<p>Exactly one year ago I was faced with going to SC as a Presidential Scholar with some additional dept. and univ. scholarships or going to Duke, Northwestern, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wash U/St. Louis w/ no aid. My family was in the same boat as you – made too much for fin aid, but not enough to where we wouldn’t have to tighten the belt. My mom was hung up on the Duke name (she’s originally from the east coast), but told me she wanted me to go where I wanted to go, so I wouldn’t blame her if I didn’t like it. LOL! Fast forward one year later and I couldn’t be HAPPIER! I have enjoyed the work-hard/play-hard mentality and it has given me the balance I need. I am engineering and I can ensure you we go to class, lab, and the library, but we also have a life outside of academics. I live in New/North (didn’t want to live in an exclusive scholarship dorm like Birnkrant, but friends love it there, too) and I have found the mix of people to be enlightening. Not one student I know wants to transfer and we pinch ourselves to make sure this bliss is real. On my worst days when I’ve been programming for hours, I walk in this sunshine and see happy students. Trust me: there are plenty of brainiacs at SC, but there are also a lot of real 18 to 22 year-olds and yes, some of those have been known to have fun as a college student. I am really thankful I didn’t get $$ to go to those other schools because I might have missed out on the best year of my life! Fight On!!</p>