My Sweet Tea Tour of South Carolina

By Nancy Wigley

For the past week I have been touring 13 colleges, mostly in South Carolina, with 41 other high school and independent college counselors and consultants. As the guests of these great schools, we saw how interesting and unique each one is in its own right.

The big question is "would students from California be interested in some of these Southern colleges and universities?" I have to say "yes!" In some cases the educational opportunities are so personal, as at Furman, Wofford, Converse, and Presbyterian. All of them offer wonderful state-of-the-art facilities. In the cases of U of North Carolina-Asheville and Western Carolina University, we saw brand new buildings that will be opening this Fall! No "outsiders" had set foot in them yet! We were the first! (Ah, the smell of new carpet!)

Clemson University showed us their new Architecture building which opened this past Spring! All of the new buildings we saw are Green, Green, Green! And if they don't have the LEED status yet, they will! From Gold to Platinum.... Warren Wilson College is a special place unto itself where students work on the farm, in the blacksmith shop, the recycling center or in the kitchen (to name a few jobs), as well as go to classes and earn their bachelor's degree.

From the southern charm of College of Charleston to the rah-rah football stadiums at Clemson, U of South Carolina and Western Carolina University... students today have many choices and often at a great value.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip! I did drink sweet tea---and for a short while, found myself speaking with a southern drawl! If y'all want to know more, contact me!