<p>Is there a shuttle service students can take from Greenville airport to the Columbia campus? My daughter is interested in this school but I am not sure whether it is feasible logistically from New York. I see the school attracts students from NJ and Maryland. Are there many students from NY? Thanks.</p>
<p>There’s a shuttle from the Charlotte airport.</p>
<p>I live in the GSP area and most of us take a plane to New York through Charlotte. In fact, I just had a school group come back that did that. I’ve always heard that it’s cheaper. And Charlotte to Columbia shouldn’t be much further than GSP to Columbia.</p>
<p>[Columbia</a>, SC to Charlotte, NC Douglas International Airport Shuttle](<a href=“http://www.columbiacharlotteshuttle.com/]Columbia”>http://www.columbiacharlotteshuttle.com/)</p>
<p>Thanks for the info AUGirl, that is definitely an option, the reason I was inquiring about the Greenville airport is that Southwest airlines flies there from Islip, Ny airport which is close to my home. I was hoping to avoid LGA airport but it may not be possible. Has anyone else flown from Islip to Greenville to get to Columbia campus?</p>
<p>Charlotte will also be closer to Columbia by nearly a half hour and the flights from and to Charolotte are usually a lot cheaper than GSP (I also live in the GSP area).</p>
<p>It definitely easier to fly from charlotte. The shuttle is an option and also many people fly from there so you might be able to catch a ride there and at least save half the money of the shuttle. Also the flights tend to be the cheapest with it being a US Air hub.</p>
<p>Southwest only just came to GSP (as in this month), so it might actually now be cheaper to fly into GSP than Charlotte.</p>
<p>I’m not even sure if Southwest has started flights at GSP yet. I know it was supposed to start sometime this month.</p>
<p>But yeah. I don’t know anything about a shuttle, otherwise that’d be nice. It’s a straight drive down to Columbia though from the GSP area, so no big deal if you have a car.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone. I did not realize the Southwest service was that new, maybe a shuttle service will be added if there is a demand.</p>
<p>lsb
S is a USC grad from the Long Island area. The Greenville SW flight is brand new. We always used either a flight into columbia airport itself or a flight to Charlotte. S never had to use the shuttle service.When he didnt have his own car there, someone was always coming or going to the airports and they carpooled. After he took his car to USC, he would drive to the Charlotte airport and just park there. He did drive home for the 5 week winter break and the one summer he came home.Other summers were spent at internships in various parts of the US to which he drove.
If you need any local insight into being from LI and attending USC let me know!</p>
<p>I guess you’re not looking at the columbia airport because usually cheaper to fly out of charlotte or fewer direct flights. Might be worth checking. If you have to pay for shuttle or rental car may as well come all the way to cola.</p>
<p>cathymee, Thank you for the info regarding rides to the airport. I would love to hear your insights on what it is like for a student from LI to attend USC . I checked on Naviance and no one from my daughter’s school has ever attended USC and we do not know anyone personally who has attended. My D is interested in the school because it has both hotel management and fashion merchandising, two majors she may be interested in. She wants a big school with greek life, school spirit and sports. Of course, the weather is a big attraction as well.</p>
<p>Scmom12, I see your point that the shuttle may cancel out any savings in the cost of the flight. I just prefer Southwest airlines because it leaves from LI , thus sparing me the hassle of going into the city for LaGuardia airport. However, I see that I might just have to bite the bullet and use flights from LaGuardia to Columbia or Charlotte. Thanks.</p>
<p>The drive to LaGuardia sure beats the heck out of the drive from NY to SC. It’s 12 hours for me and that had to have been the worst car drive of my life.</p>
<p>But yeah. Southwest is brand new. I believe they start their flights in Greenville on the 13th. A lot of people were pretty stoked to get Southwest here.</p>
<p>Thanks AUGIRL, I see your point, I doubt we would drive very often , if at all. If you hear any updates regarding a shuttle at Greenville, please post. Also, we are visiting the school in April, any" must sees" on campus or in Columbia.</p>
<p>“must sees” on campus will probably be covered by the tour but leave time to go back and see any particular areas of interest your child has…a certain department (music, art,engineering,etc) Work through the visitors center and they will set up dept appointments for you. You wont see the stadium on the tour but if you have rented a car, drive over to the area so you can see the size of it ( its not walking distance from campus, there are shuttles on gamedays). Take some time to walk on the Horseshoe …you will transverse it on the tour but go back to “peoplesee” it will give you a good idea of the student populaton. Also, I’m always a big fan of spending time in and around a campuses student union (at USC its called the Russell House and will be on your tour) at a lunchtime it also will give you a look at the student types.The “Strom” wellness/fitness center is impressive with a rock climbing wall and massive outdoor pool area.
Outside campus areas of interest would be Five Points (restaurants,bars,shops) and the Vista (restaurants ,bars,shops,hotels). If your child needs to be reassured about shopping at familiar chains, they are available in Columbia… theres a concentration in the Harbison Road area (driving distance) where all the big box stores,movies,familiar restaurant chains, malls etc are concentrated along with hotels.
Let me know if you need hotel or restaurant ideas and enjoy the visit. the weather will be outstanding and the campus will be in full bloom!
Forgot to add…if your child is an Honors College possibility the Visitors Center will set you up to meet with someone there…same goes for the Capstone program.</p>
<p>Thanks Dan for your detailed response. I will definitely keep your service in mind as I prefer my daughter to fly on larger planes, I see JetBlue flies between JFK and Charlotte. I was hoping to avoid JFK but this may not be possible.</p>
<p>thank you dan for the information!</p>
<p>i will definitely be using the shuttle to Charlotte for my trips home :)</p>
<p>Just from a student’s perspective, I highly recommend the Columbia-Charlotte shuttle. I generally fly home out of Columbia, because it’s more or less the same price for me and it’s obviously more convenient, but I have used the shuttle on several occasions when I’m flying elsewhere. They’re very thorough, timely, and well organized, and their drivers are considerate, friendly and safe. I’ve always had a positive experience with them. A lot of the time, it’s possible to get a ride with a friend up to that area, but if not, I would definitely suggest using the shuttle.
Also, there are a ton of students from the Greenville area, so it would be possible to get a ride to that airport that way, but it would take a bit of advance planning. Definitely doable. I have a few friends who have flown out of Greenville, and it’s worked out well enough for them. A lot of colleges have rideshare boards to coordinate those sorts of things, but as far as I’m aware, USC does not. It can work out, though, just takes a bit of networking!</p>