<p>I have been looking into both schools with my son, who is a HS senior now. We hope to visit both in October. He has a 92 overall GPA, all honors, 7 AP's, 30 ACT, and will be majoring in some kind of science, with possibly med school in the future. Any thoughts on pros and cons of either school? We are from NY.</p>
<p>Outside of football, Clemson on a whole is a better school than South Carolina in almost every major academic poll/ranking. There are some fields where USC excels but if you are especially looking at going to medical school, Clemson is the place to be in South Carolina since Clemson is a school for more technical and professional based majors (architecture, engineering, business, science, agriculture, education etc…) rather than liberal arts majors. The only con I guess about Clemson is that it sort of is in the middle of nowhere and it can be difficult to travel here since there is not really a major airport or city immediately in the vicinity. Also, if you are a city person, you may not like the rural setting (I’m from Boston and it was a nice change of pace for me though!)</p>
<p>A couple of stats:</p>
<p>US News: Clemson #64, South Carolina #111
Kiplingers Best Value Public Schools: Clemson #46, South Carolina #55
We are #3 in % of alumni who give back to their school among public universities</p>
<h1>6 on SmartMoney’s “payback-ratio” scale (salary earned for tuition paid)</h1>
<p>US News had us as the #9 up and coming school and #12 for our dedication to undergraduate eduation
According to the 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement survey, 91% of seniors would pick Clemson again
Princeton Review ranked us as the best town-college relations, #3 on their happiest students list, #9 for best career services, #11 for best college administration, #8 for student enthusiasm for athletics. Meanwhile USC was ranked as the #20 party school.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions about Clemson!</p>
<p>Thanks Pierre, I know me, and I am sure a lot of other CC/Clemson thread users really appreciate the time you take to answer so many questions! It is really so helpful! So, we were starting The Clemson app today, and going through a HUGE pile of college mailings, and came across a post card from Clemson, which states </p>
<p>"We have received your preliminary application for Clemson University. In September of your senior year, we will send you a guide to our online application, and complete admissions information. Other than taking the SAT/ACT and having the scores sent directly to us (unless you have done so already) No further action on your part is necessary, until that time. if you should change your address, please notify us as soon as possible.</p>
<p>So confusing, I don’t recall a preliminary application, unless it was online or something. So, we are gonna wait to do the app until Monday, and call admissions, and see what to do. I don’t want to wait too much longer to do the app, but the post card says no further action is required until we get the online app guide from them.</p>
<p>There is a lot I would fix if I got to run the admissions office for a day and this is one of them</p>
<p>Preliminary Application = At a college fair or online you filled out an interest form in Clemson in terms of receiving information from them etc… </p>
<p>So Preliminary Application = Interest Form/Information Request Card</p>
<p>That’s it haha</p>
<p>You can probably go ahead and fill out the online application for admission. It should be available as of August (usually)</p>
<p>Thats what I am thinking also. Gonna do the app tomorrow, not waiting to call them Monday, gotta do the app at some point, so why should we wait to get the application guide from them, its all online anyway. Thanks again!</p>
<p>My son visited a NC school and had a meeting with the head of the bio department. She mentioned in passing how many students she had transfer in from U of S Carolina. They didn’t seem to have their act together. Went on a tour of USC and asked about their admissions rates to med school. They had no idea, and looked at me like I had a second head. Not very encouraging. I have no experience with Clemson.</p>
<p>Helpfulmommy - I am sure that the student tour guide you had at USC was not an expert in the admission rates to med school. He was probably not an expert in the admission rates to political science graduate school either.</p>
<p>Also USC has 30,000 students. It is not surprising that each year lots of USC students transfer to other colleges. It is interesting to note that they have lots of students who transfer to USC from other colleges each semester. I think that is normal anywhere.</p>
<p>pierre0913, those ranking differences look mighty impressive, until you realize that is out of 1,600 schools.</p>
<p>For technical subjects, you are probably right. The typical engineering student at Clemson is probably a tad better student than that at USC. As a matter of fact, Clemson has such a high number of engineering majors that the average SAT score of a Clemson student is about 50 points higher than at USC. </p>
<p>But if someone wanted to be a music major at Clemson, they would be out of luck as Clemson has no real music department. Did you know that a higher percent of Bachelor of Music students are accepted into Med School than any other major?</p>
<p>The serious business student would be better off at USC - especially a student wanting to concentrate in International Business - which USC is #1 ranked in the world - above Clemson, above Harvard, above Yale or Princeton. USC also has an honors college where the average SAT score of accepted students is something like 1400 (on the two part scale).</p>
<p>Certainly most baseball fans would suggest that USC is the far better school after winning back to back national championships, and football fans would currently favor USC over Clemson with USC being ranked in the top 10 in the country. </p>
<p>As far as partying, yes, USC is known for that and is nationally ranked. But then again, no one HAS to be involved with that. Look on the USC forum and there is a post by a student that is upset that after three weeks of school he has yet to have gone to a party. </p>
<p>Which school is better is totally dependant on what type of enviroment one is looking for (urban trendy versus cow pasture) and what major one intends to be, and what type of activities that one is interested in.</p>
<p>It’s really unfair to claim that one college is better than another. It’s a matter of perspective and needs. To some students, Podunk Jr. College may be “better” than M.I.T.</p>
<p>imagep, you are certainly correct in your assessment. The decision should be which college is the best fit for you. My personal belief is that Clemson is a much better school than South Carolina especially so since I am in engineering. There are certain majors such as International Business where a student would benefit by going to South Carolina over Clemson. I think it wouldn’t be too far off to say that if you surveyed people who know colleges about which public college in the state of South Carolina is the best academically that Clemson would be the answer more times than not. Again, that’s just a blanket statement, there are definitely many good reasons to go to South Carolina and that’s just my biased opinion haha (ex: if you get admitted to the honors college, a major Clemson doesn’t have or is weak in etc…)</p>
<p>PS: I would not advise picking schools based on how good their sports programs are. For example, if you had to choose between Boise State or Virginia, I don’t think many people would pick Boise St because of their football program. Academics is what will get you a job after college, not sports :)</p>
<p>I agree about the sports thing, it shouldn’t be a consideration - unless you are a sports related major, or a huge sports fan, or want to play sports.</p>
<p>USC offers several sports related majors, including “Sports and Entertainment Management”, a BS in Physical Education which includes teaching certification, and Exercise Science. Of course I am sure that Clemson offers at least one sports related major also.</p>
<p>Regardless, Clemson Football seems that it is going much better than expected this year. Go Tigers!</p>
<p>Clemson’s campus is significantly nicer than USC’s. The community is also more close knit. Academically, Clemson blows USC out of the water. Both schools are party schools, but it is secondary to academics at Clemson, while at USC, many kids, or at least the kids I know, go there specifically to party. </p>
<p>If that hasn’t convinced you to choose Clemson, this might. Both are state schools, but you will find MANY more kids from out of state at Clemson, than you will USC. There are many people from all over the country. When I was there, which wasn’t long, I met multiple people from California, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Arizona etc. USC has mostly in state students, and the students that aren’t are from other parts of the south. Now, obviously I am generalizing, but I am just basing this off what I have encountered first hand.</p>
<p>I think you need to tour both campuses before making this important decision. Good luck to you and him.</p>
<p>As a Carolina student, I think you should post this same thread on the Carolina forum OP, just so that you can see differences and similarities. You’re going to get very biased answers here.</p>
<p>As for engineering, I know a lot of engineering majors here at USC and there’s a humongous engineering building here at USC, so I wouldn’t say we’re lacking on the engineering section of things.</p>
<p>I had a friend from Clemson actually come visit me on Friday and Saturday and she really liked Carolina. She said that we had better dorms, a prettier campus, and better food. She also commented on the fact that as an English major, she felt very out of place at Clemson. Nonetheless, she is enjoying her time there and was definitely not dissing it. I think she just didn’t realize that Carolina was actually an enjoyable place to be.</p>
<p>And for our party school status, it’s there if you want it, if you don’t you don’t have to do it. I personally do not drink or smoke and I have been getting along just fine.</p>
<p>One of my friends here is the first person in her family to not go to Clemson. She thought she was going to Clemson until she realized that she wanted to major in Pre-Pharmacy and she had to go to USC.</p>
<p>They’re both great schools and afford a lot of opportunities and you should really research them both before you say “School A is better than School B.”</p>
<p>U of South Carolina is the only university in South Carolina ranked by the Carnegie Foundation in the highest category for research, and it is one of a small number of schools in the U.S. also ranked for community engagement. Check out the most recent National Research Council rankings of graduate programs (much more meaningful than US News). USC ranks much higher, including in Engineering. The quality of graduate programs affects undergraduate education because graduate programs reflect faculty quality, and because graduate students do some teaching. USC has an Honors College, in which students take 45 honors credits to graduate with honors. Clemson has an Honors program, with 18 general hours and a small number in departments (Engineering for instance offers 7 hours). Both are fine schools with different cultures. USC is in an urban setting, but it has lots of trees and green spaces, is near the riverwalk and various parks, a world-class zoo, at least three major museums, at least nine theatre companies, and dozens of excellent restaurants. Clemson is in a beautiful rural setting. There are two really good restaurants within 20 miles of Clemson, although Greenville is perhaps 45 minutes away. There are some silly assertions in these posts, such as the claim that more out of state students are at Clemson. The percentage is higher, yes, but the actual number is greater at USC, which is 57% in-state, 43% out. A strong record at either school would be a good path to medical school, but USC’s Honors College, which is considered one of the best Honors colleges in the country (and is one of the oldest), has a superlative record of placing students in medical schools (an acceptance rate of about 85% over the past decade). Yes, a campus tour is certainly essential before deciding.<br>
I think Pierre0913, with over 6000 posts over the years, may be one of those paid bloggers. If not, then I salute his Clemson passion, but not his research accuracy.</p>
<p>haha I wish I was getting paid by the university! And you are right what I meant is percentage. No idea why I brought up out-of-state students but it doesn’t really matter in the end I guess.</p>
<p>Both honors colleges are excellent. I think you can tell that there is some bias from Arethusa’s post towards the USC honors college (just like I am biased toward Clemson’s haha)</p>
<p>And your argument that South Carolina is better than Clemson in engineering is absurd. Go to the engineering section of this forum and ask any of the currently working engineers their opinion.</p>
<p>We are also from Boston area and my son and I both fell in love with three schools in SC - Clemson, USC and College of Charleston. Very diffent and I agree, you need to see them. What are your thoughts on the undecided major for freshman at USC and Clemson?</p>
<p>well you can’t get a degree in “Undecided” so your son will eventually have to pick a major. Is there a field or general area that your son is leaning towards in terms of a major? That would definitely help in terms of making your decision.</p>
<p>PS: College of Charleston is a fantastic school in SC as well.</p>
<p>People go back and forth in arguing whether Clemson or USC is the better school, but honestly, the difference is not that huge on either side. You aren’t comparing an Ivy League with a joke school–they are both good schools. Therefore, I’d encourage you to not let the statistics sway you too much. Have your son pick the school he LIKES better. Does he want to be in a city or is he okay with living in the middle of nowhere? How did he feel walking around the campuses? These are things that will determine if he is happy for the next 4 years of his life. I go to Carolina, and I love it. I won’t offer cons on Clemson, because I don’t go there and they would be biased anyway. However, I can tell you that the claim that there are “WAY MORE” out of state students at Clemson is totally wrong–I’m from Virginia and pretty much all of my friends are from out of state. Even my freshman year dorm only had 1 girl on the entire floor actually from South Carolina. </p>
<p>In terms of my experience, I can tell you that I’ve had absolutely amazing professors at Carolina. Living in Columbia is exciting and there’s always something to do. We have a GREAT U101 class that all the freshmen take and allows them to settle in quickly and make new friends. As mentioned before, we also have a great Honors College. Everyone on campus seems happy and the school spirit is unreal. But what it comes down to is how your son feels when he visits and where he gets most excited about spending the next 4 years of his life!</p>
<p><sign> I guess I’ll throw out the facts and start going on the South Carolina board and start posting my biased answers there as well haha</sign></p>
<p>There’s an intense rivalry between both schools and we’re both equally as proud of our schools so take that into account if you are from out-of-state and don’t know anything about the Clemson-Carolina rivalry (and try and look beyond the bias). Do your research and definitely visit both schools and hopefully you will make your best decision!</p>
<p>Looking forward to answer questions specifically geared towards Clemson from here on out haha</p>