Hello, I am an SC resident. I feel like I have a good chance of acceptance at all 3 of these schools, but I am not sure which one I want to go to. My major is political science and I plan to either get a government job/run for office outside of school or go to a prestigious law school. I describe myself as a moderate-conservative christian, but open-minded. I like big cities or even a nice downtown where there’s something to do or nice to look at. I do not mind meeting people, but I don’t want to go to an enormously large school with 100+ people every class. Also, having a nice and decently-sized campus is important to me, but I am not sure which of the 3 has the nicest one with the most activities. Here are the pros:
Clemson:
-Best school in SC
-Nice campus
-Football
-In-state tuition (money is very important)
NC State:
-Raleigh
-Nice campus
-Many organizations
-Good political science program from what I’ve heard
Furman:
-Greenville
-Nice campus
-Liberal arts oriented
-Slightly smaller classes
Why not USC? If your interest is political science, I’d think you’d want to take advantage of a school located blocks from the capital? There is also a very good law school right there. To me it would be a no brainier that this is where you could make great connections, not to mention scoring an internship.
You say you want a nice downtown with something to do? Have you checked out the scene in Five Points or the local area (museums, bars, restaurants etc).
I’m a USC grad (undergraduate and masters). I don’t have any hard feelings towards Clemson, but in this case it doesn’t seem like as good a fit for what you say you’re interested in studying. You aren’t going to find a hundred people in anything beyond a super huge section of psych 101, if that. And I’d hazard any intro class at Clemson will be as big.
If money is an issue, then Furman will be tough unless you score merit, in which case why not look at the honors college at USC anyway?
Thank you for commenting. I was stupid and did not apply to USC before it was too late, although I realized recently that I should have. What would you recommend?
I would recommend NC State. Second best public in the state of North Carolina, located right in the capital. That would be my first choice between the three.
Both of my Ds went to Furman. Oldest was a PoliSci major, did a study abroad in Belgium and interned with a member of the EU parliament, and competed on Furman’s award winning mock trial team (they’ve sent at least 1 team to nationals 10+ years in a row, and the national tournament is at Furman this Spring). She went on to law school and is currently working as a public defender. I don’t have any first hand experience with the other schools mentioned, but I do know that Furman is strong for those interested in Political Science and Law. BUT if money is important (as it is to most all of us) and you don’t get large scholarships, OOS publics and privates are going to be the costliest. And if you are going to need to borrow money for law school, you don’t want to have to borrow a lot for undergrad or your debt will be overwhelming.