<p>Hi! So after visiting univ of South Carolina, I am almost 100% sure that this is the school for me! Yay! Haha but I'm from Chicago, and I've heard various people say that the culture shock from here to the Carolina's was kinda a major drawback. I don't want to sound like I'm stereotyping, it's just what I've heard, but people have told me that they don't like northerner a there, and while they won't be mean in front of you, they will behind your back. Obviously I know that this is true everywhere but are people from the Carolina's especially opposed to northerners? Also, will me not being from the area affect my chances of getting into a good sorority!? I know these seem like trivial questions but I am just a bit concerned. And also, if you can think of any other things that might be different culturally between here and there that would help a lot too. Thanks!</p>
<p>There is actually a regional admission rep in Chicago! About 36% of student are from OOS although I don’t see a breakdown of where they are from. Traditionally because of lower price tag, USC has had lots of students from north. I don’t think students have any problems with people from other areas of country and D has roommate from far away who had no problem getting in sorority. If you want to be here, people will want you here. If you put out the vibe that you are superior and above the students with a southern drawl, then not so much.</p>
<p>As far as cultural differences…people will speak, weather is lots warmer, you need to say y’all (not really, but D in VA has northern roommate who now lets it slip out on occassion 
), sweet tea is really sweet and is the default when you order tea in some restaurants, barbecue is a food (smoked meat), not a verb (we grill). </p>
<p>Seriously though, on campus you won’t notice the biggest differences. South may be more overall more conservative, but not as apparent on campus since IMO college students are mostly more liberal, at least socially if not politically. Sunday mornings are still mainly for church, but again…not so apparent on campus.</p>
<p>You may find bigger differences based on differences between urban life (if you are in Chicago) and more suburban atmosphere. Public transportation is not the norm here. Outside of campus it’s more of a driving culture. Columbia has good mix of cultural events, but not to extent Chicago or other major city has. But you are two hours from beach or mountains!</p>
<p>Hopefully you’ll get more specific answers about sororities. Some schools care more about recs and legacies in recruitment, not where you are from but pretty sure D’s roommates who got rushed successfully this year didn’t have any and were OOS.</p>
<p>My freshman d from nj has had nothing but positives to say about the campus and the students that she has met so far. She has been warmly welcomed,is not homesick at all and has made many friends from all over… At least one of them is from Chicago. Her roommate is from South Carolina and is a doll. She is in the capstone program and dorm and there are tons of out of state students mixed in with the instate students. She turned down a bunch of colleges in the north specifically because she liked the “warmth” of the campus …not just climate-wise. She says she found the campus to have a comforting feeling about it. She tells me that several girls who rushed on her floor did get into the sororities that they wanted. I’ve heard all positives from my northern d so far!</p>
<p>I have to second everything NJMOM said. We are from Ohio. D is a freshman - living in honors dorm and is absolutely loving everything about USC. She rushed and got her first preference. I do have a friend that was a southern sorority girl (UGA) that guided my DD this summer in getting rec letters - so I think that probably helped.</p>
<p>I’ll second what others have said and give you some sorority advice. First, there is a web site called greekchat.com that has tons of information. Read, read, read and don’t post
ANYTHING that will give your identity away. There are “sticky” posts at the top of the pages that have information about recruitment, clothing etc etc. SEC recruitment is unlike other parts of the country. Second, you must have recommendations for every sorority and that is especially important for OOS because you don’t have those personal connections already (you didn’t do cotillion, summer camp, etc with these girls). Lastly, keep a VERY open mind about each chapter and don’t fall into the “tent talk”. If you are closed to only what you deem a “good” sorority, you may miss your chance to be Greek. Each chapter has around 200 girls – each chapter will have pretty girls, homely girls, cheerleaders, honor students, geeks, fat, slim, blonde, brunette, whatever. You must remember you are trying to find life-long friends not just wearing the “cool” letters for four years. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I think I read somewhere that this year’s class was 49% out of state. It’s a pretty large number, anyways.</p>
<p>But I have friends from Ohio, California, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Maryland, and Virginia to name a few places. “Northerners” (or yankees, really) are accepted in the south for the most part. The biggest thing is that you have to come with an open mind and not want to change everything. Things are different in the south and people do think differently about things. You just have to accept that things are different than they are up north and try to understand. If you come with an open mind, then people will have no problems with you and you’ll get along just fine! :)</p>
<p>It also doesn’t hurt to kind of go over your manners a little bit before you come down. One of my best friends is from Ohio and she didn’t realize how much she was basically offending people just by the difference in expectations of things like “ma’am/sir” or whatever.</p>
<p>Re coming from the north - I came down many years ago from Michigan to go to grad school at USC - and fell in love with the southern charm and laid-back attitude. I was very quick to jettison my yankee demeanor and I never wanted to go back.</p>
<p>I have a freshman D at USC. We’re out of state but still southern. I’ll address the sorority thing with a very fresh perspective. She has a roommate from Michigan who had no recs, no southern charm, just went thru the process and she ended up in a sorority she wanted. Second, I went to a parent meeting re sorority rush and they specifically said that recs from alumni do not guarantee a bid, just provide a second look before (if) they decide to not invite you. Third, I also read the stuff on greekchat and started worrying before my daughter put me in my place and did things her way. She did great during rush, got into her # 1 choice.</p>
<p>I agree with one of the posts above. If you act like you’re superior, you might have a problem. But if you’re friendly, like making new friends, and try to join in, the southern hospitality is deeply rooted in most of the southern students and you’ll find yourself never wanting to move back north.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are girls who received bids to their top choices without recs. But, with 1200-1300 girls going through recruitment and quota being 117 this year, it cannot hurt to have a nice recommendation for your file. It’s definitely not a guarantee even for legacies. This is South Carolina; certainly not as cut-throat as Ole Miss but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.</p>
<p>Ok wow! Thank you guys so much! Literally you eased my anxiety about this so much! I absolutely loved USC, but was just a bit concerned about the cultural differences, but it sounds like that shouldn’t be a problem! :)) that made my decision a lot easier haha thanks:)))</p>