I believe so, barring any decisions that may trickle out early. EA decisions could be either admit, defer or deny.
Thanks! Just so stressful being that itās test optional! Makes you wonder how they are really going to evaluate. Plus common app only allows 10 activities and UofSC doesnāt want any resumes or activities lists.
From last yearās discussion, it looks like EA decisions came out around 5 EST on Friday 12/13. If I had to guess, Iād say we should be thinking about Friday 12/11, or Friday 12/18.
Will decision will be available in the portal , via email or Postal mail ?
Thanks
@ttb1263 earlier comments in this thread say that last year decisions were posted in the portal, followed by postal mail for acceptances. I hope they come out soon. D applied early September and is anxiously awaiting a decision.
Did anyone apply test optional? Mind sharing the stats.
We applied test optional at first but then in the required supplemental materials we ended up submitting it anyway because it was the easiest to do. My D21ās SAT is from Sophomore year and due to all the cancellations she could not retake.
Do you mind sharing what the scores were and her other stats?
My son originally applied test optional, but then his counselor (and my daughter who is currently a sophomore at U of SC) said he should send his scores since they were above the median scores from last year. He was only able to take the SAT once. He scored a 1320. We were told that if you have test scores that are at or above the median scores for the school, we should send them. If they are below the median score, we should not. Again, we are just following what his high school counselor recommended so I have no data to support that this is what should be done in all cases.
If it helps, my sonās other stats are:
3.6 unweighted GPA
4.3 weighted (under our school systems weighting)
6 AP courses
All honors/advanced courses except for arts and PE
Project Lead the Way certificate completion for engineering
Two clubs at school (officers in both)
Competitive fencer (nationally ranked, competitor at national and Junior Olympic levels)
Not too many service hours but does volunteer weekly as a fencing coach
We are hoping this is enough, but with this crazy year we have all had, who knows. We are anxiously waiting for decisions to come out. I would love to have two Gamecooks in the house!
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@cgemaj her SAT was 1310 (Soph year). Hispanic female, OOS, GPA 3.93UW/4.44W, 8 APās, 4 yr varsity athlete, 6 yrs travel volleyball, various clubs/volunteer activities, part time work.
My Dās stats are very similar and her GC also said to definitely send the scores. 1320, 4.0uw (4.5w), 4th in her class out of 233, not as many APs (by graduation sheāll have 4AP, 3DE), rest of her classes were honors except the required PE, etc. She played varsity lacrosse for 2 years (got lucky cuz our team was terrible!) 
, leadership positions in honor society and student council but primarily has spent the last ten years riding horses and competing.
Iām fairly confident she will get accepted (although I shouldnāt be based on this entire year and how crazy it has been)! My biggest concern is if she will get enough merit money to make it affordable since we are OOS. Back when we first started looking at UofSC her sophomore year, the stats for receiving merit money were much lower and have gotten increasingly higher each year. Combine that with being test optional and I just donāt know how things will pan out.
We have visited twice (pre-covid) and she just fell in love with the place! The wait is killing me though! She hasnāt even said anything so Iām not even sure she realizes decisions will hopefully (fingers crossed) come by Friday.
Good luck to everyone that applied!
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Test optional here too. Hoping the EA decisions come out this week - I agree itās so hard to wait when applications have been in for so long. Good luck to all!!
We keep checking the portal daily for updates on admission. Son applied EA for College of Engineering-Aerospace major. We are OOS, 21/367, 1340 SAT, almost all Honors/AP classes, 3.89 UW/4.31 W, Varsity Tennis player, minimal clubs and volunteering (not his thing). This is one of his top choices so he is anxious to get notified. Anyone know how notification is made-via portal and/or mail? Does anyone know what typical merit offers are for OOS? Do you get those at the same time, or do they come later? He has received notifications from three other schools so far, but we have yet to receive notice of Merit. Good luck to all!
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does anyone know if they are planning on releasing decisions all at once and will it be on portal or in mail?
I think the website has the different ābracketsā for scholarships and what you could get in merit money. I emailed an admissions officer and he said that this year the transcript will be the primary consideration, while supplemental documents MAY have a role. Not sure how to interpret that!
I wonder how much the supplementals will play in awarding merit money. I am in the same spot as an OOS. I donāt think it would be fair to compare a graded writing assignment to an SAT score. I hope supplementals will just be used for admissions or to get a general understanding of the student. Admissions officers said that transcript will be the main factor, while supplementals MAY play a role (which makes me wonder, how much of a role ?)
@gendoy From what I see in comments on this and prior year threads, it looks like EA decisions are released all at once, in the portal late on a Friday night, and an email blast notifies applicants decisions are ready. Decision can be admit, deny or defer to RA. And then Merit notifications come out in March. See timelines here: Notification Timelines - Office of Undergraduate Admissions | University of South Carolina
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Mine heard from admissions today as she had a question about her major. She was told decisions will be coming out within the next two weeks.
As far as the test scores versus supplemental. We arenāt in a normal time. Sadly many kids from other states have not been able to take the test. Tests were cancelled and some cancelled that day. And even those who finally were able to take the test did so under stressful conditions. Itās not a level playing field so I commend the school for not having them be the primary deciding factor. Now granted I imagine if a kid applies and has a perfect SAT score then it will definitely not hurt them either.
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I agree. Just concerned because my score was average for admissions, but I am not sure how that will impact me for merit. But I am glad the main focus is transcripts. I agree with your points.
U of SC just tweeted EA decisions coming on Tuesday 12/15.
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