USC makes list of ‘A+ schools for B students’

The University of South Carolina is on U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 list of “A+ Schools for B Students.”

The list, released Tuesday, is made up of colleges and universities “where nonsuperstars have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving,” and “where spirit and hard work could make all the difference to the admissions office.”

To make the list, which is not ranked numerically, the schools had to admit a proportion of applicants whose test scores and class standing put them “in non-A territory.”

Still, USC’s 2015 freshman class had an average high school GPA of 4.0 — or all As.

USC was on the same “A+ Schools for B Students” in 2016.

Overall, USC moved up a notch to 107, from 108 last year, in the magazine’s national rankings of public and private colleges and universities. Among public colleges alone, USC ranked 49th, its highest ranking ever.

Meanwhile, Clemson University, which ranked higher than USC, dropped five spots to 66 among all public and private schools. Clemson ranked 23rd among public schools.

USC’s Darla Moore School of Business undergraduate international business program maintained its No. 1 ranking in the nation for the 17th year in a row.

The business school itself ranked 48th.

In addition, USC was recognized for having one of the best higher ed’s programs for the first-year experience and its learning communities, which group students in residence halls to foster learning.

This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 1:00 AM with the headline "USC makes list of ‘A+ schools for B students’."