Son accepted to Clemson and USC as OOS while USC claims # 1 for International Business, how do the two compare for undergraduate business degrees? USC has given him a nice merit scholarship and Clemson nothing. We can afford either but want to make the best decision for his future. We can easily see Clemson is ranked higher nationally, but can anyone offer advise on the business programs at each? He was also accepted to FSU and awaiting honors college there. Tough choices.
Hi! I will most likely be attending the University of South Carolina next year for business. I am from Michigan, so I do not know these schools as well as some others may, but from what I have heard, USC is better known for their business school and Clemson for engineering. I ended up picking USC over Michigan, which many people are surprised about, but USC has a solid business program!
I think USC has a very good business school. That being said, the campus there is not the best, being in the middle of a large city with some iffy nearby areas. Clemson is really becoming a hard school to get into The figures you see today for acceptance rate will be much lower next year and this trend may continue. In the long term the Clemson degree will be more impressive to prospective employers because of this IMO.
I personally loved USC’s campus, and felt extremely safe in Columbia. There are certainly areas to avoid, but you find those areas in all bigger cities. The campus felt urban in some areas, and like more of a traditional campus in others.
Clemson is more often thought of as the STEM school, while USC is viewed as SC’s more traditional university (for instance, one would attend USC if one wishes to major in the humanities). Both are excellent choices, though USC is probably a better bet for its business school.
That said, if you’re a SC resident, I wouldn’t worry too much about rankings (rankings are silly in general). In SC, both schools are well-regarded, and in SC both schools carry a lot of weight. This goes for the state’s private options as well (Furman, Wofford, the Citadel). South Carolinians view a degree from one of its top in-state universities/colleges as a serious badge of honor. If the OP’s son is from out of state, perhaps Clemson’s name recognition is a bit higher, but I honestly chalk this up to Clemson’s recent success on the football field more than its ranking in US News (that’s not a dig; schools that do well in nationally-televised sports receive a serious uptick in applications).
Clemson is a comprehensive university. Its business school may have slightly larger enrollment than the engineering college now. There are a ton of liberal arts majors as well.
We are OOS. Definitely tough choice. I wish Clemson gave him a little bit of money. Made the SAT requirement, but due to a very competive HS, two varsity sports, tons of community service, and his job, he didn’t make the required class rank number to get a Clemson scholarship. (Even though he has 11 AP classes and almost all A’s). Hard to walk away from USC scholarship and instate Florida schools. But he loves Clemson! Thanks for all above advice. Keep it coming please!!
You may know this already but Clemson is currently constructing a new building for the business school on the hill across from Bowman field. It looks like it will be a nice facility.
This website has had Clemson ranked in the top 50 undergraduate business colleges the past few years. The only one in the top 50 in SC. https://www.collegechoice.net/rankings/top-undergraduate-business-schools/ Looks like they accidentally used a picture of a different college. For UConn, they had a picture of Tillman Hall at Clemson.
[ quote=Hapworth] This goes for the state’s private options as well (Furman, Wofford, the Citadel). [ /quote]
The Citadel is a public university. I think all of the military colleges are public.
Thanks DrClemson. Yes, the new building will be a perk to an already great Clemson campus.
Since you allowed him to apply to OOS schools and assume you gave him a budget (and all are within the budget you gave him), you might want to step back and let him decide. All of these schools seem fairly comparable and should provide him with a great experience. Sounds like he likes Clemson best? Good luck.
My oldest son goes to USC. Chose it over Clemson for public health related study with a focus on pre-physical therapy. I wouldn’t call Columbia large, or unsafe by big city standards. Columbia is a nice college town. Clemson is certainly more rural, but nice as well.
Did your son apply to the HC at USC? my younger son was accepted and is considering it as well, but did not apply to Clemson.
Both are great choices.
@firstof4mom Hi Which school did your son choose? And is he happy with his choice? My D19 is in a similar situation, just given nice opportunity at USC/Darla School, Clemson and FSU (in state for us) are her other 2 choices. Thanks!