Print this page.University of South Carolina has become increasingly selective. Meeting basic requirements does not guarantee admission, so it is important to be thoughtful in completing your application. Your thorough answers give us a better picture of the likelihood of your success at Carolina; be sure to tell us everything we need to know about yourself so we can make the best decision possible on your application.
The overall strength of each year’s prospective class determines how likely you are to be admitted. Because our applicant pools have been growing, and because the overall quality of those applicant pools has also been rising, the nature of the admissions process at the University has shifted away from rolling to a more selective approach.
For more perspective, examine our 2006 admissions statistics in the charts below.
Students who meet our posted deadlines receive first consideration. Those who meet the early application answer deadline on October 1st will hear from us by December 20th. Possible decisions made at that time include: acceptance, denial, or delay until March. Students who apply by December 1st will receive a decision no later than the end of March 2008. Decisions in March may include acceptance for Fall 2008 or Spring 2009, denial, or wait list until mid-May. Applicants who meet our deadlines and post very strong academic records will generally hear from us within a few weeks, since the SC Honors College and top scholarship deadlines fall early in the admissions cycle. On the other hand, applicants who barely meet our minimum requirements are likely to receive delayed decisions. This past year, we began admitting students into the following spring semester after the fall class filled. This gave students the opportunity to become members of the Carolina community rather than being turned away. Many students in this position took us up on our offer. Waiting one semester before enrolling at Carolina gives students the chance to earn more money through part-time work, to explore the world through travel, or to enroll at local community colleges and earn transferable credits while saving money.
Below are two charts, showing the acceptance rate for last year's freshman classes based on SAT scores and weighted core GPA. (ACT scores are converted to the equivalent SAT scores.) Click the charts to see a larger version.
The University currently uses only the critical reading and math portions of the SAT. We do ask that students take the writing portion as well even though we do not use the writing score as a decision factor; we are evaluating it for future use.