Winthrop University Trip Report

Parents Forum
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<p>Another second-hand report from DW and S. Their impression was generally quite positive, with some concerns noted below:</p>

<p>Pros:</p>

<p>Campus is good-sized for those looking for smaller state universities. 5200+ students. Well laid out campus, but there is sort of an “annex” where the athletic facilities are. But the core academic buildings are all in a main cluster. </p>

<p>Still very much a female-dominated campus (70%), so male applicants have it a little easier. </p>

<p>Historically, Winthrop has very good programs in education and business (particularly accounting). Performing arts is also strong. </p>

<p>For a state university, there is a very solid commitment toward residential life. They recently put a lot of money into some apartment-style housing in an attempt to keep more upperclassmen on campus. Also all residence halls have free laundry facilities. Athletics, particularly baseball, softball and basketball are popular and have had success recently. </p>

<p>The tour was well run. Well maintained buildings, average dorm rooms. </p>

<p>Cost is a big plus. In-state tuition/fees/R&B run $14K/Year. OOS is $21.5K. BUT, all out of state students who are awarded an institutional scholarship of $500 or more automatically receive an out of state tuition waiver. So that “tiny” $500 scholarship actually is worth $8000. I think, based on another post I saw in another forum, that this same tuition waiver rule is true for international students as well. S was pretty much told that anything above a 3.5 and a 1200 SAT would result in a scholarship. </p>

<p>Rock Hill isn’t a large city, but has everything you could want to find. The area immediately around campus has the sort of things you would expect – coffee shops, some bars, etc. Charlotte is nearby and an easy drive for the “big city” experience, including professional sports.</p>

<p>Due to its status as a state university, Winthrop has far more diversity than most similar-sized private schools in the South. </p>

<p>Cons:</p>

<p>Campus architecture is uninspiring, to say the least. 60’s and 70’s institutional style. </p>

<p>Possible weekend exodus, since most students are from nearby. Didn’t visit on a weekend, so it was hard to tell. </p>

<p>Dining options are limited. Just a few dining halls and some a la carte choices. Selection itself was average. </p>

<p>Rock Hill is not exactly Manhattan, but for those who are looking for a traditional “college town” feel, this isn’t it. Winthrop is in the middle of the city, and while the traffic patterns take most cars around the campus, it’s still an urban campus. Bucolic it ain’t. </p>

<p>Overall: Winthrop is a good, solid non-flagship state university. Very good option for those looking for a state school price tag without the large size. I would say similar to UNC-Asheville in that regard. The OOS tuition waiver is a great benefit for out of staters who don’t have an in-state small university option.</p>

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<p>What would you say the student life is like? Are they generally studious or is a congregation of high school slackers/partiers or somewhere in between? </p>

<p>Thanks for posting... I have a friend interested in accounting who is beginning to regret her choice of college.</p>

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<p>Hmmm. Probably somewhere in between. For Freshmen, the slacker/partier contingent is probably more numerous than it should be. But that catches up with them and they tend to either leave or grow up. Starting with Sophomore year, I'd say the students are generally studious, with a liberal helping of weekend partying. I think the student population as a whole is pretty career-oriented.</p>

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<p>thanks. It sounds like a good fit for my friend, although she'd find the lack of boys troubling.</p>

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<p>My neighbor's D (oos) graduated from Winthrop last year. She received a full tution scholarship for all 4 years (must maintain a 3.0) because she graduated from h.s. with an IB Diploma. I think the scholarship was contingent on getting the IB Diploma and a minimum SAT score of 1350. She is now in grad. school at Miami University(Ohio) and was also accepted for a grad school program at Emerson which included taking classes at Tufts.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the report. I was just looking into Winthrop for my S, but the 70/30 stopped me from mentioning it to him. How did your S feel about it and what was his impression of the guys? Type of kids?</p>

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<p>The 70/30 has really never been an issue with him. He didn't notice a huge disparity while walking around the place. There's enough males there to support 5 fraternities, including a few historically black frats. I think the disparity would be a lot more noticeable if the school were small, in the 1000 student range. With 5500 students, it may not seem so lop-sided. Kids were mostly, well, kids. Not nerds. Some jocks, but not overwhelming (but it is Division 1 sports, so there's going to be a decent jock population).</p>

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<p>Thanks, I think I will add this to the list of those to investigate.</p>

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<p>Winthrop does not have a football team (always very competitive in basketball and usually baseball). So if Saturday afternoon football games are a requirement, it would not be good.</p>

1 Like
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<p>You caught me. Winthrop is the odd duck. Football? No. Family considerations? Yes. My brother-in-law is a Professor at Wintrhop, and let's just say that it would cause some family issues if S didn't look at it strongly and at least apply, despite the lack of a football team.</p>

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<p>Haha. Understand completely. My family has strong connections to one of our state universities. S1 chose to attend different state univ. (dh's alma mater) and it was not a big deal because it had the specific program he needed. NOW S2 ( a sophomore) is getting all kinds of "input" from my side of the family tree about how he needs to go to "our" school since S1 went to dh's school. I'm trying hard to remain neutral as dh did the same with S1's choice. It will certainly be interesting to see how plays out.</p>

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<p>Hmm, I'll be going to Winthrop for Fall 2006, it's nice to see a glimpse of how it's like from your point of view. Sadly, because of the distance from my home to Winthrop, I couldn't visit beforehand, but I was offered placement in their honors college and a $2000 scholarship. I guess the urban feel that you mentioned is something that I will enjoy, since I was raised in and around the Philadelphia area.</p>

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<p>NF-Congrats! Be sure to check back in here next year and let us know how you like it. Good luck.</p>

1 Like
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<p>NF, congrats. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, particularly in the Honors College. $2000 plus, I assume, the OOS waiver? That's an outstanding value. And . . . . no, Rock Hill may be urban for South Carolina, but it ain't no Philadelphia. Stock up on pretzels and birch beer before you hit the road.</p>

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<p>NintyFresh - what stats got you into the honors college?</p>

<p>My-3-sons, my son would consider the 70-30 split a big advantage ;).</p>

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<p>I have a 1710 SAT new, 1190 old; and a 3.6 GPA. I'm ranked 54/248 though in my class, but I had no time for any extracurriculars since I pretty much have been working since I was in sixth grade. I'm glad I was accepted to the honors college. I've been looking over their honors program, and it seems to be something that I'd like to do.</p>

<p>Plus, I liked the ratio that the Winthrop has of women to men. I feel that I might be able to make friends more easily since there would be more women interested in my area of study. </p>

<p>As a note, I'm planning to major in Business Administration with a focus on Computer Information Systems. It's not full computer science, as I'm more of a networking person compared to programming, so I think that this would be best for me. Basic programming though, would be fine.</p>

<p>**Computer Information Systems Option*</p>

<p>The College of Business Administration offers a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree that allows students to select one of several areas of emphasis. The BSBA emphasis in computing is named Computer Information Systems (CIFS). Graduates from this program are well suited for entry-level analysis and programming positions in business or government. For example, many of these graduates gain employment with financial-based institutions in the Charlotte area. CIFS coursework includes general computer science topics, such as software enginnering and database design and programming, as well as business topics such as accounting and marketing.*</p>

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<p>My daughter graduated cum laude in May 2005 with a Psychology major and Dance minor. We live in Georgia and could have gotten free tuition at a state school, but she initially wanted a smaller school with a Dance major. While she was unhappy with the Dance progarm, she did not want to move back home and switched majors. She loved to school. Academics are challenging in many areas and faculty is very open and friendly. This is a "teaching" institution. Campus is comapct and beautiful. Social life is only drawback at it is limited. Having Charlotte close by is great. She made many friends and lived off campus for 2 years.
It is very reasonable and operates more like a private school , which many feel it is. It is highly regarded in the Carolinas. She was one of 20 accepted out of 55 for the graduate progarm in school counseling at the University of South Carolina.
It is a very friendly low key place and not a big southern "jock" school although they have some excellent sport programs. School spirit is somewhat lacking as they do not have a football program and have some commuters.</p>

<p>For my daughter, it was a great fit. She probably woul dhave blown out being a number at a huge school</p>