your son get waitlisted at UGA with his stats ?
@petrichor11 I know the feeling you’re talking about at FSU.
@Publisher The COA for SC will be ~$25K. The OOS tuition $33.3K plus $13K for room, board and books. He was given in-state tuition which brings it down to $12K plus an additional $500. So it’s about $8000/ year difference - which really won’t make that much difference.
As to how our son got waitlisted at UGA - I have no idea. We were very surprised.
He felt really good on both FSU and SC campuses. I know he would’ve chosen FSU over SC if it weren’t for the Capstone offer. He liked Clemson & Maryland a lot too but not for the difference in the money.
FSU is almost 90% in-state kids vs. under 60% at USC. My daughter got into UF (where my husband and I both went) and didn’t like that she would have been in a smaller population of OOS kids. Almost all of the kids she’s met at USC (she is in Capstone and lives in that dorm) are from OOS, like her. Just something to consider. It may not matter to your son but it was a big factor for her to choose to go there.
It was also appealing to my son to have kids from both in and out of state.
If he wants to major in engineering, I’d choose Georgia Tech. If he’s not in engineering, I don’t see much difference between the other schools you listed. Penn State, Maryland, Clemson, Florida State, and South Carolina are all top tier state universities.
One more plug for the benefits of a good-sized OOS population. We are in PA; among D’s friends are 5 from SC, but also 2 from CT, 2 from MD, 1 from MO, 1 from IL (or maybe it’s IN), and 1 from TN. It’s nice during short breaks to know that while some students are heading home, there will still be a critical mass at school. And with the flooding that has (literally) deluged USC in the past few years (my D is 4th year and has had classes cancelled for 2-5 days every year due to weather), it’s important not to have the campus empty out and leave just a few OOS kids stranded.
If your child is admitted to the honors college at FSU and lives in the honors dorm, they will meet a lot of OOS students. FSU is drawing more OOS students with its OOS tuition waiver, reasonable costs and other scholarship programs, just as Carolina has done for a while now.