Ever-growing USC student body exceeds 40K, including record freshman class
Enrollment at the University of South Carolina officially surpassed 40,000 students as it welcomes another record-breaking freshman class.
The freshman class, according to a news release, has 7,829 students. — almost 600 more than last year’s record.
It is the fourth year of unparalleled growth for the university, which has ballooned by almost 7,000 students since 2015, according to the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analytics.
“More and more students are recognizing the unmatched experiences and opportunities that Carolina offers, and they are making the choice to become part of our Gamecock community,” USC President Michael Amiridis said in a news release.
More than 4,000 of the freshmen are South Carolina residents, with representation from each of the state’s 46 counties. Twice as many students from South Carolina were offered enrollment to the Columbia campus compared to a decade ago, officials said.
“We are thrilled with our continued and unprecedented growth in student enrollment,” Scott Verzyl, USC’s vice president for enrollment management, said in a news release. “Our dedication to providing an exceptional education, vibrant student life, and a supportive community is driving student success and is evident in our high retention rates.”
The major milestone comes as college enrollment is nearing pre-pandemic levels across the country, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, following a significant dip during the height of COVID-19. The enrollment fulfills a prediction Amiridis made last September.
“As we continue to replace the smaller class sizes we had during COVID, our enrollment may exceed 40,000 students within the next two years,” Amiridis said at his 2024 State of the University address. “These numbers represent a strong vote of confidence in USC by students and their families.”
The university received more than 60,000 applications for the fall 2025 semester, a sharp increase from the previous admissions cycle of about 13%. USC has broken its applications record at least three years in a row.
In the two decades since Verzyl began working for the university, almost every year has been a “record year” for applications, he previously told The State. When he started at USC, the school received around 10,000 applications per year.
As the student body grows, the USC Board of Trustees says it is planning for the future. USC Next, the updated master plan, lays groundwork for the next decade of development on the university’s campus, and accounts for growth by about 2%.
The plan has ambitions for improved athletic venues, more parking and transportation options, replacing a dorm and renovating several buildings and a sprawling health campus in the heart of Columbia’s BullStreet district. One goal is to partner with a private developer to transform hundreds of acres near Williams-Brice Stadium. Another is to be a key player in the city’s downtown development, including South Main Street.
