USC sets enrollment record while reinforcing commitment to South Carolina students

More South Carolinians are enrolled at USC’s Columbia campus than at any time in its 224-year history — a reflection of the flagship institution’s longstanding and unwavering commitment to serve the people of this state. South Carolina residents have always been, and will always remain, USC’s top priority in admissions.

In a recent opinion column, Scott Verzyl, USC’s vice president for enrollment management and dean of undergraduate admissions, explained that in-state applicants for freshman admission do not compete with students from other states.

Every qualified South Carolina student is offered admission first, and only after that does the university accept enough out-of-state students to meet its freshman class enrollment target, Verzyl wrote. Out-of-state applicants are held to a higher admissions standard.

USC offered freshman admission to a record 10,174 South Carolina students this fall, nearly doubling the total from a decade ago. That surge led to an all-time high of more than 4,000 in-state students enrolling, up from just over 2,500 in 2015.

USC’s current “opportunity rate” for South Carolina residents — meaning the percentage of applicants who are offered a path to enroll at USC Columbia — stands at 90 percent, a true testament to USC’s accessibility to students from the Palmetto State.