College of Charleston Top Questions

Pretty diverse group. All in all everyone is super nice and friendly. Southern hospitality is not a myth.

the student body is one area i would love to improve. school spirit is not very intense regarding sports. no football team and the fields are off campus about 10 minutes away. students generally have a great appearance but accepting of different styles. there are many types of people on campus so anyone can fit in. politics ranges on campus. of coarse south carolina is right wing but being with young students creates a nice balance between dems and repubs.

Racial groups on campus are mostly segregated. I can't help thinking that it's become somewhat of just a way of life here in the south for whites and blacks to stick with their kind a little bit, but that's something I don't condone or understand. One of my best friends at school this year was African-American, and her race never crossed my mind until now. However, nearly everybody is very friendly and willing to talk to anybody else, if they are approached. Four tables of students in the dining hall: One of them is a bunch of unkempt dorky kids, with long messy hair and glasses, eating hot dogs with too much ketchup and talking about...well, who knows. Another table is full of slim blond girls, fresh from the gym in their workout attire with yoga matts tucked under their arms, eating giant plates of lettuce and maybe a tomato. Note- this accounts for many, many of the tables in the dining hall!! The third table is a group of emo kids; boys dressed in skinny jeans with side bangs and girls looking very urban. The fourth table is only African-American kids, just having fun and being crazy. Different types of students tend not to interact. I blame Greek life for much of this separation, and maybe also the subtle racial barrier. What the students wear to class: Whatever is in style. Uggs, scarves, moccasins, giant sunglasses, whatever. On the guys, polo shirts, J.Crew shorts, flip flops. Not many have their own unique style. I have seen a few, but not the majority. You will be hard pressed to find students that don't hail from the South. South and North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and even Maryland are the home states are almost all that I have met this year. The type of student to feel most out-of-place at CofC: Someone extremely dedicated and motivated to progress and grow; someone who is not catty, clique-y, gossip-y, or into Greek life; someone who doesn't follow trends or dress fashionably; someone who is not religious and doesn't read the Bible and attend church regularly (big emphasis on this one). Politics: I find this aspect of CofC extremely interesting, because since it's a college campus, it can be extremely liberal; but since it's the South, tons and tons of kids are set in their parents' extremely conservative ways of thinking. I would say it's more right-wing.

The question of politics is very interesting at the college. While the city, state, and region is predominantly conservative, most C of C students are liberal. The college has a series, the Bully Pulpit series, through which all of the major candidates for the U.S. presidency have came to speak.

I think the students are very open minded which I loved. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. I never had a single problem at the College, but I did feel out of place. I felt the majority of students were upper middle class, whose parents took care of everything for them. There is not much diversity at all, there is very little black, hispanic, asian, etc. I did my associates at Trident Tech which was largely mixed with students of every race and different opinions. Though the students at CofC are different I feel most have the same opinions. Its hard to get a good debate going.

There is low racial diversity at CofC, and a small Greek life presence. Filled with beach bums, and people who love and appreciate a friendly atmosphere that the college provides.

Diverse students

It is a very liberal school for the south and very managable for a northerner such as myself. I enjoy the people many are laid back and some are southern while you find a lot from the north and midwest as well. It isn't a hard school to adjust to if you have an open mind about the people. You can find any type of financial background, typically in state are on the lower financial end while out of state have more money, which I believe you find anywhere.

Students are generally politically naive. Students interact well on group projects.

A little racially segregated, but the groups are able to intermingle without problems. As a gay male, LGBT community for the most part is welcomed, but there are instances of ignorance. I would say though more judgement is placed on socio-economic levels than sexuality, race, religion... Class is very casual, but not pajamas very often. Usually t-shirts, flip flops, jeans or shorts... Different types of students do interact, but ultimately they return to their "group". Most CofC students are from: Ohio, New Jersey, Mass, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Penn, and clearly SC. Upper middle class is most prevalent, followed equally by middle and upper, and a few of lower classes. Students are politically active, and very center-left, unlike the surrounding setting of SC. I have never heard anyone talk about how much they will earn one day.