USC welcomes 7,700 freshmen and transfer students

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The University of South Carolina welcomed 7,700 new freshmen and transfer students as classes for the 2018-19 academic year started today, including a record 4,350 students from South Carolina.

The university said in a news release that incoming freshmen at the Columbia campus have the highest SAT, ACT and high school grade-point average in the school’s history (1275, 27.7 and 4.1). Preliminary figures also indicate that 60% of incoming students were valedictorians at their high schools, while 568 freshmen are enrolled in the South Carolina Honors College.

“This is an extraordinary group of students, and we’re excited to welcome them to campus as part of the Carolina family,” USC president Harris Pastides said. “This is just the beginning of an academic journey that will equip them with the knowledge and experiences to make a lasting impact on the world.”

Applications to the Columbia campus increased by 19% compared to last year, the university said, and African-American enrollment, which has increased by 43% since 2015, is expected to grow at least 15%. Underrepresented minorities make up 19% of USC’s freshman class, while 30% of all new in-state students are minorities and 54% of incoming freshmen are women.

Students from 44 states and 35 countries, including Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Senegal are represented in a class which brings the Columbia campus enrollment, including graduate students, to almost 35,000.

“We’ve had tremendous success in attracting talented students from all over the U.S. and beyond, but we’re particularly proud that we’re also retaining more outstanding students from right here in South Carolina,” said Scott Verzyl, associate vice president for enrollment management and dean of undergraduate admissions.

Initial data indicated that USC’s system enrollment is expected to near a record 52,000 students. Enrollment at USC Aiken, USC Beaufort and USC Upstate is projected to increase by more than 4% from last year, reaching nearly 12,000. Enrollment at USC Lancaster, USC Salkehatchie, USC Sumter and USC Union increased around 2% overall, climbing to almost 5,000. Another 1,000 students are enrolled online in Palmetto College.

Benedict College added more than 700 students from 29 states and Puerto Rico and five countries, including Colombia and South Africa.

“In the past year, we engaged our campus and the community in our efforts to formulate a competitive yet affordable tuition price, partnered with industry to align our academic programs to ensure consistency with industry expectations, and completed a strategic planning process that emphasizes customer service, technology innovation and increased academic standards, including in our student admissions,” Benedict College president Roslyn Artis said in a news release. “We are not only excited about the future of our new students at Benedict, but also for our returning students who play a key role in the great things happening at BC.”

This summer, Benedict hosted its inaugural Summer Bridge Program to offer incoming students extra academic support. Forty-seven students completed the program and joined Benedict’s new freshman class with six credit hours towards graduation.