USC No. 1 in first-year student experience

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The University of South Carolina has the nation’s best first-year student experience among public universities, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual undergraduate rankings released Monday.

USC ranked No. 22 among the country’s flagship universities and No. 44 among public universities. Last year, the university ranked 25th among flagship schools and 46th among public universities.  

The university’s Darla Moore School of Business ranked No. 1 in international business for the 21st straight year, while the school’s undergraduate business program improved six spots to No. 38.

“The University of South Carolina offers students an experience unmatched by any other institution in the country,” Bob Caslen, USC president, said in a news release. “Students here have the opportunity to learn and grow in ways that position them to be future leaders in their own communities and around the world.”

USC also ranked No. 8 among public schools in living-learning communities. Every residence hall on the university’s campus houses one or more learning communities, the school said.

USC Upstate snared the top spot in the rankings for best public Southern regional college, while USC Aiken ranked second.