<p>I think the Princeton Review thing gives some good ideas but can be inaccurate sometimes, but by the look of your list, it seems to have gotten yours right</p>
<p>Villanova University is Catholic</p>
<p>Hey pierre. Clemson was also on my list with a 75% rating. I really like the school spirit that characterizes the Clemson students however I’m concerned that as an international student I might feel a bit left out since the international population according to Princeton Review is around 0.92% of the total student population. How is life at Clemson, especially for an international student, and how good is the econ department?</p>
<p>Hey, bdude, I’m a Chinese and only 2% of the school is Asian. However, I feel that I will fit in at the school because I’m very outgoing and love football so I will have a lot in common with people there. It really depends what type of international student you are, there are a lot of people at Clemson from Northeast United States (I’m from Boston) so not everyone is a Southerner. If you are of Caucasian descent, I think you will have no problem fitting in. If you are African-American, there’s a decent sized population too. There aren’t as many hispanics or asians but as I said if you get involved, go to sporting events and are outgoing, I think you will have no trouble at Clemson.</p>
<p>As for the economics department, I am an engineering major so I have not looked much into economics at Clemson. However here are some helpful links that will tell you a little bit more about Clemson’s economics department.</p>
<p>[John</a> E. Walker Department of Economics, Clemson University Undergraduate Information](<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/econ/undergraduate-info/#7]John”>http://www.clemson.edu/econ/undergraduate-info/#7)
[John</a> E. Walker Department of Economics, Clemson University Undergraduate Testimonials](<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/econ/undergraduate-info/undergraduate-testimonials/]John”>http://www.clemson.edu/econ/undergraduate-info/undergraduate-testimonials/)</p>
<p>I do know that Clemson’s applied economics PH.D. program has been ranked #9 in the nation by The Chronicle of Higher Education in the organization’s 2007 Top Research Universities Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index but I am not sure about the undergraduate economics program.</p>
<p>As for life on campus, in the fall football is the #1 priority. If you don’t like football, Clemson might not be the school for you. Everybody wears orange throughout the year (when I visited it was like a sea of orange) and everyone is so proud of their school. There are 80,000 seats in the football stadium, 12,000 students, so that means that the community comes to the games and loves Clemson too. Clemson’s also in the Blue Ridge Mountains which means there is hiking, outdoor activities and Lake Hartwell is next door so sailing is available. Parties are available but aren’t necessary to have a social life since there are 250+ clubs and the majority of students play intramural sports. </p>
<p>Overall, if you are looking for a not as competitive school (I work hard so I think I can get very good grades there) since people in the south are more laid-back that has good school spirit yet can provide an excellent education, Clemson is the place to be. The university president has made it his goal to be in the top 20 public universities in the US News rankings by 2011 so the school has moved up from the top 40 public universities a few years ago to #22 this year so the school is definitely improving its status nationally.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a message or ask me!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information pierre. I believe Clemson also has the happiest students in the nation according to the Princeton Review, and has a very high quality of life rating. One last question regarding Clemson. How is it’s location? Is there anything to do off-campus? Also, being from Europe, I’m not so big on football, I’m more of a soccer guy. But I enjoy sports in general, so I think I could get into football as well.</p>
<p>Well if you want soccer, the women’s soccer team has done exceptionally well during the last few years, actually most sports teams are pretty good and most have a big following.</p>
<p>It depends what you want, if you are a city person, there isn’t much to do around campus, Atlanta and Charlotte are however 2 hours away and there is a train (Amtrak)/bus (Greyhound) that can get you to those two cities. If you are an outdoors person, then Clemson would be just right for you. The town of Clemson is tiny, about one street long with a few shops catering to the students. However, a bus ride away (public transportation is free and is the biggest free bus system in the country!), is Anderson and there are many shopping opportunities there. Greenville is also 30 minutes away and has more urban opportunities. The location is absolutely beautiful and the campus is gorgeous.</p>
<p>A few things I found out about the economics program. There is a program where if you have a 3.4 GPA after junior year, you can start taking classes for your masters degree senior year and get both a bachelors and masters in 5 years. Clemson also has an international program for economics where you spend one semester taking courses at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands and two semester at the Universite Catholique de Louvain in LaNeuve, Belgium. You will need to learn french though the first two years at Clemson though because the instruction at UCL is in French. Students then return to Clemson to complete their studies and receive a bachelors degree from both Clemson and UCL.</p>
<p>Here are the other PR rankings for Clemson:
Rank List </p>
<h1>8 Best Career/Job Placement Services</h1>
<h1>8 Everyone Plays Intramural Sports</h1>
<h1>1 Happiest Students</h1>
<h1>1 Jock Schools</h1>
<h1>20 School Runs Like Butter</h1>
<h1>7 Students Pack the Stadiums</h1>
<h1>2 Town-Gown Relations are Great</h1>
<h1>6 Best Quality of Life</h1>
<h1>7 Best Athletic Facilities</h1>
<p>
The Princeton Review rankings are rubbish. One need look no further than the ranking of most attractive campuses. Only [4</a> colleges](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062264675-post226.html]4”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062264675-post226.html) were in both the 2008 and 2009 top 10 lists. Campus beauty hardly changes so rapidly. </p>
<p>That said, most Clemson students seem to be fairly content with their school, and they’re certainly a spirited lot.</p>
<p>From what I see IBClass, the remaining 6 universities that didn’t make the top 10 this year, were included in the top 20, so it’s not like they were completely ignored. There is some stability in the list. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the info pierre.</p>
<p>like most rankings, there is not much of a difference (if any at all for stuff like campus beauty) between colleges so it’s not surprising that the list changes every year. I wouldn’t take too much stock into the specific number that the school is ranked, just the fact that the school is on the list or not. Also, the list is not inclusive of all schools with happy students, just schools that are among the schools with very happy people.</p>
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<p>Dude, it’s perfectly fine. Compton is rough. Northeast Philadelphia (about as far from Penn as you can get and still be in city limits) is rough. Is it as safe and sterile as, say, Princeton or Palo Alto? No. But it definitely offers a lot more to do. It’s safe enough that families have moved in. I saw moms and strollers in and around campus all the time towards the end of my stay at Penn.</p>
<p>And currently we have fewer students shot on campus than Harvard. 
And Philly is definitely better than New Haven…</p>
<p>In my 5 years at Penn and the hundreds of people I knew, only 1 ever got mugged (and that was actually on South Street, not in University City).</p>
<p>Penn invests a lot of money in making University City a safe and desirable place to live, and as real estate prices suggest, they’re doing a damn fine job of it.</p>
<p>To not consider Penn because of a perceived safety issue is a big mistake. Don’t make it! :)</p>
<p>My friend goes to Clemson and won’t shut up about how much he loves it! He says it is far away from home, and that there is basically no diversity on campus, so if you want diversity then I don’t think Clemson would be good for you. If you don’t care, then check it out. ( It is down south…)</p>