College of Charleston Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Megan

The students at the school come from a lot of different backgrounds and have many different styles.

Ashley

Haven't met them yet.

Sam

I have not really got to know many of my classmates, but from what I have learned from orientation is that they are very diverse. They are open to new ideas and ways of thinking, very respectable when people are speaking, and are from all over the country. They have a lot of different backgrounds and different ideas.

Sarah

The typical students likes to throw down and party hard. If you're into that and like the beach, come here. If you don't like either, do not come here.

Kimberly

Most were white, rich kids.

Brooke

My classmates are engaging, diverse, and friendly; they are all unique individuals I can relate to and speak to on a regular basis.

Kenny

Annalise

People look pretty nice going to class here which I wasn't prepared for (especially during my 8 am classes!!). Girls either wear nice clothes or equally nice work out clothes and guys typically dress preppy or just in jeans and a t-shirt etc. In my classes I see a lot of different types of students interacting but not so much outside of class. Friend groups are typically divided along racial, religious, socio-economic lines, but their isn't tension between these groups on campus and truth be told not very much diversity in the first place. The student body is over all very friendly and very interesting in their experiences as those are varied through out. There are a lot of people from South Carolina but also a lot of people from other places, like the North as well. The students are for the most part very up to date on their current events and issues and very passionate about them as well. Everyone seems driven to get the most out of their college experience whether thats through internships or studying abroad. There are also a lot of campus organizations that you can join such as the honors fraternity or club soccer. Their are lots of opportunities to get involved and most students choose to do so.

Grant

I have worked with some great students who are very dedicated and will go far when they graduate. More often than not though I have seen woefully poor math and language skills. I don't know if this a CofC thing or if it is just US students in general.

carlamafumi

There is a wide variety of students, from the southern bells, to the northern girls. There's definetly a niche here for every type of person

Katelyn

My classmates here often appear superficial, but many have truly ended up being some of the nicest and often most understanding people I've met due to the mutual desire for a broadened sense of other people and different environments that everyone hasn't been exposed to.

Bailey

There is a large divide in at the College of Charleston between very artsy, liberal, radical students and over priveliged kids just having a good time; of course, there are some students in between who are just there to learn.

Lindsey

Most of my classmates are very quiet and just good students, but you always have a few people who make class interesting, the ones who start class discussions and who are aren't afraid to ask questions.

Shannon

Everyone here is friendly and always willing to help when you have difficulty understanding in class.

Brandon

College of Charleston is a prodominately caucasian college, but there is diversity and the sense of comradery is very strong i those communities. Male students are also outnumbered about 5 to 1 by female students, so there are plenty of classes where the classes are predominately female.

Dominique

My classmates are extremely goal-oriented and driven. We all push each other to do the best to leave the College of Charleston in our four years.

Kelli

My classmates are anything, and everything; full of diversity, and never lacking in kindness.

Brittany

My classmates are pretty intelligent, mostly upper class, and from many different locations.

Megan

My classmates are fairly closed-minded.

Sheena

Very friendly, honest, and very heplful.

Michal

Diverse, fun, and extremely ambitious individuals.

kang

They are awesome and friendly.

Ryan

Lots of suicidal Emos, real diverse. Greek life is not huge but a good chunk are into it. Most kids here come from some money. Very politically active students. Lots of kids talk about future wages and how much money they have.

Laura

My classmates are all very different--some are artsy, some are "fratty," some are "emo," but we all go together and it's fun to see such a wide spectrum of people everyday.

Mary

There are many personalities at this campus; outgoing, shy, talented.

Kaylyn

The most outgoing, friendly community one could ever hope to be a part of. They are incredibly interesting, passionate young men and women.

Audrey

I though my home state was bad, but students here are very disrespectful to the teachers, and they are pushovers.

Kristen

Friendly, diverse, and helpful.

Vikki

everyone did their own thing, people were friendly overall.

Marquitta

Diverse in beliefs and wants out of college and life.

Adam

The divides that people express about CofC and it's diversity are dead wrong. Yes, the {4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of minorities may not be ideal, but there is no invisible barrier that prevents African American students and Asian students from talking, or Caucasian and Hispanic students. It just doesn't exist. Racism is something that still exists in our society, but in our generation, racism is rare and frowned upon. Those who speak like there is segregation are not opening their eyes to see the people, but rather looking at the surface - their skin. People with similar social experiences hang out together - sometimes they are the same race, other times they are not. That is the extent of it.

Britney

They are culturally diverse, well rounded unique indivuals that are driven to succeed.

Tiffany

Many of the CofC students are locals but there are quie a few students from other states as well. I think the student body is well balanced. Most students are quiet laid back as far as attire. You do have quite an extreme variance in this category though. Either students are wearing PJs and "comfy clothes" or really nice clothes and suits.

Rory

CofC is pretty homogenous, it seems its mostly southern white people that go here. There also seems to be a large percentage of really rich people here. But having said all that, its pretty hard to feel out of place here. All my friends that dont fit into that demographic have never felt out of place or any bollocks like that. The only divide I can really think of is that is a pretty big gap between people involved in greek life and people not involved greek life. Its not bad or good, its just the way its. If you're in fraternity/sorority you'll have a lot of friends who aren't, but its safe to say that most of your friends will be connected to you by greek life, and the same thing is true vice-versa (if youre not involved in greek life, most of your friends will also not be involved with greek life) so just keep that in mind.

Chelsea

We are not a diverse campus by any means as far a race goes. Each person is an individual here though. We are not clicky. Greek life is only about 14{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our student population. Students identify themselves by what they are doing and what their achievements are in bettering the community. We have over 150 different student organizations on campus and a very out spoken student body.

Kim

COFC is not racially diverse which is really tragic, but it has a diversity of students in other ways. There really isn't an "in" or "out" as far as apparrel and such, you can be preppy, sporty, fancy, casual, and it doesn't matter, you will always fit in. There are students that dress up for class, students that are in beach gear ready to head to the beach after class, students in pjs, and eve n students who choose not to wear shoes around charleston and on campus!!

Gene

Minority students at C of C are just that, there may be more LGBT at C of C than minority students. The average student is a white, middle class female. Greeks are annoying if you aren't into Greek life, but if seperated from their groups they are more often than not very nice even if they can be predictable. You have your Ohio kids and your natives--plenty from the upstate. Most students are not politically aware at all though most outside of greek life are always vaguely liberal.

Ryan

I have found no evidence at C of C that would directly imply that there is an accepted intolerance of any racial, religious, or socio-economic segment of the population; however with that stated, I have on some instances heard unnecessarily cruel statements toward LGBT people. I will not attribute this behavior to the entire student body, but I will not go as far to say that it is a one person issue among thousands. Given the climate of Charleston, SC, many students wear t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops to class; however some wear more business-acceptable attire to class if they have a job or internship during the day that requires such dress. Though many students are from South Carolina, a large quantity are from the Northeast US. Some students are employed with part-time jobs, however many don't work given their respective socio-economic class status. Their is an invisible fault-line, if you will, amongst students in context to political affiliation; however this should be expected given their geographical originations. Many students from South Carolina and the South in a larger context, are conservative Republicans. Many students from the Northeastern US are liberal Democrats. This "fault" is generally overlooked given the college environment, however I have seen where politics have either broken or ignited friendships. As with society as a larger whole, its difficult to associate yourself with people who are not in line with your political views--given the polarized climate of this country. This should not be a fact that precludes students from attempting to engage politically different students.

Michael

There is not a dominant group on the campus. You can easily find people who share interests with you, but at the same time be open to meeting people because there are a lot of different types of people.

Evan

Very diverse, mostly people from the northeast coast and georgia / south carolina.

Becca

Because it is a state school, there has to be at least 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body from South Carolina. Besides SC, there are a lot of kids from 'the north:' Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, DC area... I think I've only met one other person from Indiana...

Tom

not very diverse

Jessica

Most of the students at CofC are either from South Carolina, Maryland/D.C. area, or New Jersey and we seem to get along. The out of state kids generally come from pretty wealthy parents and they like for people to know that. The in-state kids range from extremely wealthy kids from Charleston to people who are on the Life Scholarship (the in-state scholarship you get for having a 3.0), etc. The College is great about helping people with financial aid, so that anyone who gets in can come. Different types of students interact, Greek and non-Greek, black and white, etc.

Bri

Everyone can find a group. No matter what you are like. The student body is really laid back and accepting of anyone. It's not hard to make friends if you want them.

Jody

I would have to say that CofC is a mostly white school but a very liberal school so I never encountered any real racial issues. Everyone seemed to get along. I also think once you get into college you become a lot more open minded to whom you would consider a friend. I have friends now that I wouldn't of thought of talking to in highschool. I have very religious friends, party hearty friends, and then friends in the middle. I have hippy friends and then nerd friends. In college I think everyone seems to except people for who they are and enjoys the different parts of them that they find interesting. I find that a lot of the people that go to college of Charleston went to school around here like I did. But you will also find that there are people from New York and then people from Wyoming that come here as well. There are a very diverse group of students and the best advise I can give is just to enjoy it. Find people that you don't know who are different from you and enjoy their differences. Learn new things that you never knew before because their is a lot to learn and the best way to learn it is to get out there and interact.

Lauren

Lots of diversity. It's really interesting. But, it's very liberal. Being a republican makes me feel like the minority.

samantha

There are a diverse amount of people that attend C of C. It would be crazy for someone feel like they would not fit in. It is such a diverse school that there is some kind of group for anyone. Many C of C students come from different parts of the United States and out of the country. Most of the students here are politically aware.

becky

Students who might feel out of place would include minorities. My roomate freshman year was black and she was the coolest person i knew but there are very few black students at cofc. Most people dress themselves up to go to class for the first few months. Girls will wear skirts or summer dresses and guys will wear button downs. but that wears off and people end up going to class in sweat pants and t-shirts. Many cofc students are from south carolina, however, there are students from all over the country and the world. Many students are politically aware and active and the school is very libral

Katie

Well at most colleges the students wear whatever to class, not at the College. Most of the girls dress up for class in dresses and little outfits. I would say about half of my friends are from out-of-state on the east coast and the other half are in-state. I am from a middle class family, and I think that many lower income students would feel uncomfortable. The downtown area is very ritzy and expensive.

Racheal

The student body was more interested in their weekend activities than learning. I rarely saw any balance between the two, which is very important. I saw that students find their cliques and stay with that clique. I felt that I really did not fit in.