<p>D1 fell in love with the campus last year when we visited. Now that she has been accepted she is having second thoughts about being so far away (7 1/2 hours by car). We are going down for Scholars Day on the 4th but I was wondering about transportation to the airport in Charlotte form USC during the school year. I know that there some older posts on this topic but since USC is making a real push for out of state students (or at least it seems that way here in Virginia) have there been transportation options added for kids who might need to fly home over breaks?</p>
<p>9194 Mom
We’re in NY so even longer by car from USC.
There is a private shuttle service that advertises runs to the Charlotte airport…they have ads in the student newspaper.I believe its $49.00 but don’t hold me to the price.The year S didnt have a car there he flew mostly out of the Columbia airport and never had a problem getting a ride to it from friends.Now he drives to Charlotte so he can use Jet Blue to fly home. There wasnt one time he couldnt get a ride from someone wherever he needed to go.I bet if needed your D would even be able tofind people driving to Charlotte once she’s ensconced in the campus culture ( facebook,dorms,etc).I know there are cabs to the Columbia airport and I think the student gov’t runs a shuttle at holiday times. Maybe the students who will be working at Scholars Day will have more insight for you.</p>
<p>Now that we have been asking around the distance is appearing not to be as big a problem as she feared. But transportation to airports will be on the top of our questions list on Scholar’s Day! I just didn’t want her to be too scared and have that color her view on the 4th. She has such a nice offer from USC it is hard to turn down a school who seems to really want you!</p>
<p>9194Mom
thats just the kind of thing I worrried about when S was contemplating where to attend.It all seems to work out in the end though…the kids are much calmer about that stuff than us parents!
Is your D a Capstone or Honors candidate? Which scholarship was she offered?
S is in the Honors College…if I can pass along any info, I’d be glad to…</p>
<p>cathymee,</p>
<p>She is a Capstone (although she was hoping for honors) and was offered McKissick which brings costs the same as most of the VA schools she’s applied to. I’m actually pretty calm about it she is my traveling child so I was a bit surprised when she got nervous. We are looking forward to the 4th</p>
<p>The charlotte shuttle is sick, ive taken it twice and its 50$ each way, cant beat that anywhere.</p>
<p>9194Mom, we are from the DC area and have a freshman daughter at USC. There are direct flights from Columbia into Dulles and the Columbia airport is close to campus and very manageable. Downside is that airfares can be pricey, we’re lucky because we have tons of frequent flyer miles that we redeem for these flights. Also, around break time daughter reports there are lots of kids who drive to Charlotte to catch flights, so your daughter would probably be able to catch a ride sometimes.</p>
<p>DON HO,</p>
<p>we are outside DC as well so it would be Columbia to Dulles for us too. I think she would drive/get a ride most times but we were thinking about a “once a sememter” free pass home (other than big breaks like Thanksgiving Christmas and Spring Break) just to ease the transition. We too had seen the flights were a bit pricey from Columbia which is why I was thinking Charlotte. I’m sure we’ll figure out a creative way to make it work</p>
<p>9194 Mom
I will be at the Scholar’s weekend with a similar package to your daughter’s…McKissick and Capstone. I’m from Michigan, so will definitely be flying. I’ve heard that the flights out of Columbia are on smaller planes and it is more expensive. A $50 shuttle to Charlotte is great news, and it’s 1.5 hrs away. A two hour flight for me will be a good time to get some homework done :)</p>
<p>Just wanted to add that, in our case, it is very possible to get reasonably priced flights from the Boston area (out of Providence) to Columbia, SC (less than $300).</p>
<p>Not sure why but… travel costs for potential OOS students may not be as high as one fears.</p>
<p>fendrock
Pricing is about the same out of Manchester NH. I believe the shuttle price of $50 is one way to Charlotte, double that and you are adding $100 to the price of a ticket out of Charlotte. My D finds it easy to get a ride to and from the airport in Columbia and I believe she said a cab ride was around $18.</p>
<p>The key to booking flights out of Columbia (CAE for those who haven’t yet checked) is trying to book as far in advance as possible but the better bet is having your students enroll at Student Universe once they have a student ID number. It’s an online booking site for college students that offers very low fares. </p>
<p>Both of my kids have used it to book fares, even with short notice, at far better prices than I could get using airline sites or Travelocity, Best Fares etc.</p>
<p>My son used it to book internationally as well. He recently booked a flight to Chapel Hill to get together with college friends and the fare was $210 r/t.</p>
<p>D uses it ALL the time to book her trips home from Columbia at very good prices and DFW is not known for its low fares.</p>
<p>What are everyone’s thoughts about buying round trip or one way tickets?</p>
<p>When D flies to school, should I try to book her a round trip with a return at Thanksgiving, starting another round trip to get her back to school at Thanksgiving and then home at Christmas?</p>
<p>(Even as I write this I’m thinking it is probably best just to buy her a one way and then work on round trips out from Columbia and back.)</p>
<p>We are in NJ and I have found flying from Laguardia to Charlotte including the cost of the shuttle service to Columbia ($49 each way), has consistently been cheaper than flying right to Columbia. Mind you my daughter is only a freshman so we don’t have a wealth of experience.</p>
<p>Our daughter is also visiting for Scholar’s Day, so we’re trying the 9-10 hr drive each way for this weekend. During the school year, I wondered if Amtrak makes more sense than flying - students get a 15% discount, so round trip train cost to DC is about $165-222. Depending on the flight, this might be cheaper. However, it takes 11 hours and the train only leaves/arrives in Columbia in the middle of the night (like 2am)!<br>
Anyone have experience with the train? At least, you can get a lot of homework done… but getting a ride to/from Charlotte might be easier than getting your roommate to pick you up at the Amtrak station at that hour, even if it’s only a mile from campus.</p>
<p>Old Bay Mom-- good news is that from Rockville it is not a 9-10 hour drive to Columbia - unless you take very long stops. With one or two short stops it’s usually takes us less than 8 (and even less when I’m driving – lol). Even last August when we hit very heavy traffic on I-95 going north it took less than 9 hours. We looked into the train too, but felt that the times were just not convenient. I have a freshman daughter who is in the honors college, so if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>old bay mom & don ho -</p>
<p>excuse no caps but just had surgery for broken right arm. keyboard is reduced to left-handed hunt and peck. my s will be attending usc this fall as a mcnair finalist and honors. also, we are from rockville, md. potential for some carpooling perhaps?</p>
<p>we flew airtrans this summer from iad to charlotte then rented a car. the fare was about $119 ow. also considering amtrak but haven’t done any research yet. i thought i heard that usc runs a shuttle to charlotte during breaks but didn’t get any details.</p>
<p>send me a pm if you want to explore carpooling.</p>
<p>Looks like there may be a good number of students coming from the D.C. area (we’re FFX County) I think we are leaning toward flying D for shorter breaks but we get the sense there won’t be a shortage of kids coming back our way for longer breaks that she could get a ride with if needed. D is feeling more comfortable about the distance</p>
<p>There are many kids at USC from all around the suburban DC area so I think carpooling or ride sharing won’t be a problem. My D laughs because so many of her friends are from the DC suburbs in Maryland or Virginia or else they are from NJ. They jokingly refer to USC as the State University of New Jersey, South Campus. :)</p>
<p>lost lawyer ouch sorry to hear about your arm, best wishes for a speedy recovery. The shuttle USC runs during breaks is to Columbia airport not Charlotte. The Columbia Charlotte Shuttle is a company that charges $49 each way. We have used it a few times already.</p>