Students share truths about their college realities as Coastal Carolina University experiences increased first-year retention rates for the fourth year in a row.
Freshmen across the nation have the highest dropout or transfer rate of any following year students. However, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Gibbs Knotts shared that 91.6% of full-time freshmen from the previous fall semester registered for the 2025 spring semester at CCU.
To help freshmen adapt to college life and responsibilities, Knotts said the University’s first-year task force works diligently to increase engagement, retention and support.
“I just think that college can be, should be, such a really great time to explore new things, to learn about different things that you’ve never had a chance to learn about,” Knotts said.
In addition to the UNIV 101 (The Student in the University) course, Knotts highlighted the Coastal Excellence and Leadership (CEaL) conditional admission program, which offers focused academic support to select individuals. Although the needs, priorities and experiences are not the same for every student, a sense of community may be essential to a fulfilling college life.
Four currently enrolled Coastal students, and one former student who dropped out shortly after her freshman year, all agree on the importance of community.
Freshman sports media and journalism major Kendall Ackerman is continuing into her second semester. Ackerman said although it is easier for her to make friends now that her classes are specified to her major, she struggled during her first semester.
“I didn’t join any club, and I think you should, because that was where I fell with not making friends,” Ackerman said.
Like Ackerman, former student Melanie Durham initially struggled to find her place on campus, as she felt disconnected from the Coastal community. Durham didn’t feel like she was part of something because there weren’t many options for social engagements as a commuter.
“It was mostly just very stressful,” she said. “[As a commuter] I didn’t really feel fully into that college life experience, because I was still living my normal life outside of doing classes…. It wasn’t about making friends or doing any kinds of events.”
Durham began at CCU in May of 2023, but due to financial stressors did not continue her college education after the spring of 2024. She is currently looking into attending Horry Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) to earn an EMT certification.
Moreover, junior communication major Sarah Mishler found her support system, within the school and outside of it, to be her biggest influence. Mishler started at the University of South Carolina (USC) as a freshman in 2015. Near the end of her sophomore year, Mishler left USC feeling burnt out and out of place.
“I think because I didn’t meet those perfect expectations that I was constantly digging a deeper depressive hole, and I found out I didn’t really like how big the school was, I wasn’t enjoying any of my classes…I was not ready for school,” Mishler said.
After her USC experience, Mishler had no intention of returning to school. About six years later, she decided she needed some direction in her life. She started at HGTC in 2023, earning an Associate of Arts. From there, she decided to further her education and transferred to Coastal in the fall of 2024.
“This is going to sound really bad, but I would not have listened to my high school advisers, because I feel like they push four-year universities so hard, and if I would have known that it was okay to do [HGTC] and then bridge over to a university, I probably would have finished, because those classes at [HGTC] were a lot less intimidating,” Mishler said.
Along with speaking out against the stigma of attending a technical school, Mishler also spoke about the benefits of taking a gap year. Her experiences shaped her into a different person, and she now knows what she wants from life.
“I’ve seen what it’s like to have to work a full-time job in the service industry and that’s my big thing. I never, I never want to have to do that again,” Mishler said.
Director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Analysis Holly Legg said new transfer enrollment is up 17.2% as of Jan.16.
In that percentage is freshman finance major Caden O’Keefe, who transferred to CCU after his first semester at North Greenville University (NGU). O’Keefe initially chose NGU as part of a family tradition, but quickly realized it was not the right fit for him and said that CCU is more inclusive.
Since transferring to CCU, O’Keefe declared his finance major and said that he loves his classes, as well as being a part of the rugby club.
“Your first semester, definitely get involved as much as possible, because that’s where you’re going to meet new people,” O’Keefe said.
