My daughter is hoping for the Honors College at South Carolina. I feel she her credentials are on the border given the stats on the website. Here are her credentials:
SAT - R 630 M 680 W 710
ACT - Overall 30 - E 33 R 32 S 29 M 27 (she is retaking ACT today)
GPA - 4.11 W (high school does not rank)
APs - English Lang, European History, US History, Art HIstory, Psychology, AB Calculus
National Merit Commended Scholar
AP Scholar
Many extra-curriculars - French Club (officer 3 years), French Honor Society, Equestrian Team - Varsity 2 years, various volunteer activities.
I don’t want to be discouraging, but my daughter applied last year with 1360 sat (m & cr), a 32 act, 5.0 weighted gpa (though I think her school weights grades way too generously), 6 ap classes, national merit commended scholar, and ap scholar, and was not admitted, though she is currently at USC as a Capstone Scholar. Her extracurriculars were probably similar (school clubs, etc.). I wish she had spent more time perfecting her essays, so that might be a way for your daughter to improve her chances. As far as Capstone, one of my daughter’s friends was invited with a 30 act and an sat score below 1300, and 4 or 5 ap classes.
Are you instate or OOS ? Admissions into both programs have become increasingly competitive over the past several years. She appears very competitive for Capstone with her current scores, less competitive for Honors, but it is very hard to know what the admissions committee is looking for each year.
Honestly, so far we don’t feel like there is much difference being in Capstone as opposed to just being part of the regular student body. I think part of the problem is that she was put in Columbia Hall, which is for “overflow” since there is not enough room in the Capstone building. I recall reading that students put in Columbia Hall would be on “Capstone floors,” but that is not the case. Her roommate is a Capstone scholar, but I don’t think she’s met anyone else on her hall who is. Over the summer, she got a call asking if she wanted to register for a psychology class connected with a University 101 class made up of people on her floor. Thinking she was on a “capstone floor,” she said yes and only found out after arriving that this was not a Capstone U101 class after all. She went to speak to someone at Capstone about it, and he told her it was fine, she should just stay where she was. So, she is not living with other Capstone scholars, nor is she in class with them. They did not have any welcoming activities except for one brief get together the evening of the first day of classes, although they had moved in 6 days earlier. So we are disappointed that is not actually providing that “smaller community within the large university” feel they advertised. Perhaps it would be different if she had gotten put in the Capstone building. She has a few friends from high school who are in the Honors College, and they definitely have more activities, socials, etc.
I realize that this sounds very negative, but I am optimistic that the program will provide some good opportunities (at least it will look good on her resume). I don’t think my daughter regrets her decision to go to USC or to be part of the Capstone program, but it is not quite what we expected. Of course, it is very early in the year and maybe there will be great things to come!
Her credentials are strong, but as you note, she’s on the border; so the essays could make the difference (and she might have improved her ACT score on Saturday, which could also help).
No way of knowing for sure, but I suspect that my D got into the HC this year because of her essays. Her standardized test scores were a bit lower than the midrange listed on the website, GPA a bit higher. She received her SCHC acceptance a week before Christmas.
It looks like the essays for the Honors College app have been greatly reduced this year (now there are 2 whereas last year there were 5 or 6). I look at this two ways: This could lead to more applications, which would make admissions more competitive. Also, it might be less of an opportunity for applicants to show who they really are (2 essays vs. 5-6).
OTOH, it might give your D a chance to really shine. You mention equestrian team; is that something she might pursue at USC? Has that been an avocation that has taken up a lot of time over the years? If not that, then whatever it is that differentiates her from other smart, well-rounded kids should be clear from her essays. Have you visited? Is there a field of study (she might look under “Cool Courses” on the SCHC website) that particularly appeals to her?
Sorry, don’t have any first-hand info on Capstone.
Also, please note that her high school GPA will be recalculated according to their own method. Good luck!
Just wanted to stop back and say that D was accepted to the Honors College and is thrilled! ACT ended up as 31, but she had really good essays and probably recs too.
@LuckyCharms913 Good thing number of essays has been reduced! We did meet with the recruitment officer and will attend the dinner. I think my kid will in all likelihood get into Honors College/IB major with Lieber and Coopers (although not guaranteed), but we are hoping he can get either Horseshoe/McNair.
My only concern is that other majors in the Univ of South Carolina are not as strong as their IB department. Does anyone know if their language department is strong? I would think so since their IB department is strong.
@AUGirl might can answer that if still around. I think she majored in language or took a lot and did a good bit of study abroad. What else are you interested in? I think if you get in honors you can make school whatever you want it to be. In HC you can also create own baccalaureate degree if nothing exists that you like. Anecdotes may not be as important as statistics to you, but I know a lot of students in all different majors who took advantage of all the opportunities and have had great results right out of school and in graduate admissions.
If you check the program pages you can see more about the other majors - if the department has a special ranking I’m pretty sure they will mention it. Some you may have to ask about. For instance I know a psych grad student who picked USC because they have a “brain” lab with equipment for her research that few other colleges have. I never knew that.
I think altogether too much weight is given to rankings rather than opportunities. When I read surveys and how rankings are determined, it is usually based on factors that are irrelevant to me. Students can excel in every college program if they take advantage of the opportunities. That said, there are tons of opportunities available at USC. My D is in the HC and is busy all the time, very little of which has to do with the HC. There are excellent opportunities available in HC too, but she would be just fine if she were not in HC. The reason IB is so good is not because they have drastically different courses than the other business majors, but because they have so many opportunities available that they are required to participate in that when they graduate they have a packed resume. In addition, the students are generally better prepared from the getgo. They are taking most of the same courses of other business majors. IBs have to double major. They have to study overseas. They have to minor in a language. Students not in IB also can do these things, but usually they don’t. Remember those IB students who are also majoring in marketing are taking almost all the same courses as marketing students. I am not worried at all if my D drops out of IB and picks a different major. Students do this all the time and they are just fine, better because they are pursuing something they want to do.
Some you may have to ask about. For instance I know a psych grad student who picked USC because they have a “brain” lab with equipment for her research that few other colleges have. I never knew that.