How do most people from the north get to USC? What is the nearest airport? Airline carrier?
Columbia has its own airport and it’s close to campus. American, Delta, and United fly there. https://www.flycae.com
In addition to the Columbia airport, many kids fly in to and out of Charlotte and take the Columbia-Charlotte Shuttle to campus. We fly from Logan (Boston) to Charlotte as there are no direct flights to Columbia.
Good luck!
We are DC area and are able to fly direct–very quick and easy. She drives home for longer breaks so that she’ll have her car, which is an 8 hour drive–long, but do-able. No problem finding kids to ride with her since there are so many in the area.
Thank you so much to all the responders. We are from the Northeast where there are many competitive colleges. I can’t get a sense of USC. Is this a difficult school to get into (obviously depends on major) but I read that average GPA is over 4.0. How can this be? It is extremely difficult to get a 4.0 at most high schools here where we live. Is USC really that selective?
Make sure you are looking at U of South Carolina and not USC California.
But here is 2018 data floating out here for U South Carolina:
Freshman admission to the University of South Carolina is primarily based on high school courses and grades, along with SAT or ACT scores. Admitted 2018 freshmen presented a 25-30 midrange composite score on the ACT and a 1200-1350 midrange of total scores on the SAT. The midrange weighted core GPA was 3.78-4.50.
“How can this be? It is extremely difficult to get a 4.0 at most high schools here where we live.”
We also live in the northeast of the US. I have found over the years that at least in our high school GPA is computed in a way that is quite a bit tougher than many other high schools. For example, where we live a 97 in a CP class is counted as a 3.7, but in some schools at 90 in a CP class is counted as a 4.0.
Schools will see your actual grades, and will be told what method your school uses to compute GPA.
It looks like such a beautiful school! My son wants out of the north and wants a large school with big spirit. Is he on track with USC on his list? Would like a friendly, social student body.
Empireapple, it may not be as selective as some of the northeast schools (of course it depends on the school), but it has a lot to offer. I believe I read at least 40% of kids are from out of state, so there is definitely a draw. Its honors college is ranked #1 for public honors college programs so its well known for that & the business school. I think the big draw is that it is in a city, has a beautiful campus, good sports, great majors. My daughter and I just got back from a visit and she LOVED it. The student body also seems to love it. My kid is seriously considering it along with UNC. She was deferred from Northeastern, but seems like many kids with great stats were also. Waiting to hear still from Brown, Dartmouth, BU and NC state but she told me yesterday if I dropped her off at USC tomorrow, she’d be just fine.
@Empireapple We just returned earlier this evening from the first Admitted Students Day. This was our 2nd campus visit and it really is an amazing campus. I went there the first time not expecting to like it because of it’s city location but I was extremely impressed, not just by the campus but by the people. The faculty and students really seem to have big spirit and are very friendly. The student reps we spoke with all stressed how many things are available to students and the school really seems to make it a priority to be sure all Freshman get the support they need to succeed. It’s one of my favorite things… I don’t have to worry as much knowing what a great support system she will have there on campus. My daughter has several friends that attend and are 1st & 2nd year students and they all LOVE it there. She’s spent time at the campus on weekends and fell in love with it. She’s very excited and literally cannot wait until Move In Day! I hope that helps. If your child is accepted, I strongly suggest attending one of the Admitted Students Day.
@Empireapple - I believe the GPA they referenced is based on the way U of South Carolina weights the unweighted GPA that a high school will report. I also believe that they give a full point for an honors class. So if your student has a B average (3.0 unweighted) in all honors classes, USC looks at that as a 4.0 but on a 5.0 scale. We are from New England and my son just got back from admitted students day and loved it. I was impressed when I went. He was a B student in all honors classes at a decent HS and did well on the SAT.
@Empireapple, does your school use Naviance? If so, you can get a pretty good idea of what kinds of grades and scores your student will need coming from his/her particular school. We’re also in the NE and are seeing a difference between the stated 50% and the results from my child’s school.