USC’s freshman class to be bigger than predicted. Can it accommodate the growth?
The University of South Carolina’s incoming freshman class is poised to be the largest the school has ever seen. For the first time in its history, USC’s newest cohort will break 7,000 students.
While the university can’t yet say the exact number, USC’s Vice President of Enrollment and Dean of Admissions Scott Verzyl said the campus will likely see upwards of 7,200 new faces in the fall.
“It’s still very up in the air,” Verzyl said. “A lot of things can happen between now and the start of classes.”
It’s several hundred more than the university predicted earlier this year. In February, when the university announced it had received more applications than ever, Verzyl told The State that he expected the 2023 freshman class to be about 200 more students than last year’s record of 6,596 students — about 6,900 students. But more students accepted their admissions offer than USC projected, university spokesman Jeff Stensland said.
Rising enrollment is part of a trend for the university. Last year the student body was a whopping 35,590 students. The student body has grown by nearly 30% in the last two decades, and this year’s jump is one of the biggest USC has seen in recent history.
While the freshman class is getting larger, Verzyl said USC is graduating students quicker, which opens up more space — so enrollment isn’t going up as much as one might expect. Still, the university will likely continue to grow. Verzyl said he expects overall enrollment to increase by between 1.5% to 3% year to year.
“We are truly a destination of choice for a growing number of prospective students,” Stensland said.
Verzyl said that today’s growth is important. Experts predict that in the coming years, the number of high school graduates nationwide will plummet because of a decline in birth rates in the early 2000s. That forecast will likely impact USC, he said.
Despite the unanticipated growth spurt, the university says it can accommodate all of its new students, from housing to classes.
Freshman students are required to live on campus during their first year at USC, with very few exceptions. The long-anticipated Campus Village will be completed in the coming weeks and will offer 1,808 new beds for freshmen to lay their heads, in addition to the other residence halls available to students.
“We have the ability to house every first-year student and won’t be using hotels,” Stensland said.
Last year, the university had to convert larger single-occupancy spaces into doubles to house the incoming class, and “temporary swing space” was used for the first few weeks of the semester. This year, Stensland said, that won’t be necessary.
The university is also increasing the number of sections offered for certain classes, and colleges are hiring additional instructors and staff, Stensland said.
“Our deans and provosts are diligently planning for additional courses to be offered to accommodate student demand,” Verzyl said.
While freshmen housing is secured, Verzyl said there will be more of a demand for the things that make the college experience desirable. Students may still have to fight for parking spots and football tickets.
But the university has more parking than ever, Stensland said. Over the last year, USC added 1,500 parking spots. There will be some 15,000 by the end of summer.
As for football, students are awarded tickets for free, based on USC’s reward system, Stensland said.
