USC-Is It Worth It For Me? (Columbia, Charleston: 2013, student loans, house)

[rockintyler]

Hello all,

I have a question for those that have either attended USC or have experience with USC in Columbia.

I basically want to know, in your own opinion good or bad (both appreciated!), is it worth attending USC even though I'd be paying the hefty out of state tuition. I'm looking at their Integrated Info. Tech. program with a minor in business.

Also just anyone's experience in general with USC and its surroundings is appreciated.

While I want a good reputable college I also want an area with plenty to do so I can enjoy life outside of college.

If it helps, I'm also coming from Wisconsin.

-Tyler

[Lone Star Rooster]

I am a proud alum of USC's busines school (hence my screen name), and loved every minute of my years there. The campus itself has been renovated and updated a lot since I was there in the mid-late 90's, and I think a new business school building is slated to open in 2013. The nearby Vista area has come into its own as a neat bar/restaurant destination in and of itself. Five Points is the main bar district near campus, fairly typical college crowd, but do be aware of your surroundings while there.

I don't know much about USC's reputation in the IT field, but the business school has a very good reputation, particularly if you want to stay in the Southeast after graduation. Come to think of it, the b-school has plenty of alumni all over the country, so you should be able to go pretty much wherever you want.

If you like spending time outdoors, the weather is awesome. You have the Congaree River nearby which has some of the best kayaking in the country, plus lots of hike/bike trails, etc. You're less than 2 hours from Charleston and the beach, and 2-3 hours from Asheville and the mountains.

USC students are crazy about football (especially now that the Gamecocks are winning), so that'll make for some fun weekends in the fall.

And, on top of all that, you can't beat the experience of trying someplace new and different, while you're young enough (and unencumbered by job/family/etc.) to enjoy it. I say go for it!

[GSP101]

Rock-

First off, I can't give you experience as an undergrad student at Carolina, I was there for grad school. And, I would encourage you to visit the campus and city to determine if it is a good fit.

But, to answer your question, yes.

While not as familiar with the IT departments, the business school is outstanding. The faculty are tremendous, especially in the international departments. There is a large investment being made in the business school with a new $100m+ building that will house the latest technologies. Evidence of the strength of the business school can be found in the alumni who are still involved heavily with the school. Bob McNair, owner of the Houston Texans, Darla Moore, David Seaton, CEO of Fluor, and many other alumni are very involved in building the business school through financial and time investments. Seaton is the chair of the school's $1b capital campaign, one of only 33 schools nationwide to have campaigns of at least $1b.

There is a lot of momentum at Carolina, the school is posting higher than ever entrance scores while also growing the class sizes, not an easy task. Each year, the school gets more applications, fall applications were up over 11%.

As for things to do. Columbia is a metro of about 800k residents. As such, there are plenty of great restaurants catering to the college (Five Points) and adult (The Vista) crowd. Can't speak to the nighlife much, remember, I was not there for undergrad. Outdoor activities are available in the form of biking, hiking, rafting, or just walking. The Carolina campus is one of the nicest in the south, the Historic Horseshoe is great. And, if you want to get away for a weekend, the beach is 1.5 hours south, the NC mountains are a couple of hours north.

Other have mentioned sports. Football is big in the south, 80k pack Williams-Brice on fall Saturdays to watch Carolina. Baseball is also big at Carolina, the school has won the previous 2 national titles in baseball.

In short, it is a great time to be at Carolina. Ultimately, you will have to decide what works best for you but, the school would be a great choice.

[Bummbull]

Hey rockintyler,

I'm going to be the negative guy here. First of all, USC is a great school and downtown Columbia is nice. It's not a huge city, but it has the city feel plus the college town feel which makes Columbia great.
However, if you're paying for college yourself and not on scholarship or your parent's fund, I'd strongly recommend for you to get education in-state. You may think that as soon as you get a degree, you'll be able to find a job, and student loan won't be a big deal, but it will be. You may think it won't be a big deal since you'll find a job that'll pay you anywhere from $35K to $60K a year, but you'll have taxes, rent, car expense, food, utility, entertainment, you won't have much money left over, and if you have out of state tuition expense, you're probably going to have a monthly payment of $400-$800 or more a month for 10 years. That's going to really put a strain on your budget.
When I was getting ready to go to college, I really wanted to go out of state as well, but my parents would only pay me for in-state so I never did. I look back now and really thankful that I don't have a student loan like many of my friends. You can always go out of state after you're done with school. That's what I did. I've had jobs in California, Texas, and now in South Carolina.

It's hard to think about finances now since most likely your parents pay for bunch of your stuff, but it would be a terrible idea to start off with a huge debt like out of state tuition. Since Wisconsin has many great schools, I would just stay there.
I know that's not what you asked, but just wanted to give you my 2 cents.

[le roi]

USC is a pretty good school. I wouldn't pay out-of-state tuition for it, though, unless your goal is to work in South Carolina when you graduate.

[Columbiadata]

The Princeton Review has USC on it best values list just released today and says tuition is extremely affordable on a comparative basis.

[rockintyler]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I will be visiting the campus next month to help me make a decision. I'm hoping I can get my GPA over 3.0. If that happens I'm almost guaranteeing that I will get a Business Science degree there from their highly regarded business college.

But referring back to Lonestar's comment though...Does it help it actually help if the alumni are well known people like the owner of the Texans?

[LynchburgLover]

Sad to say because I love Carolina and Columbia but . . . no . . . it isn't worth it if it involves student loans.

It would be horrible to start your working career thousands of dollars in debt that will take years to pay off. You also must be aware that the economy is still very fragile and getting that first job out of school might not be easy.

Save money wherever you can. I'm sure there are some excellent schools in your state.

Good luck.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by rockintyler

Thanks for the responses everyone. I will be visiting the campus next month to help me make a decision. I'm hoping I can get my GPA over 3.0. If that happens I'm almost guaranteeing that I will get a Business Science degree there from their highly regarded business college.

Best of luck.

I would echo something that I hear very often: If I had to do it over again, I'd learn a foreign language and study international business @ USC.

But referring back to Lonestar's comment though...Does it help it actually help if the alumni are well known people like the owner of the Texans?

yes, people like Darla Moore and Bob McNair make very significant donations to the school.

[Bummbull]

USC is listed as one of the Best Values on Princeton Review, but it's one of the best value out of 75 public schools. Also, in-state tuition is always the best value than going to out of state school. If you can get into Univ of Wisconsin in Madison, that's by far the best value as it's in the top 10 best public schools in almost every department.