This is my second round. D21 did not get an acceptance yesterday (very similar stats, accepted to SC with the at least $85k), but D19 did get accepted to SCHC in December two years ago.
Ultimately, she almost turned down a public ivy (UNC) for SCHC, but in the end didn’t because UNC was always her dream school. The reason she almost chose SCHC had to do with a few factors. One was that at SC she was a direct admit to her major of choice vs UNC b-school have to apply after Freshman year (except 40/yr offered direct) and only about 55% get accepted. So, bird in the hand v roll the dice. Another was opportunity for smaller community and class sizes within larger university. Another was feeling the love from SC v UNC can feel a little “we’re so great we don’t even have to try” (that comment came from a former UNC staff member, but rang true). SCHC also offered an accelerated law degree program that she was interested in. So, I guess in summary there could just be an overall fit factor.
BTW SC admitted students day was hands down best run one we attended and honors reception was very helpful. It’s unfortunate kids this year aren’t going to get those experiences.
I think people consider major as well. SC has the #1 international business (not what D19 wanted or she would be at SC) program in US and SCHC get direct admit, so wouldn’t make sense to go anywhere else if that was major of interest (as long as SC felt good overall). D21 plans to be an engineer. There are plenty of overall lower rank universities that are higher ranked than some ivies in engineering and it can vary by specific type of engineering.
Ultimately, rolling the dice paid off for D19 and her professors at UNC have been outstanding and a big thumbs up for the b-school. The administration side of the university though, yah lacking in the try department. Don’t get me started on their COVID plans.
I have looked at a number of rankings for honors and SCHC, Barrett and Clemson are all consistently in Top 5, 10, 5 mortarboards, etc. Little bit of history from D19 SCHC tour. The 5 mortarboard rank used to rank 1-10 in order. Last time they had ranked list SCHC was #1, so they still consider themselves that.
D21 has been accepted to Barrett, so we’ll see what happens with SCHC and Clemson Honors in February (has been notified accepted to Clemson U with scholarship but amount TBD). She was originally wanting to stay in SE, but ASU is checking a lot of boxes right now. Here’s to hoping the SE schools come through in the end (5 hour drive is different than a 5 hour flight).
I think I would frame the question a little differently. The “top” schools are so hard to get into with many more qualified students than spaces available. They’re also financially out of reach for families who make just enough income that they qualify for little or no financial aid. Many of these students will end up at state flagships and in honors programs and they are top tier students, whether or not they were accepted to T20 schools. Some don’t even apply to T20s because of the financials. So my conclusion is that honors colleges are an excellent opportunity for top students, financially viable for families, and they will find a community of scholars in which they will thrive.
Tying into the costs of attending the Ivys or more selective schools, this was a great analysis on earnings by major vs selectivity (acceptance rates are on the x-axis of the chart). Unless you are studying business or math/physics/compsci, it doesn’t “pay” to go to an elite school. Go to the college that has the best fit for YOU!.
That’s our family. D19 applied to one T20 with thought of maybe going into debt if accepted (for business, not xyz studies). D21 didn’t bother.
According to FAFSA we can afford T20 with no merit or FA. Sure, if we want to clear out our savings, go into debt or saddle the kids with student loans, and never want to retire. No thanks. Plus, mine just weren’t interested in the T20s. We are fortunate that we have an in-state public ivy and both had/have great OOS state university HC options to which they were/have been accepted.
Honestly, I read through the posts from the T20 or bust types and just can’t relate. I know plenty of successful people who have never even set foot on a T20 school or some even a T100 school or any college at all.
What are the chances that my D21 would get a Top Scholars interview: ACT 31. GPA - 4.3 Weighted. SEveral varsity sports, a ton of leadership and volunteer experience.
Business Management Major.
She didn’t get in the Honors College yet, but did get at least $85,000 (in-state tuition).
Right now, she has Mizzou (Honors College and at least in-state tuition) and USF (really great scholarship and Honors College). USF is $8,500 cheaper than UofSC and Mizzou, so we are hoping for some more scholarship money.
From their website: On average, our In-State Top Scholars have an SAT score of 1507, ACT score of 33 and weighted GPA of 4.83. The averages for our Out-of-State Top Scholars are an SAT score of 1545, ACT score of 34 and weighted GPA of 4.80.
We’re weighing the business school direct-admit vs. having to apply once she’s there as well. So far, she’s a direct admit to UofSC and Tennessee. UGA & UNC would be apply as a sophomore. My oldest graduated from Kenan Flagler at UNC in 2017 and went directly from her internship to full time employment in the investment banking industry. The opportunities she had while a student there were incredible but the competition to get in was fierce back when she was there, and I’ve heard it’s only gotten more intense - and if they don’t get in, the fallback non-b school major is Econ, so they’d have to be okay with that, or maybe head to to the J-school and do marketing.
From UofSC: " March: Regular Application Decision Week Begins
Decisions will be released in March for students who applied regular decision and who meet the February 1 supplemental materials"
However, from last year’s thread, some deferred students received acceptance early February.
@cgemaj we did, in Chicago burbs, on Christmas Eve. A big “it’s a yes” envelope as shown in UofSC’s Twitter post. Inside a brochure, the same letter she got in their portal, a sticker sheet, and a voucher for a T-shirt, to redeem online.
My son, in Chicago burbs as well, received big “it’s a yes” envelope…just yesterday. Honors college acceptance just before Christmas via portal. Nothing in mail yet for HC.
Thank you for this - I agree with a lot of what you are saying. We are OOS and S19 is in engineering and an honors program at an in state university that compares pretty directly to UNC. His engineering school is highly ranked. I can also relate to your comments that UNC is already pretty great so they don’t really try to focus on the student experience. Same with S19’s college, they already have way more applicants than they could ever admit. Their Covid response has not been as poorly received as UNC’s but it’s not been great either.
S21 has applied to U of SC Honors and apparently didn’t make it in this round. He has a 34 ACT but GPA is lower than some noted here, so I am not surprised. He is interested in the international business major, so if he makes Honors I think that U of SC makes sense for him. If he does not make honors, I am not so sure given that we are out of state.
Yes, that is my understanding as well. I just can’t recall if I saw it on website or heard it in a presentation. IIRC not all classes go into the calculation. For example, exclude most non-academic electives.
I think many colleges recalculate/convert GPA based on their standard because different states and schools use different weighting and grade scales.