University of South Carolina HC - Parent's perspective

@Gora14 What would you have done if your daughter and maybe your wife still wanted your daughter to attend Stanford? Having went to an Ivy myself basically for free, I am not that impressed by name brand myself but . . .

How many Honors classes does an Honors Colkege student take every semester? Or is Honors classes just for first year or two to set a foundation?

@websensation Mortgaged the house, LOL. That’s a really good question, and I honestly don’t know. If it was something she had her heart set on, we were prepared to do it. All the pressure was in that direction from school and classmates, and she really had her heart set on Georgetown. She had read “David and Goliath,” however, and was aware that might not be the best choice and also was aware of the cost. Visiting was the clincher. Everything USC did was right. It was a much better experience by far than any of the other schools. There is really something to southern hospitality. Everyone, everywhere is warm and friendly, not just on campus. After she went to USC, she really was not that interested in visiting anywhere else. We did go to other schools, and she discussed their positives, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it.

@websensation Keep in mind standards are tweeked from time to time. But my D (class of '15) took honors classes every semester. Sometimes 3 or 4. There are two types of classes - those that are honors only sections of regular classes and those that are unique classes to honors college. For instance, her math classes were honors sections (and every now and then there were non-honors students), but she also took classes unique to Honors like Zombie Apocalypse, Consciousness, a couple of others I can’t remember, etc. The honors sections were distinct from other sections of those classes and seemed to have best professors.

But I will say it depends on major. She was double major. I think all but 1 or 2 in one major were honors classes or sections. In the other, most of honors classes were unique but weren’t as many options and then took just upper level classes in that area. Even with double major, she had lots of time to take things just because she was interested - and these were mostly honors seminars.

On the honors page under current students (I think) there is a link to student handbook which explains the requirements. Pretty sure it would be hard to get all your requirements in just 2 years and then there is also senior thesis/project. For some majors it can also serve as capstone project. You can also look at current class offerings to see the types of choices you have in your major, as opposed to gen ed type stuff.

D made great connections with professors her freshman year. Teachers from two classes ended up being her advisors in their areas (again, double major) and both at one point were department heads or head of undergraduates in their areas. Just our experience, but D loved honors classes and sought them out - she much preferred good discussion and papers to just lecture and multiple choice tests!

I am going to assume they are not required every semester. Kids in the cohort IB programs are abroad at least a yr.

No, not required every semester. I was specifically answering the question about if HC kids take classes after 1st year since several college honors college I remember looking at with my girls focused mainly on gen eds or first year or so and then you were done. Assume that was basis of @websensation 's question.

Look at handbook to see hours required. And there is a way to have AP credits count by taking the next higher honors course (at least there use to be). Several of D’s friends were IB and went abroad and did fine. D did more than required because preferred HC courses and it worked with her majors. Really is slightly major dependent.

Year 2 and D still thinks selecting USC was the best decision she ever made. Like some of you reading and researching this year, we were in your shoes 2 years ago. My D was tops of graduating class in a very competitive Northeast high school and had the outstanding SAT scores, extra curicular activities, community service, etc. She was accepted into her share of private elites and received offers for partial scholarships from some of the second tier privates like Lehigh, Pitt, etc.

Yet still, in nearly every instance, the cost was well beyond unreasonable. Even more ridiculous, based on how schools calculate financial aide, you start to notice that you wind up paying full freight while a considerable amount of other students attending the same school, receiving the same education, even possibly sitting in the same classes as your S or D, are paying next to nothing! Hence the $60k cost (or more) per year. In essence you are footing bill for your own child plus another who reveives substantial fimancial aide - even though that other student may not be as academically talented. Something still doesnt seem right with that equation.

By.contrast, USCHC is all about MERIT aide. Top performers are rewarded based upon academics and unlike many.other university honors colleges or honors programs, admissions are highly.competitive and right on par with those same private elites.

Living in the Northeast, my D returns home on breaks and gets together with friends who opted to attend some of the big price tag universities. As one of the other parents have recently posted above, there is no doubt some amount of peer pressure up here in attending these schools when accepted. For tnat reason, some will suggest.that USCHC doesn’t compare. I disagree completely. My D has met many, many like minded students inside USCHC that, along with her, were accepted to “elites” throughout the US.

I don’t want at all to sound political, but I tend to agree with another parent who suggested that the elites are.increasingly becoming schools for the very wealthy or for those from lower income families. In effectively limiting the pool of students to draw from, I do wonder if the academic talent from these schools are becoming dilluted in comparison from prior generations because many top students today would rather follow the money - and significant money it is - while still receiving a high quality education.

So there it is. My plug for USCHC - made in part because I am very appreciative for the generous, academic scholarship she continues to receive. Beyond all that, and perhaps more importantly, it has been a great fit for my D. She loves it there. LOVES IT. Very happy and the education she is receiving has met her high standards.

Go Gamecocks!

@SECfan1234 I’m so glad that your daughter is thriving and loving her time at USCHC. Unfortunately, I think what is given pause to many about the school is its location. If you put the same program in the NE , Mid Atlantic , many of the same people would be singing its praises. Many times people do not even research the program to see what the requirements for admission are before discounting. I urge people to make a visit and do their homework before discounting any school or else they risk missing an excellent opportunity and “fit” that works so well for your daughter.

Agree generally with SECfan1234. It would be an easy choice if Univ of South Carolina had a good program in my kid’s intended field of major, which is Int’l Relations and/or East Asian Studies, but not sure. Were my kid intending to major in Int’l Business area, it would be an easy choice: go to USC on a near full-ride and study IB which is ranked very high in the nation.

@SECfan1234 Thanks for your post yesterday - very much in line with my thinking. D recently accepted into honors college, merit aid is a big factor in decision-making process. Looking forward to scholars/accepted students weekend and spending some more time on campus. Just booked plane tickets/hotel.

We just booked our flight for the Jan accepted students weekend as well. I keep telling her that she can not say she does not like it when she knows nothing about it. Hope the school really does do what @Gora14 said and put on a good show. Our girl got an amazing offer for the HC and it has all the attributes we like about it. But because none of her friends in her suburban Washington, DC high school are talking about it, it doesn’t exist. The peer pressure is real. We are stuck in that bubble of not being low income or wealthy and we need to follow the money. Assuming no more scholarship offers from USC, the fours years will still cost the same as sending her to UMD. If she gets in UMD Honors College, then it will be a tough decision for her.

(please forgive this double entry…this is my first post).We just booked our flight for the Jan accepted students weekend as well. I keep telling her that she can not say she does not like it when she knows nothing about it. Hope the school really does do what @Gora14 said and put on a good show. Our girl got an amazing offer for the HC and it has all the attributes we like about it. But because none of her friends in her suburban Washington, DC high school are talking about it, it doesn’t exist. The peer pressure is real. We are stuck in that bubble of not being low income or wealthy and we need to follow the money. Assuming no more scholarship offers from USC, the fours years will still cost the same as sending her to UMD. If she gets in UMD Honors College, then it will be a tough decision for her.

@cavphil I’m just north of you in Silver Spring and wishing you the best. I am so familiar with the peer pressure you speak of. This really was tough. When you visit, you should track down the Maryland representative. They have a few meetings in the DC area where you can meet other students and parents considering USC. I think meeting with like-minded students made her feel much better about the school. When we visited last January, it was right after a snowstorm that dumped about 2’ on us. Not only was everyone super friendly and helpful, but it was warm enough that students were sunbathing at the lawn of the Honor’s dorm. We came back to freezing cold and snowbanks. I think that iced it for her. After one semester in, my daughter still thinks she made the best decision.

Thank you, @Gora14 . We will check track down that MD rep when we get down there.

@SECfan1234 I agree with your statement that the “elite” universities and most private colleges are for wealthy or relatively poor families, not for middle class or even high middle class whatever that may be. I agree with you that having to pay $60K to $70K per year, while many other students pay nothing at all, sort of grates on my good feeling of my kid’s having gotten into Stanford, even though I have the entire Stanford tuition saved up. Had I not saved up tuition money for a private college, I would have forbade my kid from even applying to Stanford because preliminary calculation showed that we would not be getting financial aid unless we went bankrupt or something. I myself went to an Ivy and graduate school for almost free, so I hate paying too much money for education because to me, you can learn almost everything on your own, if you are motivated.

There is always good and bad with almost every situation. Basically, I would be happy if my kid decided to attend Stanford, but I would be even happier if he decided to attend a good Honors College on a great scholarship. But I agree with you that the pressure to attend a better-known school is HUGE and REAL. I think the pressure is caused not only by the outside pressure but is self-imposed from the feeling that you might be missing out something by not attending an elite college. This is why I said that University of South Carolina will have a tougher time attracting good students from CA because in most cases, the CA good students will probably be admitted to some of top UC colleges which costs around $35K, so you are not talking about $70K vs. $10K but $35K vs. $10K.

Also, it’s not 100% monetary issues but also whether the Honors College has good program in his interest area.

@cavphil How was your daughter’s trip to Univ of South Carolina? Did she like it? I am asking because you stated in your previous post that you booked a trip to Univ of South Carolina. Let us know. Tx.

Hello @websensation We have long since returned from our trip and are just now getting back to making the big decision. The trip down there did not work as planned. It was literally 32 degrees down there in January. While they hosted a nice event and were very welcoming, we saw very few students. I even checked to see if school was actually in session and also for the student population…that’s how few students we actually saw. She was not sold. Now she’s gotten into UVA and W&M along with UMD Honors (Gemstone) so she has a number of good choices making the decision difficult. Man, I wish the weather had worked its charm but alas it didn’t.

@cavphil We decided not to go to USC but thanks for your info. Good luck.