<p>I am interested in both Honors Colleges and was hoping I could get some insight into the key differences between the two honors colleges. Do the honors programs have a more liberal arts bend than the main campuses? Which is better for someone interested in Pre-med?</p>
<p>If you are interested in pre-med, Clemson is the way to go in South Carolina. The science/engineering programs at Clemson are better than USC (USC is more for business, College of Charleston for liberal arts). </p>
<p>I go to Clemson and here’s what I know about the Calhoun Honors College:
-There are two different honors tracks at Clemson, General Honors and Departmental Honors. General Honors is for people who want to take courses in different areas ([Clemson</a> University : Calhoun Honors College : General Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/currentstudents/studenthandbook/generalprogram.html]Clemson”>http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/currentstudents/studenthandbook/generalprogram.html)) while departmental honors focuses on an honors degree within your major ([Clemson</a> University : Calhoun Honors College : Departmental Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/currentstudents/studenthandbook/departmentalprog.html]Clemson”>http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/currentstudents/studenthandbook/departmentalprog.html))</p>
<p>Benefits of the honors program include:
-Honors housing in Holmes hall (suite-style living)
-Priority class registration and scheduling
-Extending library borrowing times
-Free tickets to cultural events on campus/Brooks Center performances
-Honors study abroad program in Brussels
-Free copies of the New York Times
and more…</p>
<p>If you want more info, you can find it here: [Clemson</a> University : Calhoun Honors College : Student Handbook](<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/currentstudents/studenthandbook/index.html]Clemson”>http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/currentstudents/studenthandbook/index.html)</p>
<p>Let me know, if you have any specific questions. Sorry I can’t really compare Clemson’s to USC’s honors college since I don’t know anything about USC’s honors college.</p>
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<p>SEC or ACC? Flip a coin. Both are great opportunities. Visit both schools and decide from there. They are FIERCE rivals.</p>
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<p>A lot more demographic diversity at USC.</p>
<p>Apparently USC’s Honors College is well-known in academic circles nationwide and is regarded as one of the top-tier honors colleges in this country.</p>
<p>LakeWashington, I don’t think there’s a lot more demographic diversity at USC, sure there’s 2% more African Americans, Caucasians and Asians but still it’s South Carolina and there isn’t much diversity in this state to begin with.</p>
<p>It’s been a couple of years since we’ve visited both.</p>
<p>Do both schools include Honors College classes (interesting liberal arts type classes), and dept Honors classes (such as Honors Cal III and such)</p>
<p>How hard is it to get accepted to either honors program?</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think either one has automatic acceptance for specific stats. </p>
<p>So…what are the typical stats of admitted students to either programs. And, if you had - say - an ACT 33 and a 4.5 GPA, what would be your chances for admittal to either program? 100%? 50%? ??</p>
<p>**Cativy…**for pre-med, either honors college is probably fine. Honors Colleges tend to include cool liberal arts mind-expanding classes, which is fine for a pre-med major. </p>
<p>Are you a junior or senior?</p>
<p>For Clemson, there are both honors college classes that are for general liberal arts types. The general honors program is for people who want a liberal arts education and requires you to take 6 honors classes in 3 different areas (like science/math, literature, cross cultural awareness etc…), the departmental honors is for honors classes in your major which typically require you to do some sort of research and then write a thesis. You can also take as many honors classes as you want.</p>
<p>About admission to the honors college (from their web site):</p>
<p>“Admission to the Calhoun Honors College is by application. The Honors College application is separate from, and additional to, your application to Clemson University. To be considered for admission to the Honors College, applicants must have a combined critical reading and math SAT score of at least 1320 or an ACT score of 30. In exceptional situations we will consider applications from students who do not fully meet these qualifications. However, please keep in mind that admission to the Honors College is highly selective, with SAT scores historically averaging 1400 or higher and applicants typically ranking in the top three percent of their high school class. Freshman enrollment in the Honors College is limited to approximately 250, or less than ten percent of the freshman class.”</p>
<p>Columbia is a decent sized city, while Clemson was rather rural. Both were very nice, just kind of comes down to personal preference.</p>
<p>
What?</p>
<p>USNWR Biology</p>
<h1>136 Clemson</h1>
<h1>152 USC</h1>
<p>USNWR Chemistry</p>
<h1>81 USC</h1>
<h1>88 Clemson</h1>
<p>USNWR Physics</p>
<h1>95 USC</h1>
<p>Clemson unranked (below #95)</p>
<p>USNWR Math</p>
<h1>90 USC</h1>
<p>Clemson unranked (below #90)</p>
<p>USNWR Earth Sciences</p>
<h1>67 USC</h1>
<p>Clemson unlisted</p>
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<p>those rankings are for graduate programs, Clemson’s focus is on undergraduate students. We have 14,000 undergraduate students but only 2,000 graduate students so our graduate programs are very small</p>
<p>
The facts don’t bear that out. In fact, they actually imply the opposite.</p>
<p>The graduate school of arts & sciences at USC has a total of 1120 students. If one includes engineering, as one must to compare it to Clemson, the [url=<a href=“Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analytics - Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analytics | University of South Carolina”>Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analytics - Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analytics | University of South Carolina]total[/url</a>] comes to 1492.</p>
<p>The graduate school of engineering and science alone at Clemson has 1334 [url=<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/oirweb1/FB/factbook/minifb.cgi?college=COES]students[/url”>http://www.clemson.edu/oirweb1/FB/factbook/minifb.cgi?college=COES]students[/url</a>], and that excludes the 459 graduate students in life sciences and 438 graduate students in the arts and humanities.</p>
<p>well still the point is that the only undergraduate ranking that US News has is engineering and Clemson > USC. Also, in terms of overall undergraduate rankings, Clemson is like 60th and USC is around 100th. If science/engineering are the strongest majors at Clemson and liberal arts are weaker at Clemson than at USC yet Clemson is according to you for science/engineering, then what do you think makes the difference between the 2 schools?</p>
<p>To the OP, make your own decision, and pick the school that you think is right for you. We just have an intense rivalry between Clemson and USC =)</p>
<p>I disagree with post #5. This may have been true several years ago, but much has changed. The reason that USC was well regarded at one time was the former head of the honors program/college at South Carolina was a pioneer in the 1990s with respect to university wide honors programs/colleges. He has retired & USC’s program, while offering strong financial incentives, is not as good as it should be. Clemson, on the other hand, is moving up & putting a lot of funding toward honors offerings.</p>
<p>Pierre, the State of South Carolina has a tremendous degree of racial diversity. The ratio of African-American residents of SC is significantly higher than that of other states. There may not be much social or economic INTEGRATION, so to speak, but it’s definitely diverse. Have you ever been to the Low country or Orangeburg, Charleston or the Sea Islands?</p>
<p>That is true, the african american population of south carolina is around 28%. I guess I’m just saying that it seems that at the really good public colleges in South Carolina, there is little diversity (7% african americans at Clemson, 10% at USC) in proportion to the state’s stats.</p>
IK this thread is old but I would love any more information on the differences between the two honors programs
From what I hear the USC Honors college is a bigger deal but Clemson is better for general undergraduates, I want to go to dental school and IK USC would have connections with internships in Columbia. Does Clemson have any similar opportunities being out in Cow land?
Cows…lots of cows… Funny! Having obtained my Masters and PhD from Clemson (despite being from Seattle)… I’d have to say I hardly noticed cows (since none are roaming downtown or On-Campus)… I did notice, however, a wonderful “Quality of Life” and “General Happiness” that is pervasive! 
Go Tigers! I still live in Clemson!
Don’t believe everything you hear about USC Honors vs Calhoun Honors at Clemson. Clemson honors is extremely competitive to get into as well. The following stats were provided at the Honors info session at Discover Clemson Day in May 2015. Of the Class of 2015 71% had a 1400 or higher on the SAT or 32 or higher on the ACT. 37% were valedictorians. 2/3s had a 3.7 UWGPA. Most had at least 17 hrs of AP credit. I’m sure Clemson has quite a few connections in Columbia , as well as Charleston .