I don’t think anybody is blaming Clemson for the cuts. College is a business, so they can only do what they think is right. I think most previous posts are just stating what they think the ramifications of those business decisions will be for Clemson, while also sharing their disappointment and how it affects them.
@MelSpears Thanks.
My OOS D is at USC. All in at USC is close to half of what my S would have to pay for Clemson, even w $12K merit scholarship. USC undergrad business school is great. S applied to Clemson bc CS and engineering are relatively stronger than USC, but will not attend. Don’t understand why Clemson is not willing to offer competitive merit $ for high stats OOS kids.
Totally agree! Daughter is valedictorian in a class of 195. 1460 SAT, National Honors, Student council, Captain of the District Champion Soccer team, etc. over 4.0 gpa, and 4 AP classes.
DENIED - Calhoun Honors. Only $8, 500 Merit scholarship.
This is not gonna work for us! Just silly really.
…and I wish that these schools would understand that none of us think that Federal Work-Study and Federal Loans are financial aid. They are smoke screens. STOP!
My DD is going to Alabama!! The merit at Clemson was so disappointing. Roll Tide!!!
Sorry for those that are disappointed. Reality is Clemson is expensive and I bet most of us will find equally (or better) programming and experiences at other schools. Don’t let the “top rated this and top rated that” rankings that Clemson (and every other school) throw at you make you feel like you are missing out on the only “perfect” option for your child if they don’t attend those schools. While most of our kids don’t understand it (how could they) the reality is it is not WHERE you go but WHAT you DO when you get there. For us, Michigan State, USC, Isenberg, Alabama, FSU are significantly less money than Clemson and I guarantee they will also offer great opportunities. All a matter of how our son approaches them. Good luck!!
@Rubix1 well stated. For us, Clemson is instate so even though his merit is low, combining it with the Palmetto Fellowship, and in state costs, make it the best choice for us. My son also liked Georgia Tech. But the cost would be over 50k a year versus what we will pay at Clemson, so it made our choice easy.
Our son was accepted to the honors college, which was exciting. We hoped for a strong merit package, however we were a bit crestfallen last night when we received the merit package. $13K OOS. That really makes it difficult to choose CU over VT in-state. It does look like we are in good company though. We want a happy experience for him, but VT is a solid $10K less expensive. VT: much better facilities for engineering, closer, less expensive though has serious overcrowding issues to fix yet.
If you’re not already, the VT threads on this board have gone into the over-crowding quite a bit. Current freshmen don’t seem to mind it at all. As long as you can get off-campus housing past freshman year, I doubt you’ll notice. They should “make things right” this year, I would think.
So we are in a similar boat, my daughter got into Engineering at NC State, Clemson, UVA, MD, and still waiting for VA Tech. She already received what her merit scholarship with Clemson would be but it would still be 15K more than if she went to VA Tech. Her number 1 choice would be Clemson but for that difference, i’m not sure it would be worth it. Can she contact admissions and see if they can get closer to what our instate tuition would be?
My daughter is also waiting for VA Tech but doing the math, VA tech would be 15k less even with the 13k scholarship she got from Clemson.
Our kiddo has his heart set on CU, but man, VT in-state is far less expensive and a better engineering school. I am torn as to what to agree to. Again the over crowding (and having kids moving into a hotel this year) is not ideal. Along with that the Honors college at VT is taking non-honors kids into the “honors dorm.” I guess I am a snob but I don’t like that.
I second the question: would calling Clemson’s financial aid office to ask for more be worth a shot?
Thank you for reminding me to take a look!
I didn’t really see any advantages to VT’s honors. My son liked the LLC for Engineers there, so we’ll likely try that if he goes.
What harm could there possibly be in asking?? They aren’t going rescind their offer because you called them. Give it a shot.
Very similar. S got $13K OOS as well for engineering. Not really enough so we are waiting on VT in state, and will be making visits to both again. It sort of broke his heart.
I agree, i told my D to go email them, whats that worst that can happen? They say no more right?
My son was offered absolutely no merit money at all…was kind of surprised. Has strong stats, EC’s. essays etc. Other schools have offered merit money so Clemson now at bottom of list. Oh well…just glad he got into a few of his favs! Good luck everyone!
I could be wrong, but I think the merit money is based solely on SAT/ACT scores. Thought I read that somewhere on CC, but can’t find it now.
@HokieCrazy Merit is based solely on standardized test (SAT/ACT) scores and class rank; most high scoring students will receive minimal scholarship money if they are not in the top 10% of their class.