My kid is a Senior at a very competitive public HS in CA (around 30 National Merit Semi-finalists every year) with 3.90 unweighted GPA (with many APs and Honors classes) who has just been notified by his HS that he has been accorded National Merit Semi-finalist status in CA. He also has good ECs in the field related to Int’l Relations and is fluent in 2 languages and conversant in 2 additional languages. Essentially, he might be looking at choosing among UC Berkeley, UCLA and Univ of South Carolina should he be fortunate in being accepted to all of them. Univ of South Carolina has captured my interest not only because it has a number 1 Int’l Business Program but because it would actually cost us less than UCLA or UC Berkeley.
He will be putting down Univ. of South Carolina as his 1st choice on his National Merit Finalist application, and will also be applying to Honors College as an Int’l Business major. From what I can tell, he would qualify automatically for Lieber Scholarship based on his being a National Merit Semi-finalist and would qualify for Cooper Scholarship based on his ACT score and USC’s own weighted GPA. My questions are:
Does he have to interview with Univ of South Carolina to receive Lieber and Cooper Scholarships?
Would he also qualify for McNair or Horseshoe Scholarships? It would be best if he could get either McNair/Horseshoe Scholarship and combine that with the automatic Lieber Scholarship, if that is possible.
What is the ethnic diversity of Honors College and/or Int'l Business college? Are there some minorities such as blacks and Asian-Americans in these two places? I know the majority of students and professors will be white.
Do you know if there will be good job prospects in South Carolina area after he graduates from IB major, or is it advisable for him to pursue a Masters degree to improve his job prospects? I don't want my kid to study so much if he can help it. :)
Do students in the Honors College residence dorm share bathrooms between females and males? I know the residence dorm is co-ed.
I know Univ of South Carolina's Int'l Business Program is very good, but how is their International Studies Program? He probably will be majoring in IB but minoring in a language or Int'l Studies. To be frank, my only concern with Univ of South Carolina is that its other Programs (aside from Int'l Business) are not as highly ranked. I am afraid my kid might want to change his major.
I am very happy to hear that your son is considering South Carolina! There is always a nice representation of Californians in each International Business cohort. It sounds like your son has a strong background. To answer your questions:
I do not believe he would need to interview for Lieber or Cooper. McNair/Horseshoe and Carolina/Hamilton Scholarships are the only ones that involve on-campus interviews (during the respective Scholar weekends).
He might qualify for the McNair or Horseshoe. The way it works is he will apply to USC through the regular application. If his scores and GPA are high enough (which it sounds like they are), he will be asked to complete a supplementary application that will cover admission to the Honors College and will put him into consideration for merit-based scholarships. The scores outlined on the school's website will give you a rough idea of where he will likely fall in the scholarship ladder, but ultimately scholarships are awarded based on the strength of applicants that year. To give you an idea, McNair and Horseshoe Scholars this past year averaged a 1532/1600 (SAT) or a 34/36 (ACT). Since McNair and Horseshoe exceed the cost of attendance, they supercede Lieber.
It is difficult to define because the Honors College has never published a demographic breakdown (to my knowledge) and the school tracks students by their primary college (i.e. Business, Arts & Sciences, Nursing). Anecdotally, they try to build diversity into the class and it shows. From my experience, SCHC was much more diverse than USC as a whole, with a large number of Asian students and a fair number of Hispanic and African-American students.
The International Business major requires a second major (i.e. marketing, finance, accounting) and a language minor. This probably seems overwhelming, but it ends up being pretty manageable, especially when you factor in AP or International Baccalaureate credits. Finance majors will typically move to Charlotte or New York, accounting majors move all over (the recruiting process makes placement anywhere in the country easy), global supply chain majors often move within the South or to the Midwest (near manufacturing), and management, marketing, and economics majors seem to stay in the South (i.e. Charlotte, Charleston, Atlanta, DC). Charlotte is less than two hours from campus and is home to Bank of America, Duke Energy, Lowe's Home Improvement, Nucor, Ally Bank, a large portion of Wells Fargo, offices of the Big 4, and plenty of other companies. Finding employment as an IB major has never been a problem. As for grad school, students my year have started going back. I have friends currently studying at Michigan, Duke, Columbia, Harvard, NYU, UCLA, London Business School, INSEAD, and a handful of others. The double major-minor combination is a great resume builder.
I did not live in the new Honors College dorm, but I am pretty sure adjoining rooms are paired by gender, therefore guys and girls would not share bathrooms.
The International Studies program seems to be very good mainly because the International Business program provides all of the underlying factors that would make an IS program reputable (i.e. strong language programs, extensive study abroad options, subject matter expertise, visiting speakers, research). The Global Studies major is basically International Business, only with a focus on diplomacy rather than business. You can look into the Walker Institute for more information: http://www.walkerinstitute.sc.edu.
@fleagle10 First, thank you for your detailed response. I just have following questions/comments;
My son's ACT is "only" 33 which is below the average scores for McNair/Horseshoe applicants' scores. But he has really strong (I think) ECs in Int'l and language area. Does he have a chance at McNair/Horseshoe?
You stated that the IB major requires a second major and a language minor. Does this mean he will graduate with for example IB (marketing) major with a minor in Spanish or Mandarin? Does this mean he could double major (IB/Global Studies) with a minor in Spanish/Chinese?
Do you feel as a former SCHC student (I assume) that an undergraduate degree in IB is respected by good graduated schools?
I know Lieber Scholarship is automatic, but is Cooper Scholarship automatic also as long as you meet the ACT requirement (33 in ACT qualifies) and GPA (I think he does)?
Thanks again for your wonderfully detailed response. SCHC reminds me of Univ of Penn’s Huntsmann Program. Well, sort of.
@websensation, I will answer your questions above. My son is an IB Triple Major/Language Minor and a McNair Scholar.
Yes, your son has a shot at the McNair Scholarship with a 33 ACT. The McNair focuses a lot on your EC's and how well you answer the essay questions. A 33 ACT and a NMSF will satisfy the academic requirements.
IB Double Major. One major is International Business. My understanding is that the 2nd major must be one of the 7 business majors listed on the website (Accounting, Economics, Finance, Management Science, Marketing, Real Estate and Risk Management). Check with admissions to be sure though. In addition, he would need to minor in a language, which means that he would take at least 4 300 level language classes. If your son has a lot of AP's and places very high in a language, he could possibly pursue a triple major.
I feel that the SCHC is respected by good graduate schools since the students are able to build very impressive resumes while at USC. In addition, as a top student, your son will be able to develop strong relationships with his professors who will be able to provide strong recommendations and guidance. In addition, the Office of Fellowships & Scholar Programs does a great job of guiding students who are interested in pursuing prestigious national scholarships.
I would assume that as a NMSF, your son would qualify for the Cooper scholarship. That being said, the Lieber scholarship stacks on top of the McKissick/Cooper/Horseshoe/McNair. Therefore, if your son is a McNair, he would receive the instate tuition waiver plus $21,000/year.
I would strongly recommend that your son apply to the SCHC. My son has had a great experience at USC and the SCHC.
My son's ACT is "only" 33 which is below the average scores for McNair/Horseshoe applicants' scores. But he has really strong (I think) ECs in Int'l and language area. Does he have a chance at McNair/Horseshoe?
With all things, this is a roll of the dice. There are other factors that go into this and these factors are different for the scholarships, the honors college and the IB program.
You stated that the IB major requires a second major and a language minor. Does this mean he will graduate with for example IB (marketing) major with a minor in Spanish or Mandarin? Does this mean he could double major (IB/Global Studies) with a minor in Spanish/Chinese?
The IB program requires taking higher level courses in a language. I don’t believe a minor in a language is required. The scenarios you list are all possible. I find the school to be somewhat flexible. However, there are a lot of requirements in the IB program. A double major is a LOT of course requirements.
Do you feel as a former SCHC student (I assume) that an undergraduate degree in IB is respected by good graduated schools?
Graduate schools tend to look at students individually. Much is determined by recommendations and the student’s record as an undergraduate. While it is a factor, I don’t believe that where the degree is obtained is as large a factor as some make it out to be. If that is the ultimate goal, I tend to advise students to attend the cheapest, most convenient undergraduate institution. If they are really good, they will shine and get accepted anywhere and you will save a lot of money. Once you have an advanced degree, nobody really cares where the undergraduate degree came from. That said, SC IB is extremely well known and well respected. It is the best in the country. What makes it so is the opportunities they offer and the resumes that their students build during the process. If I had a choice between a student who attended and got a degree from Harvard (for example), and a student who received a degree from another school, but in the process, spent a year in a foreign country, learned the language, worked with a company as an intern and also did research and published a paper and gave a couple conference presentations, I would choose the latter. SC IB provides students with more opportunities to do the latter. This can also be done at countless other schools, but there are less opportunities to do so. The best students will find those opportunities and be offered those opportunities. For a great student, I believe the door is wide open no matter where they go to school.
@atlkaw6 Thanks for your response. At this point, we will be applying and hoping at least for Cooper and Lieber. I know my kid qualifies for both but I am not sure if they are automatic scholarships as long as you meet the stated requirements. Actually, I am more excited about SCHC as a parent than my kid is at this point, but he agreed to keep an open mind and do an official visit. I feel like my kid will fit nicely at SCHC (a closely-knit community at a large university), but my kid has never lived in the East coast so . . . The only uncertainty at this point is he might take a year off after graduating from high school to further study a language abroad through some scholarship program to build upon his Intermediate High level he managed to attain after this summer studies from the same scholarship program.
Thanks again for your response. Your kid must be studying his butt off since he’s triple majoring. Does he expect to graduate in 4 years? My kid does have around 4 or 5 APs he’s taken though.
Leiber is automatic. The other scholarships like Cooper are not tied to automatic scores/GPAs. So, unlike some schools, it’s NOT “if you have 33 ACT and 3.9 GPA you automatically get XXX scholarship”. Look at the Money Matters publication (search it from USC website) and you will see what the average scores and stats were for each scholarship for the previous years. I think it really depends on the applicant pool for any given year. But they are good guidelines for what you might expect. The biggest deal, IMO, is hitting the marks that provide you OOS waiver so that you pay in-state tuition rates.
As far as McNair, and honors as a whole, really do a great job on essays. They are read carefully! You can go to Office of Fellowships and Scholarships and look at an on-line copy of the publication they do each year featuring the McNair/Carolina scholars to get an idea of the kids that get those awards.
@scmom12 Thanks for your response. I will read Money Matters publication. Not expecting McNair. Will be happy if get Lieber (automatic) and Cooper. Since Liber is automatic, I guess in-state tuition at least will be awarded even if Cooper scholarship is not awarded. Again, thanks again. You answered my question. I was hoping that Cooper was an automatic scholarship, to eliminate the possibility that my kid will not get it.
@websensation Yes, my son will graduate in 4 years. USC is very generous with AP credits, so he was able to enter USC with 52 credits. In addition, he was also able to place in 300 level language classes. This made it much easier to triple major, but it was still a lot of work.
@Gora14 Thanks for your great advice. By the way, do you work as a college advisor of some kind?
I am not an adviser, but I do give a lot of advice. I have worked at universities, but now I work with a lot of professors. I also work with their students and postdocs. We network. When there is a good student, word spreads. We will help find jobs and get them into grad schools. The main point is that when there is an excellent student, it is known and so professors latch onto them for special projects and work. When it comes time to graduate, they could get accepted anywhere, at least within that network. When you are at or near the top of the class, you get a lot of opportunities. I strongly recommend to students to go to a school where they will be the big fish, no matter what the size of the pond. By far the best people I had working for me came from no-name schools. They were the big fish. They had more opportunities. They built a bigger resume and they are successful because of the things they were able to do rather than the place they happened to go to school. That big fish in that little pond has a better chance of getting accepted anywhere than the small fish in the big pond. The huge advantage of the SC IB program is the number of opportunities they offer helps the students build that resume.
USC has a lot to offer. One of the things that was mentioned by atikaw6 is the AP credits. They are extremely generous with them and this allows a lot of opportunities, like a triple major, which is amazing. Many colleges only give credits for 4s and 5s. One school we visited even suggested that even if you got credit they still recommended retaking the course to get an easy A. At USC it was explained that if you demonstrated proficiency (often with a 3), that was enough and they would rather see students challenging themselves taking different classes and expanding their minds than taking courses they already had proficiency in. Interestingly, they found that students like atikaw6’s who are halfway toward graduation when entering college, will still take 4 years, but will just take different courses and challenge themselves in new ways. This is brilliant and says a lot about the school.
Also, as mentioned above, the most important thing is getting in-state tuition. That is the big goal. The rest is extra icing. Also, each year, the students applying are better qualified than the last.
@Gora14 Thanks for your further explanation. I appreciate it. It seems that due to my kid’s unexpectedly being accorded NMSF status (he will apply for NM Finalist status), he will receive at least in-state tuition and $5K or $6K per year merit money. He has good chance of getting Cooper (I think) since he has good ECs. McNair, who knows? I told him to work on essays. The online application had only 2 essay questions for Honors College/Top Scholarships, but from what I read on CC, it seemed like in the past they had 4 or 5 essays required for scholarships, no?
Also, when you apply, is there a box to indicate your intended major? Or does that matter? I did not see any box for that in the online application.
I believe when we applied, there is the standard application, but then there is a supplement for the Honor’s application that I believe is also used for scholarships. I believe there were only two essay questions. My D applied for many different schools, so it is easy to mix them up. You definitely want to do the honors – but I guess you knew that because that is what the essays are for. If he is interested in IB, then definitely apply for it now. I thought that was on one of the earlier pages in the application. Other majors can be changed, but that one is difficult to get into. We were told at orientation that on average a student changes major 3-5 times during their four years. From what we saw, nearly everyone is deferred for the Honor’s college. If your son does not get into IB, make sure he applies for a cohort program in IB. I believe this occurs in February and again in March. It is best to apply for the first one as there are less applicants. This is a backdoor to get into the program. If you are accepted into the cohort, then you are automatically accepted into IB. Very few apply in the first round, so that is an advantage. If you don’t get in the first round, you can apply again in the second round that occurs about a month later. You can apply to more than one cohort program also. The process is similar. We used similar essays, just modifying a few lines. The interviewers are different and have very different styles. If this doesn’t work out, most students do not get into IB until they apply during their Freshman year. That’s what I remember. I expect others here can comment and correct me.
It seems that it is possible (just theoretical or possible in real life?) to be awarded scholarships such as Lieber and Cooper and still not get into SCHC. So, essentially, you are good enough to get good scholarships but not good enough to get into SCHC? Does that mean if you manage to get accepted by SCHC you will be able to major in any areas?
Honors college and scholarships are determined by different committees. I believe HC admission will get you in-state tuition, but the amount of additional funds is yet to be determined. Likewise, most students awarded scholarships are not in HC. All majors have their own criteria for admission. One route to IB is by acceptance in the HC. HC definitely opens a lot of doors, but these doors can open up anyway. You don’t need to be in HC to have a great experience. All the opportunities are still available, but they just take a bit more effort.
The IB program requires students to study abroad for a period of time. This can be done independently, or through one of their cohort programs. A cohort consists of 40 students typically. Half of these are from USC and half are from another country, China, for example. For two years, these students will work together as a “cohort,” one year at USC and the other year in China. There are cohorts available for Chile, China, France, and Egypt. There is an additional one that includes Brazil, Germany and Singapore (10 from each country and one semester in each of the countries). http://moore.sc.edu/academicprograms/undergraduate/majorsoffered/internationalbusiness/optionsoverviews.aspx
Application into a cohort is a separate procedure that occurs in the Spring. Acceptance into one of these programs gets you into the IB program. I consider this a backdoor.
I do not know exactly what you mean. In many study abroad programs you typically pay your normal tuition and fees to your home institution and that will cover the costs at your foreign university – they usually have an arrangement between the universities. So, the scholarships should cover this. The other expenses would be books, meals, housing, and of course airfare. I expect that each scholarship has its own rules in what they will cover. One other thing is that apparently during study abroad, you only have to pay in-state tuition.
@Gora14 Yes, that’s the info I was looking for – whether any scholarships you receive covers those study abroad programs. I will ask the school rep in near future. Thanks again.
Dear All who responded: Our kid will be submitting Honors College application before Nov 15th and see what happens. Will post the results. Will be thrilled if he gets Horsehoe/McNair scholarships which are becoming increasingly competitive instead of Cooper; but we realize this is a crap shoot given the ultra competitive students. At least, he will get Lieber scholarship. Plan to visit the campus regardless before making a final decision.
