My D and I visited Clemson last weekend for the admitted engineering students day. We have a good impression of the school: friendly, helpful people; very safe; beautiful campus despite the gray winter weather; football; etc. We heard a lot about extra support for students who might need it, and I’ve read about the many students in the bridge program. I think those things are great and show that Clemson takes its mission to educate students very seriously.
However, I’m not sure that D will find enough similar high achievers at Clemson, and she is really hoping for a collaborative, challenging environment where the students will drive each other to excel. She originally applied hoping for National Scholars. That didn’t happen but she was admitted for engineering and accepted for Calhoun Honors with the highest level OOS scholarship. That makes Clemson financially competitive with our in-state schools, such as Cal Poly SLO and UC Berkeley, which are higher ranked but can be very cut-throat, predatory, “weed out” environments. I don’t think she would fail in that environment, but she would prefer the collaborative culture touted by schools like MIT. She will hear from our state schools and the private “reach” schools in the coming weeks.
She has applied to Lyceum and is interested in the Eureka program. These programs show that Clemson really does have opportunities for high achievers, and we did hear anecdotes about other unique classes and opportunities. The structure of the engineering course pathway will limit her somewhat, but she will arrive with around 60 hours of AP credit that will free up her schedule some. She would like to pursue a second major in economics or possibly political science.
Are there any students or parents that can comment on their relevant experience?
My son was an engineering major with a political science minor. He was in the Honors College and had a great many opportunities that let him pursue both interests. The engineering curriculum at Clemson, especially for Honors students who typically bring in a fair amount of credit, is quite flexible. He took Honors seminars that focused on humanities and social sciences, as well as Honors courses in engineering, science, as well as political science and economics. Eureka and the Global Policy Scholars program within Honors would be perfect for your daughter. I would suggest your daughter talk with someone in the Honors College about what will work best for her. My son felt he got a superior education and is on his way to a PhD at a top university.
The opportunities are there. It will be what she makes of it. As @ProudMary said, check into all the things the Honors College has to offer. Check out Creative Inquiry, UPIC internships (these are on-campus), the Engineering honor society, among many other things. National Scholars only takes about 12 students and Lyceum only takes 10, so there are many like-minded and qualified students that aren’t in those programs and are also looking for other avenues to participate in. Your own last paragraph even spells out a nice and challenge pathway for her and almost answers your own question :). On another note, those in-state schools are awesome but have very different campus vibes and atmospheres, so finding the fit for her in that area is really important too.
I can offer the perspective of a parent that’s got one student at the University of Chicago and another in Clemson Honors. The are some very real benefits to Clemson Honors. Selecting first in the course registration is a wonderful option. My daughter gets the classes she wants with Clemson’s best faculty. The freshman core housing has modern amenities, great study space and overlooks the football stadium. And you hit the nail on the head when you said the people are friendly and helpful. Like any state school however, Clemson students have varying abilities, interests and motivations.
My other daughter chose the University of Chicago because she wanted that same collaborative, intellectual environment that it sounds like your daughter is seeking. I’ve said before that my daughter’s peer group at Chicago is simply extraordinary, they help her see the runway. She’s reached heights academically and athletically that she did not dream was possible, and I know she attributes that to the influence of the extraordinary students sitting to the left and right of her in a classroom. (An acknowledged trade off…she doesn’t always get her first choice classes and her freshman housing was so so.) I would also say that the support services like academic advising and career counseling are more tailored to that high flying student than they reasonably could be at Clemson.
In brief your daughter can get an excellent educaton at any of the places she’s considering. If she is prioritizing that intellectual vibe I’ll gently say that Clemson might not be the right match. Most honors students take one or maybe two honors classes a semester but by in large have the same opportunities, interactions and experiences as the other 19,000 students on campus. I’ll also defer to Burghdad (and you can check his posts) as I believe our daughters have had similar experiences in the Clemson Honors College. Please feel free to PM me if you have specific questions about Calhoun. Best of luck!
@KWSoCal As @RelocatedYankee said my daughter and his have had similar experiences. My daughter feels like her high school was more challenging than her first semester at Clemson.
That said you mentioned the 60 or so AP credit your daughter will bring… mine only had 35 or so but even with that she is going to double major and hopes to be done in 3 years as she is taking another 35 credits her Freshman year. She intends to start graduate school a year early. At the top schools those AP credits only test you out of entry level courses and don’t get your college credits. As such you don’t have as much flexibility for things like multiple majors and minors.
As other have stated Clemson is a major university with a myriad of opportunities for the serious motivated student. And it has the laid back friendly southern vibe, great weather and great school spirit and sports to boot.
Thank you, everyone, for your considered responses. DD applied to quite a few schools. We found Clemson as a safety alternative to some of the other schools in the region that she really liked. She’s been in marching band throughout high school so Clemson’s football prominence is a plus; but she also applied to schools without D1 sports. It’s a rather broad list that would have included a lot of liberal arts schools had she not gotten really excited about engineering after FRC robotics. The engineering class sequences mean that she would have to pick engineering early on. I would not be surprised if she stays with engineering, but I would also not be surprised to see her move over to physics/math/economics/finance. I think having some options is critical, and the California public schools are less flexible than many as they are simply under-funded and over-crowded despite their prominent rankings.
The private schools are much more flexible and, I think, more motivated to help students find their right individual paths. She is very competitive for the top schools like MIT, but there are lots of qualified students and not everyone gets in. I am realistic that she may be choosing among other options.
We live in a large city, so she had choices for high school. She chose a magnet program at a very large high school over a small, stand-alone math/science magnet specifically for the broader education and big high school experience (marching band, sports, big music program, more class options, more languages). The difference between her academic classes and the ones offered to the broader school population is night and day, so I hope that the honors classes at Clemson would parallel this experience.
On the Clemson tour we spoke with an engineering senior who has chosen to remain at Clemson to pursue her PhD (turning down other options including MIT). She mentioned that she does have a core group of engineering students that challenge her and drive her forward. It was an anecdote that piqued D’s interest. OTOH most of our fellow touring prospects were also looking at Clemson as a backup. The honors college tour, unfortunately, mostly was just some opportunities to talk to the freshmen who live in that dorm.
@RelocatedYankee The dream is the type of experience you describe at UChicago. She got a taste of that environment on a much smaller scale with her high school magnet program. I hope to help her find one of many paths to happiness and success.