(COLUMBIA, SC) Columbia College will host approximately 75 high school guidance counselors from across South Carolina, as well as from North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Rhode Island, on Monday, June 20, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., for lunch and an extended tour of the campus. The event, sponsored by South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc., is entitled "Excellence in Independent Higher Education: A Holistic Approach to Serving Today's Student."   The purpose of the tour is to inform guidance counselors of the advantages of private higher education as well as to give them an inside look at the College and an opportunity to have their questions answered.

Columbia College, founded in 1854 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church, is a private, liberal arts, women's college with a coeducational Evening College and Graduate School.  The College has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report since 1994 as one of the top comprehensive undergraduate colleges in the South.  Enrollment is 1500 students from 23 states and 20 countries.