Is South Carolina Honors truly as amazing at it seems?

Colleges & Universities University of South Carolina
1

My S24 has been admitted to SCHC with an OOS tuition waiver and we are thrilled! He has toured the campus and loved it, likes Columbia, and it is an ideal distance from home. He is going back over his spring break for a second tour and to learn more about Honors. Honestly, it just seems amazing!

I would love to hear perspectives from people with personal experience at SCHC. What is the social life like? My S24 is pretty social - a “work hard play hard type.” Is it easy to make friends? Do the honors students integrate well with the rest of the university? Do many Honors students rush?

Are the Honors Classes as great as they look? I’ve looked at the course descriptions and I love that he can take required courses in small sections, and the unique elective classes look really interesting.

How is the Honors Advising? Does it really feel personal?

He also is accepted to Darla Moore School of Business and plans to major in Finance, and possibly pursue a second major either in Accounting or Political Science.

Are there any downsides? It’s almost like it seems too good to be true! :slight_smile:

And, FWIW, other acceptances he is considering:
Florida State w/ Honors College
University of Florida
University of Georgia
TCU (probably off list due to distance from home)

Thank you to anyone willing to offer an opinion!

6 Likes
2

My daughter has the same list of yeses and we have it narrowed down to FSU and USC because she got Honors there and not at Georgia or TCU. We’re going to FSU soon to check out because I think they have to step foot on both campuses.

3

I’d love to compare notes! So far, SCHC is my S24s front runner. He likes Columbia a lot more than Tallahassee and really loved his first visit. He is revisiting both schools again in the upcoming weeks. From what we can tell, honors at SC is more robust but maybe they just do a better job highlighting their program. I would love to hear your thoughts!

4

I am also curious to hear more about Honors College. It does sound amazing, and it seems like you really do get a lot more bang for your buck at SC. In addition to SC, my daughter has narrowed down her acceptances to Penn State Smeal, Clemson, and North Carolina State (all OOS). We are still waiting on 8 via RD, but many of them were reaches so we will see. I have heard only positive things about the HC, and it seems to be a close-knit community that takes care of each other with lots of opportunities. We are going to Admitted Student Day on the 6th and will do the HC reception the day before, so hopefully we come out of there with some clarity.

2 Likes
5

I feel bad you are not getting much insight from people with personal experience, so . . . have you checked out Inside Honors? It is a book series that looked in depth at a lot of honors programs, I think the last edition was 2020-21. I have not actually seen a copy, but my understanding is some people find it very helpful.

I note it apparently has consistently rated South Carolina’s Honors College in its top tier. But hopefully it could give you more than that to consider.

1 Like
6

Thank you for the book recommendation! I will try to order it now. I’ve read a lot of online information about Honors colleges and rankings, and SCHC always seems to rate very highly. My son is going to SC to visit a second time over his Spring Break next week and said “as long as I don’t find anything I hate I’m enrolling.” I think it just seems too good to be true? It’s almost like if my son and I sat down and he listed all of his priorities, and I listed all of my priorities, we dreamed up what SCHC seems to be. So, the skeptic in me is wondering if I am missing something. I truly don’t think I am, and hopefully SCHC really is as fantastic as all of my research leads me to believe it is! (And every Honors student we met on our first visit absolutely raved about their experience, too.)

Your son didn’t apply to SC, did he? I sure would love to join you at a tailgate and trade signature cocktails! :slight_smile:

1 Like
7

All Honors Colleges are different - so ensure what they are offering is what he wants.

My kid chose a different Honors College - not because she didn’t love U of SC Honors (she did) - she just liked her overall college more than U of SC. She was in at U of SC and UGA Honors but not into FSU - which I believe statistically is harder. Nor Pitt - she was WL for Honors and withdrew from consideration from the school.

There were some schools that both my kids but especially my son- Honors wasn’t right for them and they didn’t apply for the programs at those schools.

So there are differences and make sure your student isn’t going just because it’s Honors but make sure which each offers is beneficial to their experience.

That might help them narrow down on where to go.

I wouldn’t worry much about rankings - you can’t put Honors on internet job apps - there’s no place - so you’re doing this as much for yourself vs. just saying - I’m at the top ranked Honors program (although U of SC does a good job letting you know with all the flags on campus) :slight_smile:

Good luck making a final decision - sounds like there are great options!!!

1 Like
8

I actually feel somewhat competent to address that feeling.

I think you are missing nothing and your feeling is exactly what they are hoping you will feel. USC is in an interesting position because it is actually a very old university which was very prominent in the South for a very long time (which of course is not exactly an uncomplicated proposition). But in more recent decades it has not been quite as prominent/valued/etc. outside of South Carolina, or in other words in the national OOS market, as nearby rivals with a similar history like UVA, UNC, and UGA.

OK, so to address this, South Carolina has put a lot of resources into things that can help it compete better.

One thing is merit aid. Like, 5% of UNC undergrads without need get merit aid, 4% at Georgia, 7% at UVA. But it is 42% at USC.

And this takes real money. Per their 2022-23 CDS, South Carolina had a combined state and gift budget for non-need-based aid of about $57 million. For UNC, it was about $11 million.

And then another thing is the Honors College. Not to be cynical, but they are not doing this just to be nice, they are doing it to try to woo the students they want away from their competitors. And I don’t know what it costs them to run a top-tier honors college, but I am sure it does cost them.

OK, so they are spending real money to try to woo the students they want the most, and my feeling is always–it is nice to be wooed! Obviously you have to balance it all out and make your own decision about what you value most. But it is all real, with real money, real care, real effort devoted to making it as attractive as possible. Because that is the point of it.

And if it feels like they really nailed your priorities–well, that is because they are no dummies, they understand their potential market, and they want to give their potential market exactly what will matter to them–them meaning you.

No, he did not want to go too far south, or too far west. I would have been happy for him to consider more broadly, but in the end he found plenty of schools in his quarter of the country, so that’s fine too.

But I actually have a very good college friend from South Carolina, in fact Columbia. We used to Spring Break down there, we went to her wedding in Columbia, and so on. So I have some affection for South Carolina, and it is definitely a lovely part of the country.

6 Likes
9

Thank you for this very thoughtful, insightful, and assuring response. Yes, I think you are exactly right. And knowing how proud SC is of it’s Honors College, and how willing to devote resources to it, it another great reason to consider it strongly.

And I agree Columbia has a lot of great qualities! It’s a nice sized Capitol city, but not TOO big, has lots of water nearby for my avid fisherman son, reasonable close to mountains and beaches, and an easy drive to and from home. I am hoping to get to spend a lot of time up there getting to know it better.

2 Likes
10

Any insights @3kids2dogs?

1 Like
11

Thanks for tagging me @Mwfan1921!

My daughter is finishing her junior year at USC in the Honors College and I’m happy to answer any questions I can and provide perspective.

Social Life is great - the dorm is very social and kids make friends with their floormates. There are lots of kids like your son in the Honors College. Tons of both boys and girls rush as well, no concerns there. It’s not insular as far as integrating into the university - freshman year if your student takes mostly honors classes then they will be in class with honors kids, but the extracurriculars, greek houses, school spirit, sport, jobs and everything else is school wide, so I would say, yes, everyone is integrated.

The Honors classes are even better than they look. Not only are they smaller than usual classes (sometimes MUCH smaller - like 25 instead of 125 kids), but rarely are they taught by adjuncts. The professors WANT to teach the honors kids. The unique courses are great, but know that the very coolest ones will likely be filled before your freshman registers since even though honors kids register before the general population, senior honors kids register before freshman honors kids. By sophomore year, there will be spaces though, don’t worry.

Honors advising is personal - your child will have multiple advisors - one for honors and one for every major. My daughter is a Math and Chemistry major and she has three advisors. Usually she is able to only go to two advisor appointments and just emails her potential schedule to the other major advisor and gets a “good to go” email back, but her majors are in the same school; with Business, Honors and A&S, he may have to go to all three. You have to be advised every semester - the Honors advisor will register your child for any honors classes.

There are a million opportunities in the Honors College. They have lots of social opportunities and activities throughout the year, especially for freshman and particularly in the fall to help them meet kids. They have work opportunities, and scholarship opportunities, special study away (at the coast) and study abroad opportunities- really the world is their oyster, but of course, like anything else in college, it’s up to you to take advantage of it all. Honors kids get preferential treatment to stay on campus past freshman year and there are upper classman dorms that are open to honors kids only. They have a special convocation for honors freshmen and a special revocation at graduation. There’s also free unlimited printing, which is nice.

My daughter has really enjoyed her time in the honors college - her best friends are about an equal mix of honors and non honors.

Downside - there really aren’t any, but here are some things to be aware of: there is an extra cost associated with the Honors College; I think it’s $575 a semester. So over four years, it’s $4,600.00. That’s definitely something to know. Also, the Honors College has it’s own requirements beyond Carolina Core (you can double dip classes), so while my daughter went into USC with just about all Carolina Core classes completed through AP credit, she still needed to take some core courses through Honors to meet those requirements. For example, she didn’t need any history type classes for Carolina Core, but she did need to take an honors history class to meet the honors curriculum - that kind of thing. But, it’s not overwhelming. She is still able to complete a double major AND essentially graduate in 3.5 years (she’s off campus this semester at the Disney College Program taking no classes) and will still graduate next May.

If I missed anything or you would like elaboration, please let me know. I just quickly typed this all off the top of my head! It’s amazing and she wouldn’t change a thing.

12 Likes
12

Thank you SO much! Your description of the Honors College is exactly the type of information I was hoping to learn, and I am thrilled to know that your daughter is having such a wonderful experience and that it really IS as good as it appears to be! It is wonderful to know that the social life is great and that the honors events are fun, and honors kids integrate well into the university. I also love knowing that the Honors classes are really good! I’ve read through the course listings on the registrar website, and they sound really good, so it’s great to know that the professors are good and the classes really are interesting.

And yes, I knew of the fees, but with the scholarships, etc., this still is one of his most economical options.

After hearing about your daughter’s very positive experience with so many aspects of SCHC, I now hope more than ever that my son will commit when he goes back for a second visit!

Thank you again for sharing your experience for all of us who were looking to hear about personal experiences with SCHC!

5 Likes
13

Your son sounds a lot like mine and I think SCHC is a great choice for hard working and social students who want a big school with some extra perks and guidance.

Unfortunately, due to scheduling, we cannot attend an admitted student day. Because of that, we stopped by the campus last week and just walked around the bottom floor of the Honors Dorm and checked out the cafeteria attached. The cafeteria is tiny so although it’s convenient, I’m not sure it’s as good as a draw as I had thought. The vibe in the dorm was good and there was a lot of students taking advantage of a social event they were holding in one of their larger rooms. Overall, between the great reputation of SCHC and the great communication from admissions, I’m sold. That said, my son is still not committed and seems to be leaning towards another big school where he did not apply to the Honors College despite my wanting him to.

Not sure why, but this waiting for his decision is even harder for me than waiting to see where he got in. I guess in short what I’m saying is that this seems like a great program but hopefully we can get excited and on board with whatever our student chooses. Ultimately, I believe it’s what you do at a school that matters more than the specific school so I’m trying not to overthink this and let go (not easy).

3 Likes
14

It’s hard as a parent - but usually the kids know best. It could be that he looked into what Honors at that other school brings - and that what it brings is not attractive to him. Honors comes in different flavors, school to school - so my kids (especially my son) did both - some Honors, some not.

So if he’s happy with his decision (whatever ti is) and it meets your budget needs, it’s a win. And you should feel relieved.

You are right - he is going to make (or not) his success. I’ve done enough job apps with both kids - there is no place for Honors and mostly today while you upload a resume (which says Honors), it’s just so they can fill in the blank on their electronic apps.

So he’ll be fine at U of SC Honors College or name your school non-Honors.

Best of luck.

2 Likes
15

Thanks for sharing your impressions! So far, SCHC is my son’s first choice, in large part because he absolutely loved the school as a whole when he toured. I am not even sure he has a close second. He really liked UGA, but preferred the campus at Carolina, preferred Columbia to Athens, and prefers that Carolina is a little closer to home, and the SCHC perks make it really great for him. He did not apply to UGA honors because he was just burned out on applications by then. He sort of likes FSU, and is admitted to Honors there, but he is not at all excited about Tallahassee. We absolutely loved TCU when we went to admitted student day there, and the only big negatives at TCU is that he has to fly to get there, and the nearby fishing is not as good. Of course, from my perspective, TCU also is a lot more expensive, and I prefer the price of Carolina! But I am not going to make him choose Carolina solely for cost reasons.

Like you, I am trying to give my son space to make his own decision, and I support whatever he decides. But the waiting for him to commit is frustrating at times. I was teasing him that I feel like he is waiting for the heavens to open, a dove to descend, and declare to him that he has found the one . . . I do respect that the decision feels enormous to these 18 year olds, so if it takes a little more time than I prefer, that is OK. Though I do very much hope that we he is back on campus next week he will have his heavens parting moment.

1 Like
16

May I ask what makes the HC at USC any different from other SEC Honors Programs? I’m honestly asking…I looked at the descriptions and websites of most of them and frankly they all seem the same to me, so genuinely curious what I’m missing.

17

Well, for us, it is the most appealing one that he applied and was accepted too. :slight_smile: He was admitted to the HC at Ole Miss, FSU, and and SC, didn’t apply to HC at UGA or Clemson, and was not accepted to HC at UF.

There are some websites that evaluate honors colleges, and SC typically has high ratings. It seems to be very well regarded. South Carolina markets that it is one of the best in the country.

I particularly like the SCHC’s robust honors course offerings. I’ve looked at the offerings on the registrar’s website, and there is a wide array of small honors classes that sound very interesting. I also like the ability to take core and other required courses in small honors classes. That, to me, is one of the biggest draws. The HC also has lots of social events, etc. for the honors students. I know other honors programs offer honors classes, but what I have found in my research seems to show that SCHC has more options.

Another thing that was interesting to me on tours is that the SCHC students we met raved about the honors college. At other schools, we met honors students who mentioned they liked early registration, but didn’t really seem to have much else to say about their honors experience. Some lived in the honors dorm, but others didn’t, and I didn’t get the feeling that the honors programs there were as much of a community. But, of course, that could just be the particular students I happened to meet.

So, that was part of why I was asking questions. Is it REALLY that great? My son really likes South Carolina overall more than he likes Ole Miss, FSU, Clemson, or UF, so maybe it doesn’t even really matter.

1 Like
18

Thanks. Daughter was accepted to USC which she declined, but not the Honors College. When we visited she felt for sure that she was going to love USC, but for some reason it didn’t hit her like we thought. Both my wife and I personally really liked it, so we were genuinely surprised she didn’t care for the visit.

She did get into the Honors College at LSU however. They have a dedicated building, and dedicated dorms. The facilities are excellent, and it seems to be the exact same model as SC.

2 Likes
19

I think this is common - the early registration part. At my son’s school, many take advantage of Honors. And many are like him - do a minimal amount and then drop out after registration 2nd semester senior year, not having come close to meeting requirements. The school’s should do a better job of having benchmarks, perhaps, so this doesn’t happen.

*And you wrote this: *
? My son really likes South Carolina overall more than he likes Ole Miss, FSU, Clemson, or UF, so maybe it doesn’t even really matter.

These are substitutional schools - yes, even high rank UF and lower rank Ole Miss - and I think you are right, it doesn’t really matter. There will be kids at each of those schools that got into UF - and if your son really likes U of SC, Honors or otherwise, then it sounds like a great choice for him!!

Congrats to him.

2 Likes
20

We visited USC in February and I’ve been trying to get an answer to this same question since we returned. We loved everything about it, but I honestly don’t know if there’s any real difference in outcome from HC there as opposed to any other school.
Our daughter just got invited to UGA HC and trying to determine how theirs stacks up as I’m pretty sure our daughter could be happy and successful graduating from either school.

1 Like