University of South Carolina-Beaufort (USCB, University of South Carolina Beaufort, USC Beaufort, USCB) Introduction and Academics

Introduction

The University of South Carolina-Beaufort is located in the state’s “Lowcountry” area along the extensive coastal strip; the city of Beaufort is located approximately 50+ miles to the southwest of the state capital of Charleston, and roughly the same distance northeast of Savannah in neighboring Georgia.

The school, also referred to simply as USC-Beaufort, was originally established in 1795 as Beaufort College with the intention of serving the educational needs of surrounding planters’ families. During the Civil War, the school was forced to close and was actually occupied by Union forces for use as a make-shift hospital. In 1959, higher education was reinitiated at USC-Beaufort due to the expansion of the University of South Carolina system; in 2002, USC-Beaufort was finally upgraded to the status of “senior campus” and since then offers baccalaureate degrees. At more or less the same time, the school opened a second campus in Bluffton (situated a few dozen miles to the southwest).

Information Summary

Ranks 25th in South Carolina and 1486th overall. See the entire top 2,000 colleges and universities list
Overall Score (about)	73.2
Total Cost On-Campus Attendance	$25,142
Admission Success rate	N/A
ACT / SAT 75%ile scores	22 / 1120
Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty	20 : 1
Retention (full-time / part-time)	63% / 60%
Enrollment Total (all students)	2,116

Academics

Academic accreditation for USC-Beaufort is given by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school is academically broken down into the following departments: Nursing, Education, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, Science and Mathematics, Social Sciences, Humanities and Fine Arts, and English, Speech and Theatre.

USC-Beaufort is distinguished by being one of the only schools to offer a Human Services bachelor’s degree program in the southeast region. The hospitality program attracts a significant amount of national as well as international students and provides students real experience thanks to the nearby resorts on Hilton Head Island.

USC-Beaufort offers one graduate level degree program: a Master of Arts in Teaching, which is conducted on a full-time basis over the course of 16 months.

Most Popular Fields of Study

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Admissions

USC-Beaufort breaks its admissions procedures down according to the type of person applying, with all applicants falling into one of the following categories: incoming freshman, transfer, international freshman, international transfer, non-degree seeking, readmit, concurrent, and transient.

The most dominant category, that of incoming freshman, is obliged to submit the application form (online or in print), pay the $40 fee, submit an official high school transcript, and finally submit SAT or ACT scores. After graduating, such applicants are required to send their final high school transcript including date of graduation (in addition to the transcript mentioned above).

As a minimum, USC-Beaufort requires incoming freshmen to have taken coursework during high school that includes the following: four units of English; three units of mathematics (changed to four units for 2011-2012 incoming freshmen; three lab science units; three social studies units; two foreign language units; four academic elective units; and one physical science unit.

Financial Aid

Students (whether newly-admitted or otherwise) may apply for financial aid at USC-Beaufort via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, available online. As financial aid is given on a first-come, first-serve basis students are encouraged to submit their FAFSA forms as early as possible.

Students at USC-Beaufort receive various kinds of aid at the federal and state level, in the form of loans, grants, scholarships as well as student employment opportunities. A few types of financial aid received would include the Federal Pell Grant, the Academic Competitiveness Grant, the National SMART Grant, and the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship to merely mention a few.

Student Financial Aid Details

Ranks 3599th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best scholarships and financial aid in South Carolina.

Students

The student body at USC-Beaufort (which over recent years has plateaued around the 1,500 level, both campuses inclusive) is in its majority made up of full-time students, with ample on-campus housing options available.

Various student organizations and clubs thrive on- and off-campus, and a token sampling would include the Student Organization, the Art Club, the African American Student Association, the Environmental Club, the Gamma Beta Phi honor society, and the student newspaper Shark Byte.

Student Enrollment Demographics

Student Graduation Demographics

Athletics

The sports teams at USC-Beaufort are collectively known as the Sand Sharks and the school’s competing colors are blue and red. The school is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Sun Conference.

USC-Beaufort fields men’s sports teams in golf, baseball, track, tennis and cross country; its women’s teams compete in cross country, soccer, golf, tennis, softball, volleyball and track.

University of South Carolina-Beaufort