Help understanding the vibe of SC and NC colleges!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone,
I’m a Los Angeles mom of a HS junior looking for your help. My DD is considering several schools in SC and NC due to the weather. She doesn’t want to stay super close to home but wants mild winters. I know nothing of schools in the area and while it’s easy to research academics and stats I’m hoping for some more insight regarding the social aspect and types of kids that attend some of these schools. My concern is that DD is a very laid back west coast type girl and I’m worried she won’t fit in there socially. We are an affluent family but DD is not into material things. For example, she doesn’t own a single designer handbag, by choice. Her usual wardrobe is baggy jeans and crop tops or hoodies. She doesn’t usually wear dresses. She started HS at a private school and really hated it and is now much happier in public school.

These are the schools she could consider. I’d really appreciate any insight.

Clemson
NC State
UNC Wilmington
UNC Charlotte
College of Charleston
USC
Coastal Carolina
East Carolina

I already figure out that she probably won’t like Elon and she tends to prefer larger schools.

Thank you!

Why not UGA or UF?

[Anonymous]

I'd guess she'd prefer UCSC, San Diego State, or even Chico State to any of these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all for the replies and insight.

I’m going to try and answer a few of the questions that have come up. We are considering some UC schools, but most of them are very hard to get in now. Some are reaches on her list. Others don’t work location wise. She also really wants a school with over 10k undergrads and when you add “mild winter” as a requirement it ends up very limiting.

I wrote off Elon already because it came up on my radar sooner and I looked into it and was able to figure out she wouldn’t like it there. Also due to the size being smaller than she wants. We also ruled out SMU and TCU after she watched boulevarding videos on Tik Tok. I agree she won’t really like the Greek life, particularly in the south.

The list of schools I posted today were very recently suggested by her counselor and she’s now supposed to be researching them. I’m trying to figure out which are worth touring. Also suggested were Alabama and Ole Miss. Appalachian too but the weather doesn’t make sense.

I’m willing to let her explore and maybe she’ll figure this all out herself. I’m just worried this doesn’t make sense, as some of you pointed out.

What about Arizona State or U. Arizona? Both are over 10K, mild winters and better schools than the ones on your list.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s going to be hard to find a school in NC or SC with that particular combo of size, weather, and vibe criteria (minimal Greek, laid back and not preppy). NC State seems like the closest match to me. Other options suggested by the counselor are pretty random. UGA might work. Does your daughter know what she wants to study?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What about Arizona State or U. Arizona? Both are over 10K, mild winters and better schools than the ones on your list.

She’s considering them. I didn’t realize they were better schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s going to be hard to find a school in NC or SC with that particular combo of size, weather, and vibe criteria (minimal Greek, laid back and not preppy). NC State seems like the closest match to me. Other options suggested by the counselor are pretty random. UGA might work. Does your daughter know what she wants to study?

Possibly psychology but she’s really undecided at this point. She’s going test optional so UGA and UF are out.

If anyone is thinking she needs to pick her battles and let go of some of these requirements, you’re most definitely not alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What about Arizona State or U. Arizona? Both are over 10K, mild winters and better schools than the ones on your list.

She’s considering them. I didn’t realize they were better schools.

Maybe not better than Clemson or NC State both of which are not easy admits.

[Anonymous]

For psych, ucsc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s going to be hard to find a school in NC or SC with that particular combo of size, weather, and vibe criteria (minimal Greek, laid back and not preppy). NC State seems like the closest match to me. Other options suggested by the counselor are pretty random. UGA might work. Does your daughter know what she wants to study?

Possibly psychology but she’s really undecided at this point. She’s going test optional so UGA and UF are out.

If anyone is thinking she needs to pick her battles and let go of some of these requirements, you’re most definitely not alone.

For something like psych, I'm assuming she'll planning on grad school at some point. I'd go with a private school with good teaching for undergrad. Don't discount Elon, ranked #1 for teaching. Their undergrad popuation is 6,500 so not quite the 10K you want but not too far off either.

[Anonymous]

Recently visited South Carolina. We were impressed. It is whiter than my kids are used to (we’re white) but did not get 100% party school vibes. Only something like 25-30% Greek. Plenty of girls in sweatpants and crop tops. Great honors program. Very friendly students of all backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d actually rank Elon above many of the schools on this list in terms of academics and campus culture. I’d keep Clemson, NC State, and College of Charleston on the list and eliminate the rest.

Not sure, but I think that this post is intended as sarcasm.

Elon should be the last school considered by your daughter and Clemson & C of C would not be fits either. Maybe NC State. Your daughter would probably be most comfortable at ECU or App State as the students are very down to earth & casual.

Right….the one thing kids from LA would absolutely demand would be people who are “down to earth.” Imagine the culture culture shock for people from LA if they met an actual superficial phony for the first time!

[Anonymous]

Is U Texas at Austin too much of a reach? That would be my pick for her based on her personality and preferences. Davidson as well. I’d tread carefully with the tier below. Could be a bizarre social fit

[Anonymous]

I’m shocked that people recommend U SC. I’d hate to live in Columbia.

[Anonymous]

NC State and the Raleigh area is such an amazing choice for so many reasons. I highly recommend you visit. I'm a Californian myself, and I didn’t find it to be stereotypically "Southern". I'm not even sure Raleigh is the "South"? In any event, it's very international because of RTP. Plus the weather is great and you can swim outdoors all year round. The only thing is NC State only accepts around 15% out of staters (all schools in the UNC system have this limitation). Also, to give you the lay of the land, many consider NC State to be NC's flagship STEM school, and UNC Chapel Hill to be NC's flagship school (which also has STEM, but not as strong). The biggest selling point of NC State IMO is that I had so many opportunities for STEM jobs after graduating because of the school's reputation, connections and location. Also, the alumni really look out for one another, locally and beyond (especially in California).

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP. When I think of NC State, I don't think "Southern". Same with UNC Charlotte. Whereas, I do believe the rest of the schools on the OP's list have a Southern feel. (I'm from MD and have visited all of them)