Ask College of Charleston students what it was about their campus visit that drew them to the school, and you might hear something like, “They had me at the Cistern.”
Hollywood couldn’t conjure a more storybook backdrop for a S outhern college than this grand grassy yard (named for the oval cistern at its center), shaded by majestic oaks draped with Spanish moss and fronted by 19th-century Randolph Hall, a national historic landmark and one of the oldest academic buildings still in use in the country.
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Outside the yard’s stone walls, campus is concentrated in 20-odd blocks of historic downtown Charleston, its buildings ranging from the sleek and corporate-looking Beatty Center, which houses the business school, to rehabbed “singles,” the narrow, deep homes characteristic of the city that house some academic departments.
Students consider the city their turf, says Jimmie Foster, assistant vice president for admissions and enrollment management.
“King Street is an extension of campus,” he says of the historic main thoroughfare and shopping district. Some 30 percent of the college population (and 90 percent of freshmen) live on campus, which, like the city itself, is easily negotiated on foot or by using the school’s bike share program. Students who want to explore more widely can hop on the city’s CARTA bus system for free.
Of 57 majors, the most popular coincide with the region’s strong suits. Those pursuing the health sciences conduct undergraduate research at the Medical University of South Carolina a few blocks away; tourism and hospitality students feed into the city’s booming hotel industry. Marine biology students benefit from the coastal location and from the recent purchase of Dixie Plantation along the nearby Stono River, whose wetlands, pine forest and tidal marshes will be used for research.
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The college also boasts strong programs in studio art, dance and theater. And the School of Languages, Culture and World Affairs offers one of the most extensive foreign language programs in the region, ranging from ancient Greek to Japanese.
The Honors College enrolls some 700 students, who take 30 percent of their courses — small seminars — through the program and have special opportunities like a semester in Washington and priority access to funds for undergraduate research. They also have the option of living with other honors students in a living-learning community.
Two-thirds of Charleston undergrads come from the Palmetto State, and the rest are largely from the East Coast. There are more women (64 percent) than men, and minorities now stand at 15 percent of the total population, a figure the school’s new president has pledged to increase.
Students rally around Cougars basketball, and enjoy the nearby beaches in warm weather and a thriving nightlife scene on King Street. Many stick around after graduation, says Justin Lyons (class of 2014), a Spanish major from Fort Mill, South Carolina, who plans to find work and stay on for at least a year.
“Why,” he wonders, “would you want to leave?”
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— University of South Carolina
This story is excerpted from the U.S. News “Best Colleges 2015” guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.
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South Carolina College Road Trip: College of Charleston originally appeared on usnews.com
