<p>Ok guys, apples to apples time, does anyone have any input on these two? Found some good stuff in the UA Honors vs. UGA Honors thread. Thought maybe someone on here may have had to make this decision in prior years.
Right now I see this -
USC is roughly 320 freshman = much smaller that UA
six-year law degree program option
design your own major option
new honors dorms - similar in quality to UA</p>
<p>input anyone?</p>
<p>Which USC are you referring to? I’m assuming you are referring to South Carolina and not Southern California, but both have been referred to on this board, so idk.</p>
<p>South Carolina - sorry!</p>
<p>(and that’s U. Alabama, not Arizona 
)</p>
<p>Bama also has the “design your own major” option…New College… [Home</a> | New College](<a href=“http://web.as.ua.edu/nc/]Home”>http://web.as.ua.edu/nc/)</p>
<p>I don’t think Bama has 6 year law degree option, however, since Bama is generous with AP credit, getting a BA and Law degree in 6 years is certainly do-able. </p>
<p>Bama’s law school is ranked #30, while South Carolina’s law school is ranked #87. </p>
<p>Are you saying that South Carolina only has 320 freshman? or 320 freshman in honors?</p>
<p>320 freshman in honors (silly!)
similarly generous with AP credits, for DS counted 21 USC vs, 23 UA
how many in UA Honors? - can’t seem to find it now…</p>
<p>I did apply to South Carolina and highly considered attending as I was admitted into the honors college and international business program with a scholarship that got me instate tuition and I think $4k a year. Room and board costs were/are at U South Carolina compared to UA, so it ended up that UA was about $2k-3k cheaper for tuition, room, and board.</p>
<p>Overall, it’s a good school that I never got to visit. The Strom Thurmond Rec Center is amazing and looks more like a resort you would find in Palm Springs. From what I hear, Columbia is a pretty cool city with its own “strip.” As for academics, they seemed quite similar to UA and pretty diverse in their offerings. I did not know that they had a create your own degree option, but UA does to. One thing they had going for them is that scholarships could be used for graduate study if one completes their bachelor’s degree early. With UA, you can do University Scholars, but not all departments participate. </p>
<p>What I didn’t particularly like about U South Carolina was the airport transportation and the fact that I didn’t feel as important as I do at UA. The cost of flying into Columbia is often 2-3 times what it is for me to fly into Birmingham and while Charlotte is cheaper to fly into, the transportation cost to get there is high. Also, since my scholarship did not fully adjust for tuition increases, which would quickly add to my cost. As for the personal aspect of campus, none of my e-mails were ever replied to while the same type of e-mail to UA would be answered within 24-48 hours. Even when considering my other communications with U South Carolina, I felt that UA was more proactive and cared about me as a person.</p>
<p>As I said in the UGA vs UA thread, when scholarships and honors programs are concerned, USC is said to have followed UA which is said to have followed UGA. Of course, each school does create programs to suit its individual needs, so you will notice some differences between the three.</p>
<p>*One thing I thought was somewhat amusing about U South Carolina was the amount of school-themed clothing that uses the shortened name of their mascot, but often fails to note that they are referring to the school. In fact, CC would probably censor the word.</p>
<p>In terms of recognition, UA Honors has more than USC. USC Honors isnt really a flagship of the institution, as explained to me by my friends who attend there(they’re in town on Spring Break, actually…). Whereas tons of students enter UA Honors, and it’s a massive part of the University.</p>
<p>It really depends on what major you’re going into and what type of school you want. Honors is more the icing on the cake of the school.</p>
<p>LOL funny you would mention the mascot… that goes under my category of "silly things that shouldn’t make a difference but do…</p>
<p>“Roll Tide” is better than Go ???</p>
<p>Southwest flies into Birmingham direct from Chicago, have to use a different airline to get to Charlotte or Columbia (which costs much more)</p>
<p>Columbia has a Costco = hubby has worked for them for 25+ years so we would be able to set up an “emergency” team of people just in case</p>
<p>USC seems to be equally showing the love as UA at this point. </p>
<p>Their (USCs) structure your own degree option is Honors college only</p>
<p>USCs Honors College is much more selective 320 vs. 1000+ freshmen. This might be a big thing because competing with fewer students for the coveted research positions etc. Without CBHP I am worried DS might fall through the cracks.</p>
<p>The OOS ratio is stronger, and it seems to draw more uniformly from the US, while UAs OOS still tends to draw from neighboring southern states.</p>
<p>DS loved UA, the dorms, the look etc.</p>
<p>UA full tuition adjusted for increases etc., while USCs is based on a set amount off of in-state tuition - more variable.</p>
<p>Well now I’m just thinking out loud. :)</p>
<p>Their (USCs) structure your own degree option is Honors college only</p>
<p>Why is that a plus? I don’t see how that makes a difference at all. What difference does it make that some honors kids are designing their own majors and some non-honors are doing so, too? BTW…I doubt many non-honors are in New College, since you have to apply to participate.</p>
<p>USCs Honors College is much more selective 320 vs. 1000+ freshmen. This might be a big thing because competing with fewer students for the coveted research positions etc. Without CBHP I am worried DS might fall through the cracks.</p>
<p>Are only USC honors students allowed to compete for research positions? </p>
<p>Research opportunities are not just for CBH students. CBH students don’t really have more opportunities than other students. I think CBH is misunderstood. It’s not like the profs who need research assts all go to CBH first. </p>
<p>Also, altho Bama’s Honors College is less selective, that really isn’t relevant. Many kids in Bama’s honors have little or no interest in research. Certainly, many of the music, theater, education, and non-science liberal arts majors aren’t clambering for assignments. </p>
<p>A prof who needs research assts are f going to choose the student(s) with the best stats or one that he/she knows from classroom experience.</p>
<p>*
The OOS ratio is stronger, and it seems to draw more uniformly from the US,*</p>
<p>I didn’t know that. Where is that stat?</p>
<p><a href=“http://oira.ua.edu/factbook/2008-2009/2008p057.pdf[/url]”>http://oira.ua.edu/factbook/2008-2009/2008p057.pdf</a></p>
<p>This is were I found how many Honors kids come from which states. I am trying to figure out where I got the USC chart from… still looking. It is pretty indisputable that the majority of OOS to UA come from bordering states, definitely from the same region. Not sure what to think of that, maybe nothing.</p>
<p>as far as the structure your own degree thing, didn’t say that was a plus - just something I saw. Trying to figure it all out and honestly, looking for a reason to even consider paying an extra $7K/for for USC. I tell you, of all the minor things, their having a steel band is a real pull.</p>
<p>Just trying to have as much info as possible before the visit so we can make an educated decision. Of course he could just hate it on first sight too.</p>
<p>Oh I agree that many come from area states…that’s not unusual for state schools. What I was asking is where does it say that USC’s students are drawn more uniformly across the US. I’m not saying that they aren’t; they have less kids in their honors, so it’s possible. Since Bama lets kids into honors with 28 ACTs, it will have more local kids in it.</p>
<p>I really don’t now how much more USC pulls from all 50 states. Yes, a lower percentage of students may come from adjoining states to USC, but I’ve also heard it referred to as SUNY-Columbia due to a supposed large number of students from NY/NJ. You also have to consider that NC has a really good college system when compared to other states, so that may affect things. I’d also like to point out that being in honors isn’t exactly necessary to get research positions, but honors students are generally more qualified for and have an interest in getting these positions. There’s somewhat of a self-selection bias towards honors students getting research positions, lesser so with CBHP because not all who qualify and want to get into the program are selected, so there are still many non-CBH people vying for positions. There may also be a preference for honors students, but that could be chalked up to bias for more predictable returns (sorry, I’m studying for an econ test).</p>
<p>It would be really nice if Tuscaloosa had a Costco. I like Sam’s Club for many things, but when I’m home I often go to Costco 3x a week, which is not possible here unless I want to go to Hoover. Having locations of the company your parent works for nearby is a plus and happens to be one of the reasons many people though I was going to attend UAH, lol.</p>
<p>AL34</p>
<p>I think this might be what you are looking for:</p>
<p>[SCHC</a> Visitors Information](<a href=“South Carolina Honors College - South Carolina Honors College | University of South Carolina”>South Carolina Honors College - South Carolina Honors College | University of South Carolina)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I don’t think that is what she was trying to find. That doesn’t indicate the distribution across the US. There is a page that shows the state distribution of all USC students (not just honors) and it isn’t that much different than Bama’s page that shows the distribution of all students (not just honors).</p>
<p>This is still not specifically what I was referring to but is USC overall freshman distribution. Now cannot find breakdown by state for UA overall (not just honors).
Mc2K - do you know where that is?</p>
<p>Univ. S. Carolina Fall 2009 Freshman Profile -
State Representation (Top 10)<br>
South Carolina 56.62%<br>
North Carolina 7.89%<br>
Virginia 5.54%<br>
Georgia 5.23%<br>
Maryland 4.34%<br>
New Jersey 2.63%<br>
Pennsylvania 2.45%<br>
Ohio 2.14%<br>
Florida 1.48%<br>
Massachusetts 1.43%</p>