Spartanburg Methodist College, a higher education institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church for over 104 years, is South Carolina’s only private, residential college exclusively for freshmen and sophomore students. That fact might surprise some, but for others, it is the sole reason they choose the small, close-knit community of students, faculty and staff which is SMC.

The exclusivity means SMC’s class of 2016, composed of over 500+ incoming freshman, are immediately immersed into a values-oriented, student-centered atmosphere in the Christian tradition that encourages academic excellence, intellectual exploration, social awareness, and character development within the liberal arts tradition. The student-faculty ratio of 19:1 allows students to know professors personally and immediately engage in the classroom.

For many students, figuring out what they want to study in college (and what they want do for the rest of their lives!) is difficult. SMC provides the time and support freshman and sophomore students need to sort through their many options; and with one of the most comprehensive career mentoring and field of study placement programs around, nearly every student that graduates goes on to a four-year institution, thanks to transfer agreements with over 200 colleges and universities.

SMC welcomes over 73% of students with 3.0 or higher GPA’s, and rewards them with SMC Scholar financial packages. In fact, SMC financial aid packages, including over $14 million in scholarships awarded each year, help 96% of SMC students pay for all or part of their books, housing and tuition, which is less than 75% of the other private schools in South Carolina.

As part of the UMC connection, SMC strives to develop a values-oriented atmosphere where students can develop a sensitivity to the needs of others. Each year, on the first full day that freshman are on the SMC campus, they are sent out into the Spartanburg community to help churches, schools, and non-profit agencies with landscaping, cleaning and organizing, feeding the hungry, working with the elderly, and easing the plight of the homeless. SMC’s 2014 Freshman Day of Service will be held on Saturday, August 16th and over 500 freshmen students accompanied by SMC faculty and staff, will disperse into the community impacting the following 22 Spartanburg sites:

Spartanburg Soup Kitchen, SPACE, Hatcher Gardens, Camp Mary Elizabeth,
Reidville Road UMC, Middle Tyger Community Center, Hollywild Animal Park,
Hope Remains Youth Ranch, Hub City Empty Bowls @ Spartanburg Art
Museum/Chapman Cultural Center, Mobile Meals, Christmas in Action, Alzheimer’s
Assoc., Glendale Outdoor Leadership School, McCracken Middle School,
Cannons Campground UMC, The Waterford at Dillon Pointe,
Hub City Farmers’ Market, Regional Hospice Home, Miracle Hill Thrift Store,
Fuller Center @ Arcadia UMC, Aldersgate UMC, and St. James UMC Playground.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, Candice Y. Sloan, SMC Chaplin, proudly reported that SMC students, faculty and staff provided over 6,008 hours of volunteer labor to the community. SMC…doing all the good they can, by all the means they can, in all the ways they can, in all the places they can, at all the times they can, to all the people they can.