@ShrimpBurrito I wondered about demonstrated interest being a factor, but who knows. We are OOS and a visit between the time he received the letter and the time applications were due was impossible. To me it seems that completing the Honors app and writing thoughtful essays based on research into the school would demonstrate some interest? DS has some strong acceptances already, otherwise we’d be carefully looking into his essays/recs. But the admissions process is not clear cut, obviously. It remains to be seen what will come, but at this point we feel maybe we fell for a marketing ploy.
my daughter was accepted in the 1st wave as well and we are in state, have not visited and she was not invited to such a dinner. However like another poster said, she could have missed the invite. USC was actually her safety when she applied since it is in-state for us. Now getting into honors makes it definitely more interesting for her but she has not made a decision and merit will play a role in it for us since it seems like in-state students don’t get quite as much in comparison.
My child got into the Honors College. Do you think those notified in the first wave will be notified as Top Scholars as well?
@anonymousmo Some, but not all will be named Top Scholars.
Hi, for the posts from students in the honors college or parents of those students, can you share some details of USC honors benefits are and if they apply to all students admitted to the honors college or only to Top Scholars? For some reason I am having a hard time finding that information on the website- everything I see seems to be specific for top scholars, which is not everyone in honors college. Thanks!
@henryj223 - here are a couple of links describing both.
Honors College- https://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/honors_college/
Top Scholars - https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/undergraduate_admissions/honors_and_scholars_programs/top_scholars/index.php
My son was not part of the first wave of admissions - he has a shot from a metrics perspective and a fairly compelling story but we’ll see…
Any ideas on how many are admitted in the first wave versus general notifications in a month or so?
A couple of years ago a student from our local (out of state) high school was invited to a Top Scholars dinner and later was selected as a Top Scholar, so I think there may be a correlation between the dinner invite and actual selection.
@ShrimpBurrito - Hi, I couldn’t figure out how to send you a direct message. It looks like our kids are looking at some of the same schools. My son was also accepted to UofSC Honors - he wants to get a degree in statistics/data science. He is still waiting to hear back on several schools in Jan/Feb so we are not sure where he will land yet but Uof SC honors seems like a great option - we are from GA. Are y’all moving forward with Uof SC?And are y’all attending the honors event at the end of March?
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@Henry111 what honors event are you talking about the end of March? Is this at u of sc?
Hi @Henry111
You need a certain number of posts (15?) before you can use private message.
My S really loves UofSC, but he is not committing anywhere just yet. We are merit-hunting, so we want to see what final numbers look like. If S lands an invite to a scholarship weekend (Top Scholars or UGA Foundation Fellows), the picture becomes much clearer! He’s also waiting to hear back from FSU. We haven’t made any decisions about spring visits yet. We are planning to reassess at the end of the month, as we should have a lot more information by then.
This is my third time through the process. The other two knew early on where they were going, so this waiting game is hard on me!
@anonymousmo - yes at U of SC - there are 3 events - one in Feb, one in March, and one in April - it was called "Meet the South Carolina Honors College " - it is on an evening prior to the admitted students days in those 3 months - the email said “you’ll have the opportunity to meet the deans, Honors College faculty and staff, and mingle with current students while enjoying heavy appetizers and desserts” and then the next day you do the admitted student day with some break out sessions for your student’s specific college/program.
@ShrimpBurrito - thank you for letting me know about the private message rule - i had no idea! We are doing the same with the merit search. I wish that the colleges would go ahead and send the merit information with the acceptance - it is so hard to start the process of deliberating/possibly eliminating without complete information and we need to start deciding if we need to do a 2nd tour of some/1st tour of others. A couple are not easy to drive to, we would need to fly and figure where to work that in. We are waiting to hear about FSU as well - that is one we need to tour - have it scheduled for February. Highly unlikely that my senior will receive invite for Top Scholars or UGA Foundation Fellows - that is exciting that your son is a prospect for those. Are y’all from SC or GA? We will have heard from 4 more by the end of January and have to wait until February for the final 2. One is in state, and 2 others have the potential for merit, the other 3 - there won’t be any merit money I am pretty sure. This is our 1st rodeo with the college applications - he is our oldest. I appreciate all of the insight you have been able to offer so many people on this website. (my son is a swimmer as well - competition swim since 7 years old - just not fast enough for D1 and he really wants D1) and i just saw your complete post about the drumming- my son used to sing rock n roll all the way up through middle school - they have a lot in common
Wow @Henry111, our sons seem to have a lot in common! We are in Oklahoma, though.
Honestly, I don’t know if my S is a real prospect for those elite scholarships. He has the stats but it takes a lot more than that. What I keep telling S is that he might get invited to all of the scholarship weekends, or he might get invited to zero—neither would surprise me. We know the odds of an invite are not good. But, the early Honors acceptance at UofSC means he, and your S, are in the running for Top Scholars. We should find out in the next couple of weeks.
@ShrimpBurrito - they really do! He is planning on pursuing a Statistics/Data Science degree - by any chance did your son apply UT-Austin or is that a no-go being from OK? Right now UGA and USC are pretty comparable for my son bc we are in state for GA and the U of SC letter indicated the merit money would be the equivalent of in state plus additional $. I look forward to seeing your updates and would definitely love to get in touch if they land at the same school. If I ever post enough to earn PM status, i can reach out with more details. Good luck with the scholarships and remaining schools!
Accepted/Denied/Deferred: Accepted - Accepted and also accepted to Honors College
State of residency : GA
Gender: M
Ethnicity: W
UW GPA: school does not provide GPA only CNA
UGA GPA: ?
SAT: did not take - but National Merit Commended
ACT: 34
ACT English and Math: 36/33
AP/IB classes and scores: 8 APS, 1 Dual Enrollment, 12 honors from top ranked high school
Leadership roles, notable ECs: competitive year round club swimmer with sectional times (avg 20 hrs/wk and 47 wks/yr), 4 year varsity swimmer, 4 year athlete scholar, Link Crew Leader, VIP awards, Mu Alpha Theta, math tutor, honor roll all semesters and principal’s honor roll all semesters but 2
Work experience: none
Major: Statistics
@Henry111 Ha! My kid is a Sectionals level swimmer, too. Let’s definitely connect via PM if they end up at the same school.
S likes UT Austin and we have family nearby, but the merit is scarce. My D18 was planning to apply, but there were too many applications to fill out for such a slim chance of affordability.
Best wishes to you all, as well!
My daughter (OOS) was admitted in December, $10,000 per year scholarship with possible more to be announced later (In March, I think). She also applied to Honor College/Capstone and has not been invited yet, but was invited to Scholar Reception prior to Admitted Student Day in February. My questions are, what is the GPA requirement to be met annually to receive the $10,000 each year going forward ? Also, if she was invited to the Scholar Reception, does this mean she will get into Honor College or Captstone or just that she is a scholarship recipient? OOS costs to any of the state colleges are expensive, so I’m trying to gauge realistically how much more she is likely to receive to cover costs. Is there anything to do or do we just wait until March? Thanks.
@jloheac what does it say about the Scholars reception? My child was invited to an Honors college reception before each of the admitted student days which are in feb, March and April.
@jloheac - I have a “Guide to Scholarships” booklet that we received when we toured USC this summer and it says a student must maintain a 3.0 gpa to retain their merit aid and that gpas are reviewed at the end of each spring for renewal for the next fall.