Record enrollment at U South Carolina

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is in the business school at SC. Loves it.

Got a $16k/ scholarship that makes it the same as in state at VT. Better ranked first year experience too. He seemed to have a better time than some of his other friends he has at other popular schools around here.

Strong business program and he has lots of friends from up and down the East Coast. His best friends are from NH, Maryland and Charlotte.

Didn’t have to go Greek either. Yes the state politics are MAGA and repulsive, but to be honest, it doesn’t really impact him day to day, any more than it does for me in NOVA. The school is a mix of Dems and republicans. (I was worried about it, but it has been a non-issue.).

Yes this!! Trust me, I researched 1st and said she wasn’t allowed to apply to any public FL schools. They still have diversity programs and pride month and things like that.

Yes-daughter does get frustrated that many (majority) of the “frat bros” are Trumpers. But unfortunately that’s true of many in that age range. Even at VT Yes-didn’t appreciate Kirk when he came to campus and couldn’t avoid walking through the area.

What southern schools still have diversity programs?

Spare me your BS. The state of SC is 25-30% Black. Compare that to Mass which is 6-7% Black or Wisconsin is 7-8% Black. Columbia, SC is a diverse city and UofSC is an urban campus.

Keep talking about diversity programs while sending your kids to states that are less diverse or to campuses that are in the suburbs. Your hypocrisy is stunning. You wouldn’t last a day in the diverse city of Columbia, SC.

Oh, and I’m liberal.

[Anonymous]

Oh goodies let’s let DD go to jail and sent your DE to a state that supports them being mommies above all else . No jobs in SC upon graduation and no one in other states will hire you but what a great use of your cash!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another article about the SEC being in style. This is unbelievable hype.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/24/lifestyle/high-schoolers-are-swapping-the-ivy-league-for-the-sec-thanks-to-sunshine-campus-culture/

Interesting article, what was interesting to me is that applications have increased to both northern and southern schools...although the increase is greater for southern schools.

I'm in NE and I do see it being fairly common for solid but not top students (not a knock, thats my kid!) wanting to get away and explore AND go big school spirit and these schools are easier admits and/or more affordable than say, Penn State etc.

I don't think people here see them as better or worse academically than the NE flagships...just a different flavor.

Reasonable post, but plenty of SEC schools are much harder than Penn State, which like you said is solid but not elite. Penn State is equal to South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee. UF, UGA, Texas are on a totally different level and on par with Michigan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh goodies let’s let DD go to jail and sent your DE to a state that supports them being mommies above all else . No jobs in SC upon graduation and no one in other states will hire you but what a great use of your cash!

This why Trump is president. This is why young men loved Charlie Kirk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another article about the SEC being in style. This is unbelievable hype.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/24/lifestyle/high-schoolers-are-swapping-the-ivy-league-for-the-sec-thanks-to-sunshine-campus-culture/

Interesting article, what was interesting to me is that applications have increased to both northern and southern schools...although the increase is greater for southern schools.

I'm in NE and I do see it being fairly common for solid but not top students (not a knock, thats my kid!) wanting to get away and explore AND go big school spirit and these schools are easier admits and/or more affordable than say, Penn State etc.

I don't think people here see them as better or worse academically than the NE flagships...just a different flavor.

Reasonable post, but plenty of SEC schools are much harder than Penn State, which like you said is solid but not elite. Penn State is equal to South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee. UF, UGA, Texas are on a totally different level and on par with Michigan.

Fair, and to be honest I'm not clear what is SEC vs just a school in the South but I was thinking South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss vs UMass, UConn, UVM, UNH, UMaine, and URI. Regardless of how people get into the ratings here to really parse things out, I think these are viewed fairly similarly by most people in terms of academics but differently in terms of student interests and vibe. Whether true or not true, I think that is the perception.

Also I think kids who are really into golf head south as well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another article about the SEC being in style. This is unbelievable hype.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/24/lifestyle/high-schoolers-are-swapping-the-ivy-league-for-the-sec-thanks-to-sunshine-campus-culture/

Interesting article, what was interesting to me is that applications have increased to both northern and southern schools...although the increase is greater for southern schools.

I'm in NE and I do see it being fairly common for solid but not top students (not a knock, thats my kid!) wanting to get away and explore AND go big school spirit and these schools are easier admits and/or more affordable than say, Penn State etc.

I don't think people here see them as better or worse academically than the NE flagships...just a different flavor.

Reasonable post, but plenty of SEC schools are much harder than Penn State, which like you said is solid but not elite. Penn State is equal to South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee. UF, UGA, Texas are on a totally different level and on par with Michigan.

Fair, and to be honest I'm not clear what is SEC vs just a school in the South but I was thinking South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss vs UMass, UConn, UVM, UNH, UMaine, and URI. Regardless of how people get into the ratings here to really parse things out, I think these are viewed fairly similarly by most people in terms of academics but differently in terms of student interests and vibe. Whether true or not true, I think that is the perception.

Also I think kids who are really into golf head south as well!

I agree with this, although I think the perception is changing because some schools like SC simply can’t keep up with that demand. Baby boomers may never see SC as elite, but the decent kids that don’t get in will never forget that feeling. Like the article said, it’s fascinating how these schools because so trendy so fast despite what you outlined.

[Anonymous]

Northern transplant (who also spent time in DMV) in the South. Much better quality of life and more down-to-earth down here except for having to look a little harder for good public schools. When my kid was looking at colleges, I found it so refreshing that parents and kids (top stats too) down here weren’t so hung up on the Ivies and SLAC’s and were enthusiastic about their state flagships and regional options.

[Anonymous]

South Carolina is a very old University it was founded I believe in 1802. The Original Horseshoe is beautiful. There some ugly 70s era buildings in one area. The library looks like Kennedy Center.

[Anonymous]

Brutally hot, Columbia was long known as the armpit of the South. But for the Cock hungry hordes of DCUM it may make a tight/right fit.

[Anonymous]

It's interesting they threw Elon in there when Elon's enrollment declined by 11.6%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shift to SEC schools. These are very well-run schools as a group. They have a lot of sports money and almost all are making investments in teaching, research and capital improvements. In contrast to the Big 10 who are squabbling over their private equity investments (Michigan threatening to leave) and schools like Chicago, Northwestern and Stanford laying off and addressing massive financial issues.

The sports money simply supports their sports...almost none of these schools make a profit on their sports or at most they make a tiny profit.

South Carolina collected $183.5MM of sports revenue and spent $183.7MM on sports expenses. This includes any and all sports money, including TV rights.

If schools wanted to make a substantial profit on sports, they would get rid of everything except football and basketball. Football had a $31MM profit, men's basketball a $3.5MM profit...every other sport loses money, including surprisingly women's basketball which lost $5MM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brutally hot, Columbia was long known as the armpit of the South. But for the Cock hungry hordes of DCUM it may make a tight/right fit.

You’re right, my kid loves the sunny weather and giant fitness center and resort style outdoor pool. Fun, attractive kids enjoying the pool most of the fall semester and a lot of the spring. Complete with palmetto trees!

[Anonymous]

Oh, and also two indoor pools to stay in shape over the winter. Gotta be ready to look good for spring break! Seriously, the jealously on here is hilarious lol

[Anonymous]

See for yourself- https://boudreauxgroup.com/project-strom.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Similar to UPitt working on getting away from 'comnuter' school label to a viable undergrad option. Pitt receives(d) $ for research aka biomed research..situation could have changed more recently with this government tho

Oh stop being a snob.

I went to Pitt when it was considered a "commuter school" and my friend circle went to Harvard Law, Michigan Business, Georgetown, and Pitt Medical for graduate school.

It was a hidden gem 35 years ago and there's absolutely nothing wrong with kids living at home and going to college if their family doesn't have money for the cushier lifestyle of a dorm dweller. That has zero harmful impact on the campus environment. The dorms were still full of kids on the weekend, there was Greek life, there were decent sporting events, and lots of cultural activities. The same reason why people go now.

I liked Pitt back then because the students (commuter or not) were fairly serious about their educations. That was right after they started the Honors College. Pitt was also the sponsor of Semester at Sea while I was there as well (reflecting Pitt's long term commitment to study abroad, area studies programs, and foreign language learning). It was an expensive logistical hassle, so they transferred it to UVA in 2006 after 25 years. But that's not exactly what you'd expect from a "commuter school".

The comments on DCUM are kind of like Columbus "discovering America". It was there all along.

I don't know a lot about South Carolina but what I know about the business program graduates suggests that the program has been strong for a long time and DCUM just wasn't looking.

When I went to Pitt, very few students went home weekends. I was at a true commuter school where everyone left every weekend and it sucked. Some did commute, but majority lived on campus.