Student review [#29593] for Film
at University of South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina is the worst city on Earth. High crime rates, high temperatures, high homeless people on the corner of every block… The city planning is awful and students are targeted to pay extra fines and extra-high rent. However, right in the centre of this city is the University of South Carolina. I must give the founders some credit: for the school to be in the centre of the capital city, it does feel like a pretty well-isolated community.
First, you have the Horseshoe tying the entire campus together. The park is great for a picnic with friends, cramming for exams, frisbee tournaments, drunk walks back to the dorm at 1 am, and even, surprisingly, playing Minecraft (I know, I’ve tried it). It’s great for spending downtime in between classes, and if it gets too hot, it’s just a few feet away from the air-conditioned dining hall, Russell House.
Speaking of walking drunkenly back to your dorm, bar life at UofSC used to be phenomenal for students. A decent fake ID used to be able to get you into any bar in Five Points. That was a major draw for many students in my class to the school, but instead, we were met with the Five Points Massacre of 2021. Beloved hot spots on the strip of Harden Street were closing left and right, SLED officers patrolled the streets every weekend, and worst of all… The fakes stopped working. At first, Roof started using a police scanner once a week. Then all the bars followed suit. Eventually, certain bars were reserved for upperclassmen only. Sure, you couldn’t go to Jake’s anymore, but you could still get into Bird Dog, so everything was fine, right? Wrong. By the end of the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, if you were under twenty-one, you could forget about stepping foot near Five Points after 8PM. So we resorted to partying. 🙂
The 2021-2022 school year was the rebirth of partying at UofSC. In former years, you wouldn’t normally even throw a party for your birthday because you’d rather go out and dance. But this year was different; we turned over a new leaf. In all honesty, I’m more of a person who likes kick-backs with friends, but there are plenty of opportunities for non-stop partying at the school. Frat lots, frat parties, frat houses, frat basements… If no one else is throwing a party, you can probably find one at one of the Alpha houses.
A lot of things at UofSC, though, are very hit and miss. Dining hall? Hit or miss. Professors? Hit or miss. Majors? Hit or miss. Classes? You get the point. In my two years of experience as a student at UofSC, finding your favorites and least favorites is all about trial and error. It’s all about your taste and preference.
When I seeked counseling my freshman year of college, I didn’t know where to look other than with my own school. Honestly, most of my problems surrounded education, anyway, so a counselor on UofSC’s dime felt like poetic justice to me. And if you’re a student looking to seek help for your mental health, the University is a great option. You can be prescribed medicine and set appointments easily with your counsellor, face-to-face; and it’s nearly all included in your tuition. However, it is a huge journey to take. My first counsellor there told me that she didn’t care about the fact that I had major mental health issues starting at the ripe age of twelve years old, and she didn’t care about anything that had happened to me in years prior to starting school. In fact, she told me to go outside more! Spoiler alert: that didn’t work, and also briefly discouraged me from seeking therapy at all. After a few months of going outside more, I sought out a new therapist with UofSC, and she was amazing. I saw her for a year until she left the University (congratulations, Beth!), and she did wonders for my mental health. She helped me with everything: from processing my emotions to finding a psychiatrist and getting registered with the disability office at the school so my professors would be aware of my needs. The only downside to choosing UofSC for my therapy after everything was said and done was that the demand for appointment slots often outweighs the supply of counsellors of the school, so more often than not, it’s going to be about three weeks of time in between appointments with your counsellor.
Last but not least, shout out to all the film majors seeking UofSC. It’s a tight-knit community and is super fun when you get involved. If you’re a film major or even an English major, you have to take a class with Northrop Davis at all costs. Nominated for Professor of the Year 2021-2022, he is the most passionate and caring professor I’ve met in the field.
If the University of South Carolina is on your list, good luck in all your endeavours as a ‘cock. The last piece of advice I can leave with you is if anyone tells you that there’s a pool on the Russell House roof, make sure not to pay more than $15 for a ticket up there, or else you’re getting ripped off.