There are under two weeks for me to decide where to go to college and I have basically narrowed it down to University of Alabama and University of South Carolina. I am from the northeast so I would have to pay out-of-state tuition, but both schools would cost roughly the same amount because of scholarships/grants. I was admitted to the honors program at both schools and I am going in as an engineering undecided major. I visited both campuses and liked both about equally in that regard. So really at this point it comes down to the difference between the honors and engineering programs. Can anyone compare these programs for me or give advice on which college I should pick? Thank you.
Re Honors: My D is finishing her first year at Carolina, and the Honors College has been a great experience. She has taken five Honors classes ranging in size from 8 to 30. Some are Honors versions of required classes (e.g., English, Accounting) and some are specific to the Honors College. She couldn’t get into every class she wanted for next year because the classes are small (often 15 max). You would likely be able to take Honors versions of things like Calc and Physics right away, while you might have to wait for some of the “cooler” classes like American Cyborgs or History of the Devil. A nice surprise was that her non-Honors classes have also been pretty small (25 to 40 students).
You will have an Honors adviser and one for engineering. They each keep an eye on their own set of requirements so nothing is missed. D got a study abroad grant for a May trip (specific to Honors, and something that might be appealing to an Engineering major as I understand it can be difficult to study abroad for a full semester with that major due to the required course sequences).
The Honors Dorm is nice and there are activities (especially in the beginning of the year) to meet the other SCHC first-years (there were 488 in this most recent class). The location is excellent and a short walk to the engineering building. For later years, there is on-campus housing tied to Honors (650 Lincoln, which is a new apartment complex also convenient to Engineering, as well as the Horseshoe, which is the heart of campus and harder to get into as they are small buildings). The overall campus is very walkable considering its size. I believe Alabama has really nice housing specific to Honors students, but you might want to see if it’s available beyond Year 1 if you want to continue to live on campus.
As you may know, SCHC’s Honors College is consistently ranked as one of the top public Honors Colleges in the U.S. Admission is very selective, the overall size of the HC is limited, and it is difficult to transfer in because of the number of Honors credits required. Alabama’s HC is much larger because it is open to all students who meet certain requirements. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; but one of the reasons the SCHC kids get extra “perks” is because there aren’t that many of them (less than 7% of the undergrad population). Lots of very bright kids are not accepted into the SCHC, so the fact that you were is significant.
Re engineering: I can’t help much with that as my D is in the B School. I believe Alabama’s program is very well regarded, and the facilities are more modern than those at SC (we toured both when she was considering engineering).
Another possible consideration might be travel. There are many OOS students at both schools (SC was 41% OOS for this past year, and U of A is likely a bit higher) as well as plenty of southerners, so you will have a nice mix whichever school you choose. To get to SC, you can fly into Charlotte and take a shuttle ($55 one-way) or fly into Columbia (sometimes fares are really reasonable). Around Thanksgiving and Spring Break, there are free shuttles to the Columbia airport, and an Uber is about $12. The Amtrak station is within walking distance of campus but the schedules aren’t very convenient (meaning the train leaves and arrives in the middle of the night). We are in the Philadelphia area and it’s about a 10 hour drive, which allowed us to drive her for drop-off and pick-up and also for a family visit in the fall for a football game.
You have two excellent options. Congratulations.