25 things to do during your four years at USC

There is plenty to do at and around the University of South Carolina. Here is a quick list of experiences every incoming Gamecock should try before walking across the stage at the Colonial Life Arena.

1. Go to a Gamecocks football game

College football is very much a religious experience ’round these parts. Spend a Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium with 80,000 of your closest friends, and see if you don’t get goosebumps.

2. Check out the State Fair

Fried food, music, pig races and rides. It’s the perfect night out when midterm exams roll around. This year’s fair is Oct. 12-23.

3. St. Pat’s in Five Points

March 18 is a ways off, but Columbia’s raucous annual music and beer festival is worth the wait.

4. Tube down the river

No need for paddles, helmets or expensive gear. Just take a day to float.

5. Enjoy late-night eats

A degree is great, sure. But experiencing Waffle House at 2 a.m. is just as crucial to the college experience.

6. Get caught by a train on the way to class

Bonus points if it happens on the way to a final exam.

7. Experience the wonder of the clap circle

If you didn’t try it at orientation, stroll to the middle of the brick circle just by Russell House and clap your hands. Then, pop open Google to figure out what just happened.

8. Work out at Strom

Hey, your mandatory fees already are paying for your membership.

9. Eat at Top of Carolina

Eighteen stories up at Capstone House, it’s South Carolina’s only 360-degree rotating restaurant, offering a heck of a view of Columbia. Meals are a tad pricey, and you will need to make a reservation.

10. Visit Riverbanks

The 170-acre zoo just opened a $12 million sea lion and harbor seal exhibit to complement the lions, tigers and bears that have awed visitors for years.

11. Study in the South Caroliniana Library

The Thomas Cooper Library in the center of campus is great – for hanging out with friends. But the true clutch studying play is the dead-silent, second-floor study room of the Horseshoe’s 175-year-old library.

12. Pull an all-nighter in Thomas Cooper

Let’s not rag on T-Coop. At some point – almost certainly during finals week – you probably will find yourself in need of an overnight stay in the bowels of the school’s largest library.

13. Join a snowball fight on the Horseshoe

This will be a bit harder if it doesn’t snow in your four years in Columbia. If not, just catch Pokemon.

14. Go on a ghost tour

USC’s tour guides also give ghost tours to current students during the fall. The campus, including the Horseshoe, is something of a hotbed for creepy history.

15. Take a beach trip

The coast is only a couple of hours away, and getting sand between your toes is good for the soul.

16. Catch a movie (or two) at the Big Mo

Hop onto the time-machine, otherwise known as Interstate 20, and head down to the drive-in movies in Monetta. On weekends through November, you can catch two movies for $8 a person.

17. Enjoy the Rosewood Crawfish Festival

Sucking on mud bugs and beer. What more could you want?

18. Hike the Congaree Swamp

The low-lying, often-flooded Congaree National Park in lower Richland County has trails for all levels of hikers.

19. Peruse the Soda City Market

Drag yourself out of bed on a Saturday morning(ish). It’s a great place to find veggies, doughnuts, jewelry and Chicken Man paintings, and to meet every dog and baby in Columbia.

20. Spend a day at Carowinds

The nearly 400-acre amusement park on the S.C.-N.C. border has massive coasters and a water park, plus a PG 13-rated Scarowinds event from September through October.

21. Try the lunch special at Village Idiot

You’re young and poor, so take advantage of two New York slices and a drink for $6.

22. Take a State House tour

If you’re from outside of South Carolina, you probably didn’t tour the state Legislature’s home as a third grader. And if you are from the Palmetto State, you probably don’t remember much.

23. Run a 5K

There are plenty of running events around Columbia, and spending some time on the treadmill might help you avoid the dreaded Freshman 15.

24. Vote in a presidential election

You are (probably) old enough, and you will have the day off from school. What’s your excuse?

25. Visit USC’s Career Center

Four years go by quickly. It’s never too early to prepare for the real world.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 1:34 PM.