Funny b/c Alabama is at the top of his list. He likes the idea of C of C I think for everything mentioned- location, weather, etc. but that is all based on what he has seen on line. As evidenced by his visit to Coastal Carolina, what you see on line can be vastly different from what you experience in person. He kept saying “I just wished they had a football team”, so I was wondering if in the end anyone had a kid with similar feelings and got over them not having a football team.
Sorry - I didn’t mean academically.
I meant - in atmosphere, environment, etc.
From a ranking POV, if that was the concern of OP, all the SEC schools would be rated higher than Charleston because if you’re using the dreaded US News, Charleston is regional and all the SEC schools are national. And as an interested participant, I’ve seen Charleston is the WSJ rankings - and let’s just say - it ain’t pretty.
But I just meant - the actual environment. Conway is nothing like Charleston nor is the campus. Neither would be Harrisonburg or Boone.
Sorry I didn’t clarify.
As for football, I know I’ve seen a lot of U of SC shirts there and my daughter says kids go to the U of SC games. And there’s always neighboring Citadel - literally a walk or short uber ride away. He can go to their games.
@coastal2024 I can understand not liking coastal in that - Conway is not Myrtle.
Bama and Charleston are 180 degrees different - one is large (although you wouldn’t necessarily use the entire campus), stately, in a small town and just beautiful landscape wise, etc.
The other is smaller, small campus, in a city, and not a lot of grass / campus, etc.
I mean, they are really polar opposites.
What does he want to study? Bama will have much more variability - and depending on his stats, can be much less expensive.
Besides SEC and football and he likes the weather and location - what is he looking for?
Maybe Bama or one of the other schools is it? If it’s just weather, etc. and I don’t know what he’s competitive for, how about a USF? or FAU - these aren’t big time football but very good. Or SMU for a smaller school? Or Tulane if he’s a top shelf student? Or UAB which will be up and coming with Trent Dilfer as coach.
There’s trade offs - and one might be missing the 6 home games and 11 weeks a year of football. Truth is, you can’t pick a school from what you read on line. You need to go visit. Now, if you’re too far to visit these, then find a huge flagship by home and visit. Find a mid size, city one and visit - and see what he thinks - you need to get a feel for what he really wants, even if you’re using alternatives to do so.
Best of luck.
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If your kid wants football at his college…let him apply to schools with football.
There are tons of reasons why kids do and don’t like types of colleges. One of my kids hated red brick buildings. So hated Wake Forest, Richmond, and every other place we saw with similar architecture. That was fine with us. It seemed silly, but hey…there are thousands of colleges and you need to cull the list somehow.
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I would not like Coastal Carolina or Conway or Myrtle Beach either! But I think Boone/App State is charming. It’s a small town, but really vibrant. Good food. Great football. Not Charleston, though. And no beach, but beautiful mountains. Kind of a smaller Clemson with bigger mountains. This is worth 1 minute of your time and shows the kind of football spirit they have. (They also beat #6 Texas A&M last year. And ESPN has been to Boone for GameDay.)
I would definitely keep CoC on the list if he liked it that much and just keep that door open. He may fall in love with another school or if you go back to CoC on an admitted students day or for a basketball game he might find that what it offers is perfect for him.
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My daughter # 2 was U of SC.
You say he’s been to half. Which schools ? If he likes U of SC, he might like Kentucky. Or even Arkansas.
Have you been to C of C or just coastal ?
What kind of stats does he have ? What major is he interested, if any ?
Living in NC, I know numerous kids who are currently at App State or have graduated from App and I’ve never once heard a complaint about that school, never heard of anyone I know transferring out. They have tons of school spirit. Conversely, every kid that I’ve known over the years who has gone to Coastal, has transferred. It could be that Coastal ends up not being appealing for NC/SC kids compared to other in-state offerings? IDK. Maybe it’s close proximity to the beach is more appealing to students from northern states?
Toured CofC with my older daughter. Although Charleston is lovely, the campus and dorms were run down and my daughter wanted also wanted football and a big sports culture 
At the time, they also weren’t offering many financial incentives in order to lure the NC kids (I understand that they are more generous now). A couple of her classmates did go but they were interested in art-type majors. Both seemed happy there.
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Actually on an overall basis less generous now……than a few years back withiut an endowed scholarship. .
They are renovating dorms one by one each year.
As my daughter says, the campus is beautiful. Lots of charm. Definitely different.
But if you like new homes instead of resale - and large and spread out, it’s definitely not for you.
We looked back in the 2012/2013 season. While my daughter received unsolicited oos merit for Clemson and UofSC (based on test scores, rank and gpa), CofC didn’t have the same offerings without going through their separate scholarship application process (and those opportunities were limited at the time).
Glad to hear they are renovating dorms. Definitely a beautiful area.
Yeah - I think someone who likes an SEC type school - and we can throw Clemson, Penn State, Va Tech and more - no way they could possibly like Charleston.
Yes, they need to renovate dorms. The Honors one was disgusting. Hopefully not cancer causing though.
He’s been to Auburn, Bama, UGA, U of SC and NC State. Applying to all of those and loved them all. Also Applying to Kentucky, Tennessee, Ole Miss but hasn’t seen those in person. Will visit if accepted. Visited Clemson and strongly disliked the campus I think b/c it felt like it was in the middle of farm land.
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If he liked those campuses - beyond football - I’m not sure how Charleston would fit - even if they had football.
Of course, UGA is huge and more like a Bama. U of SC is adjacent to city and not as big. So there’s variability there - and UK and UTK are similar in that regard. Auburn is just - very nice, manicured. NC State is vastly different than a Bama or UGA and even U of SC.
Fayetteville Arkansas is really nice- I know you hear Arkansas - but the Fayetteville to Bentonville area is booming and you might toss in an app - because why not. I would say a Miss State is somewhat similar to Auburn (in my opinion). Their merit is great - might be worth an app and visit later.
But I can understand Charleston not being in the mix if he likes those schools. Of course, my daughter’s top four were C of C, U of SC, and then UF and U of Arizona. So I suppose someone could feel that way - but she really had a top one - the other three were so far behind it.
Good luck - I’m sure your son will find a great choice for him - and with all those schools, the amount of majors will be much greater. Of course C of C might have one to fit him - but it’s not quite as plentiful as the others.
Let us know as your journey progresses.
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Not sure of Stats but also check out FSU they do have OOS tuition waivers based on GPA/Test Scores
https://admissions.fsu.edu/first-year/WWLF/
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I suggested Arkansas but he feels like it feels far compared to the other schools. He may still add it, we’ll see.
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Just wanted to respond to this re my earlier comment that “App State is like a smaller Clemson with bigger mountains” – the App State campus is right in the middle of downtown Boone and walkable to lots of restaurants and shops. It is a small town, though, so if he wants a bigger city like Raleigh or Charleston then it might not be what he’s looking for. Boone is not urban. But if he wants a school where he can take a short walk from his dorm or classroom to downtown get a good burrito or grab a coffee, etc, then it might be worth a look. And the football is great. (Honestly best football atmosphere in the state, including UNC and NC State.) Not sure how it would be for his major, but it’s a good school and an easier admit from OOS than NC State (App State is on par with CoC).
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He was considering App State, but does not want winters with snow. He’s fine if it gets chilly in the winter and there was a completely random time with a few flakes. But we are in the northeast, and he hates endless days of cold and snow…
Lol. SEC football (if you’re a fan and only SEC) will carry you far beyond your four short years of college. It’s like joining a club that convenes every August and just keeps going. It’s like a network of alumni that goes across a bunch of colleges. You’ll have somebody to root for for the next 60 years. It’s a way to make instant friends or friendly enemies in the future. It’s an instant conversation starter (especially among guys). I doubt anyone who isn’t a football fan would understand it but it’s definitely a plus on more levels than just “a football team”.
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As a high school student, my daughter associated football games as the major social events where most everyone hung out together and had a chance to bond.
Not knowing what to expect of college, and how living on her own, making new social circles on her own would work, looking for similar “school spirit” at colleges she was visiting, was essentially her looking for something that she was familiar with as a high-schooler.
In reality, other than the “big” football schools, most colleges have a few thousands of students will diverse interests, and with countless other social events and non-organized opportunities for building a social circle and having fun with friends, now that they no longer worry about parents’ curfew.
My daughter went to the first game as a first-year, and quickly realized it was “BIG”, and not at all the same kind of fun, as going to high school games with tons people whom she knew since elementary school.
After that, there were so many other more-fun things to do, that it also was the last game. Not because she had disliked it, just because there were more suitable offerings.
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Ah, gotcha. It’s not really endless days of cold and snow in Boone, but it does usually snow some. Not like Charleston where there is no snow. Boone usually gets maybe one or two storms around 5-10 inches and then some little ones. It doesn’t stay on the ground all winter. It melts. There is skiing right nearby Boone so that is fun for a lot of folks. But they use snow-making operations. It’s mostly man-made snow on the ski runs.
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My daughter was the opposite, probably went to 3 HS games. Turns out she absolutely loves Clemson football (and basketball), goes to every game, dresses, pregames, post parties… She has other social outlets too.
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Anecdotal, but being from Raleigh I can confirm this with S23 and his friends. No App St. transfers, but one from Coastal is presently transferring, so this is through their Sophomore year.
Also, coming from Wofford myself I can agree to the relaxed and fun atmosphere of SoCon Football.
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