Clemson Requirements

How strict is Clemson when asking for certain high school requirements? For example, Clemson asks for 4 English, 3 Math, 1 Social Studies, 1 history, 3 science, 2-3 foreign language, and 1 visual/performing arts. Physical Education Required.

My son, once he graduates high school, will have:

5 Math (2 will be AP - 3 honors)
4 SS/History (2 AP - 2 honors)
7 Science (4 AP - 2 honors)
4 English (Honors)
4 Spanish (1 AP - 3 honors)
Physical Education - 4 years
Oral Communications (elective)
Foundations of Technology (elective)

GPA 4.17 on a 4.33 scale Unweighted
GPA 7.12 on a 7.83 scale Weighted
SAT 1360 - will take two more times
ACT 29 - will take one more time

National Honor Society
Mathematics Honor Society
Social Studies Honor Society
World Language Honor Society

Class Council

Prospective Major: Engineering

Not in band, choir, etc but is in several academic teams (Envirothon, Physics Olympics)

I guess my dilemma is since he did not take a visual/performing arts class will Clemson automatically exclude him from acceptance or will they still consider him?

Thank you!

Thank you for posting this! I have the exact same question. My daughter will be a senior next year and will start working on her college applications this summer. She is in a STEM program that allows only one elective choice a year. She has taken Spanish II, Spanish III and this year has Organic Chemistry. Her counselor has advised her to take a visual arts class but she has applied for an internship instead. We live in Georgia and I am not sure Clemson is a wise choice because of this requirement.

My son graduated in 2016 and his counselor told him that sometimes Clemson will overlook the visual/performing arts requirement if the applicant is strong enough. He lacked the same requirement but never applied to Clemson after sending them SAT/ACT results. I have no idea if his counselor was right.

I hope someone with a child at Clemson replies as I would love to know the answer!

I have direct experience with this. Before my S17 applied, we contacted Clemson admissions and directly asked this question. They said that while visual/performing arts is listed as a requirement, not having that credit will not prevent an otherwise good candidate from being accepted. My son is in a STEM magnet and did not have any visual or performing arts classes. He was accepted to Clemson in Engineering and will be attending this fall.

In SC, the Fine Art class is a high school graduation requirement so all in state applicants will have that automatically. As for out of state, I have heard of a few exceptions made similar to ones above. I would call an admissions councilor and ask. They are very helpful!

We are OOS, and my son was admitted for the fall with 2 years of tech theater. I am not sure that qualifies as a visual art.

It’s just a fine art requirement, could be anything taken as a class (not extracurricular) from Art, to Choir to Band to Drama/Theater, for example.