Office of Undergraduate Admissions

If you are interested in applying to the South Carolina Honors College, select “Yes” where indicated on the freshman application. Students who submit the Honors College application will also be considered for the Top Scholar Program. Answers to frequently asked questions about applying to the Honors College can be found here.

You are automatically considered for the Capstone Scholars Program when you apply for freshman admission. No separate application materials are required for review. 

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Required Materials

The following materials are required for admission consideration to the South Carolina Honors College and Top Scholar Program.

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• Completed USC application (including essay and activities section)

  You’ll provide any high school courses/grades you are taking your senior year, select your major, complete the essay, and list your extracurricular activities, honors and awards. You will also decide whether you want us to consider your ACT / SAT scores in the review process.

  All information submitted with your application will be used to determine admission and general university merit-based scholarship award decisions.

• $65 application fee or valid application fee waiver for eligible students

  Regardless of which application you select, you must pay the nonrefundable $65 application fee or use an ACT, College Board, NACAC, SCOIR or Common App application fee waiver, if eligible.

  If you have an application fee waiver, upload it on the payment page before submitting the application.

• Unofficial high school transcript

  Upload a legible unofficial copy of your high school transcript in JPG or PDF format. After you submit the application, we’ll review your uploaded transcript and let you know if we need an official one. The unofficial transcript must list grades through the end of your junior year and include your full name and high school name. Do not send an official high school transcript to the admissions office unless it is requested.

  If you already graduated from high school, request to have your official transcript sent to USC’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

• Standardized test score (if using)

  USC is test-optional through the fall, spring and summer 2026 terms. This means you are not required to submit SAT and / or ACT scores for admission or merit scholarship consideration. You will select “Yes” or “No” on the application to indicate whether or not you want us to review your test scores as part of the admission process. 

  If you choose to have your scores considered, we will superscore the SAT and ACT (ACT English, Math, and Reading sections only) regardless of when the exam was taken. If you took either test more than once, we will superscore using all tests taken.  

  USC’s deadline for receipt of test scores is based on the credentials deadline associated with your application type. If test scores are not received by the credentials deadline, your application will be considered on a space-available basis. We require official scores only if you enroll in USC.

  Our SAT code is 5818, and our ACT code is 3880. 

  Review frequently asked questions about USC's test-optional policy. 

• Honors College application (including essay section)

  Students should check “yes” or “no” on the general university application to indicate their interest in applying to the South Carolina Honors College. The honors application will be added to their USC Admissions Portal approximately 48 hours after submitting the freshman application. Students will receive an email from our office once the application is available on their portal.

  Students who originally answered “no” on the freshman application and change their minds can email admhonor@mailbox.sc.edu to request access to the Honors College application.

  The Honors College application requires two additional essays and one letter of recommendation. Submission of a resume is optional.  

• Letter of recommendation

  A letter of recommendation is required by the Dec. 1 credentials deadline. There are two ways to submit the letter:

  • Your high school counselor can submit the letter on your behalf via a service such as Common App, Scoir or Naviance. This is our preferred method.
  • Your recommender can email the letter to admhonor@mailbox.sc.edu.

  Helpful Hints:

  • Ask someone who knows you best to write your letter of recommendation. This can include a teacher, school counselor, coach, community leader or employer.
  • Only one letter of recommendation will be considered during the review process.
  • Please ask your recommender to only submit your letter once.
    
  • If you included a letter of recommendation with your Common Application, it will be used to satisfy this requirement.  

Important Dates

• Early Action Application Deadline

  Apply by Oct. 15 to get an early admissions decision.

• Honors College Application Deadline

  Apply by Nov. 15 to be considered for the South Carolina Honors College and Top Scholar Program.

• Application Credentials Deadline

  Send in all required materials by Dec. 1 to complete your application for admission.

Academic Profile

We use a holistic review process to evaluate Honors College applications, considering factors such as academic achievement, leadership potential, service to others, intellectual curiosity, high school course rigor, interest in USC, and a letter of recommendation. The academic profiles below show the middle 50% of students admitted to our Carolina Elite programs to help you understand how your background compares within each range.

Top Scholars	Honors College	Capstone Scholars
4.7 - 5.4 HS GPA	4.6 - 5.2 HS GPA	4.6 - 5.0 HS GPA
1% - 2% Class Rank *	1% - 4% Class Rank *	4% - 12% Class Rank *
1520 - 1570 SAT	1410 - 1510 SAT	1300 - 1410 SAT
34 - 36 ACT	32 - 34 ACT	29 - 32 ACT

* Class rank ranges only include students whose high school provides a ranking.