Maaza

Hey everyone! I'm currently a senior in high school up in Connecticut. I've got some questions. No one in my family has ever atteneded a proper university in my family. So, I'll be looking forward to it. Got some questions, I'll keep it bullet-ed.

-I was wondering overall, how the atmosphere of the university is.
-The city of Columbia...I heard is kind of dead. I've lived in Los Angeles for a good chunk of my life. I'm sure it can't compare to that, but...would it comparable to something like Charlotte? Or I'm just thinking too much? What can I expect from Columbia?
-How are the dorms? Food/food courts?
-Are most of the facilities quite modern, or kinda worn and old? From the pics I've seen, seems nice, but I dunno if I'm seeing the whole picture.
-How's the university for Bio/Biochem major? I'm think Pre-med, but....as of now, I just wanna say Biochem major.

If I have any more questions. I'll be sure to ask. I think others who are interested in this university might find this helpful. Thanks in advance.

betterdays

Hey Maaza!
You're right, Columbia absolutely will not compare with Los Angeles. Interestingly though, the people who are from big cities tend to like it more here than the people who are from small towns in South Carolina. It's smaller than Charlotte, and probably not quite as metropolitan, but I feel like it has more charm than Charlotte. It's not as much a generic city. Columbia sits on the intersection of three rivers, so there's a lot of activity surrounding that: the river walks, swimming, tubing, etc. Most sporting events revolve around the university, although their is a minor league baseball team and a minor league hockey team that's currently on hiatus. Most of the stuff to do is within a mile or so of the university: the bars of Five Points, the restaurants of the Vista, the State House, the cultural elements of downtown. If you know where to look, there is always something going on. One problem you'll run into is that most students don't look, so they claim there's nothing to do in Columbia. The other really nice thing about Columbia is that it's in the middle of a lot. There are so many easy day trips you can take: Charlotte, Greenville, Charleston, Savannah, and Asheville are all within 3 hours drive. That was a really long answer for just the first part of your question!

The dorms are kind of hit and miss. Some of them are absolutely gorgeous and great, and others are in need of some redecorating. I don't think the worst ones are any worse than a typical college dorm, but if you live in the nice places, you'll get spoiled. I love the food options here. There are three typical dining facilities (salad bar, hot line, pizza), one all you can eat buffet, a healthy eating dining room, a smoothie place, a deli, a food court with Einstein Brothers, Burger King, Chick fil a, a Greek place, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, cafe that serves upscale soups and salads, a pizza/pasta place and various cafes and quick meal places scattered around campus. All of these places accept meal plan, although at some of the places meals do tend to go over your meal plan. Variety, however, is not a problem at all.

There aren't really a lot of "worn out and old" facilities, and those that are are being replaced. Some buildings on campus (i.e. the fitness center and the business building) are really nice, and others are just your typical classroom buildings. They tend to be kept pretty clean, and I've never thought of any as being "worn out".

Biology is a big major and pretty decent, but I don't know much about biochem. I have several friends in the program, and they don't seem unhappy, but that probably doesn't help much. They are busy a lot though.

MeKimber

Hi Maaza--

We too are from CT and my son and his roommate (also from CT) are freshmen at USC. In response to your questions about the city and the atmosphere of the school..... As betterdays said, Columbia doesn't compare to LA but I can tell you that it is much nicer than any CT city. I found it to be very clean compared to lets say Hartford or New Haven. Not as crowded as either of those and overall nicer.

The Vista and Five Points areas are great, with lots of restaurants and little shops. There is also an enormous mall within 15min of campus (bigger than any major CT mall). The campus itself was much nicer than I expected when we first visited. Being in a city I was thinking I was going to be seeing a school like Trinity in Hartford. Not gonna lie, that was a big concern. But I found that unlike Trinity it felt very safe. You can walk around freely in a clean, pleasant area and not feel like you are in any danger. They have their own campus police department that is staffed with actual police officers not rent-a-cops.

There are a lot of students at USC so it is always bustling and the students and staff are all very friendly. While I didn't see all the dorms, there are only one or two that I would say are old and in need of an interior facelift. My S lives in Capstone and it seems like a pretty typical dorm to me with the additional convenience of having its own dining hall on the first floor. Also liked the fact that it was all suites and he only has to share a bath between four guys instead of a whole floor!

Their dining facility looked great to me and he has not complained. There are food places all over campus (way more than I have seen at any other school), hungry is one thing you will never be at USC!

As for the buildings, all of the ones I visited were quite modern and up to date, there were none that I would say were past their prime. The Strom Thurmond Fitness Center is the most amazing place I have seen and to be honest it looks like a resort with its beautiful outdoor pool and awesome facilities. Just behind the Strom is Greek Village and let me tell you, those houses are amazing!! They look like southern mansions. You will not find Greek Housing in CT (or anywhere else that we visited) that is nearly as nice as those.

Sports are a big thing on this campus and provide a lot of the entertainment....parties before the games, parties after the games....etc. The stadium is huge and unlike anything we have in CT. My S is not an athlete but he really wanted to go to a school that had bigtime sports and that sense of pride and community. USC definitely has that.

I can't comment on the BioChem major, I am not familiar with it, but I am sure that someone on here will be able to come through with some info for you!

uscgamecock

Since everyone has commented about Columbia and the campus, I'll go about your question about bio/biochem. I'm a junior chemistry major who is also pre-med, btw. There is no biochem major established at the school, although they have been trying for many years. I have taken several biology courses, though, and I can say that they have been very good. The biology program is very popular and you will find many of them are pre-med or pre-pharm. If you have any other specifc questions, don't be afraid to ask!