<p>What is life like for OOS students at USC? Are they accepted? I've heard the student body is rumored to be unnaccepting, is this true? I may apply to the school but I'm worried about not fitting in (I'm from up north) is it still worth a shot?</p>
<p>I think you’ve heard some sensationalized reports. To give you an idea, the last incoming freshman class was 43% out of state. To be fair, about 13% were from Georgia and North Carolina, but even then you’re mostly talking about kids from suburban Charlotte, Raleigh, and Atlanta. That leaves 30% from other states, with largest percentages coming from outside of the South (Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, and Massachusetts, in that order). That said, the out-of-state population often feels even larger.</p>
<p>I thought coming from Florida (basically the North) that it would be an issue, but it wasn’t at all. You will definitely get the occasional crack at your state, particularly if you’re from Jersey, but that’s about the extent of it. The worse thing that would happen is someone would call you a Northerner or Yankee in 5 Points, and only if you were being obnoxious. </p>
<p>What’s interesting is that the influx of out-of-state students has actually made the campus seem more urban. The better the school gets, the less pronounced the Southernness on campus. That said, you will definitely know you are in the South once you step off campus. Most people in Columbia have accents, will hold the door open for you, say ‘hi’ as you’re walking by, and rarely get confrontational. It’s a very polite culture.</p>
<p>I encourage you to apply and check out the school. The campus is beautiful, the academics are great, the athletics are exciting (National Champions in baseball!), and Columbia is the greatest of college towns. I’m guessing you’ll fit in just fine.</p>
<p>One of my son’s suite mates is from New Jersey. Son can’t wait…he’s so tired of only meeting people from the south…he’s really looking forward to meeting kids from other parts of the country. You’ll be fine. Southerners are very welcoming.</p>
<p>BTW- I’m from up north and moved to SC 28 years ago. Although it’s a different culture, people are very accepting here.</p>
<p>This is a question that’s brought up every year, and fleagle pretty much hit the nail on the head. In almost all cases, being from out of state is a non-issue to most people. Depending on where you’re from there may be some adjustment issues (grits served every morning at breakfast, mustard based barbecue sauce, classes cancelled for the threat of snow, girls wearing pearls and t shirts), but you get used to those things quickly, and a lot of students even end up loving some of them. The snow days, for example, are really nice. I don’t think you’ll have any issue with people not accepting you because you’re from the north unless you treat them as inferior for being from the South.</p>