<p>Would Furman or Clemson be a better fit for a guy from the northeast interested in studying pre-law or business, interested in greek life and having an active social life, and would prefer smaller classes. Would prefer the school with a better rep in New York City and amongst east coast law schools. Enjoys football and golf, does drink, could get into a big tailgate scene comes from a small private high school. </p>
<p>I don’t know that either Furman or Clemson would have much of a reputation “in New York City and amongst east coast law schools.” Clemson has the better football team and fan/tailgate scene of the two, however.</p>
<p>If you are from the northeast interested in studying pre-law or business, I would recommend University of Richmond: D-I football, great business program, fun city, lots of kids from NY/NJ/Pennsylvania, highly ranked school.</p>
<p>Greek life, great at both.
Smaller classes, CLEARLY Furman.
Better Rep, toss up. Clemson generally better known, but Furman more selective academically.
Law schools, advantage Furman, especially if you want to do mock trial, which they are strong in. Mock trial very handy if you want to consider doing litigation work some day.
Golf–CLEARLY Furman. They have a golf course on campus!</p>
<p>Coming from a small private HS like my S, the transition to Furman much easier. Small classes, relationships with actual professors, no TA’s, etc.</p>
<p>Clemson is a good school, but given that criteria, Furman a much better fit. But even so, a campus visit strongly recommended. Greenville, SC was a revelation to us. You will love it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Agree with information above. Both Ds went to Furman. Older D went on to law school and is a public defender. Mock trial at Furman is awesome. They have sent at least one team to nationals for >10 years, and the national tournament will be at Furman in 2016. D participated in mock trial at a Furman, in law school, and now coaches.</p>
<p>I too would suggest a visit to both schools, sit in on some classes. </p>
<p>One thing to consider: law schools don’t really care much where you go to undergrad. Admission is based almost exclusively on LSAT and GPA. Because of +/- s (a 92 would be a 3.67 at Furman but a 4.0 at Clemson) and a rep for grade deflation, it is tougher to earn a super high GPA at Furman. </p>
<p>I would think that Clemson would have a better social life and Greek life. It’s in a small town, but right downtown, and it’s a large school, so I would think that the entertainment and social options would be better than Furman, which is small, has a dry campus and is in the middle of nowhere, accessible to entertainment options only by car. I live in NYC and would guess that Clemson is better known in NYC due to sports (Clemson football and pre- and post-game tailgates are HUGE in South Carolina). </p>
<p>Having gone to law school in the Northeast (at an Ivy), there were 3 Furman students there when I was, and a Clemson student here and there, so Furman may place more people into law school than Clemson, but the relative prestige/name of the schools wouldn’t matter for that; a liberal arts college probably just sends more people to grad school on a per capita basis than a broad-ranging university would, regardless of the name.</p>
<p>There are certainly perfectly nice, fun people at both. Clemson the town has the nicest, friendliest people EVER.</p>
-
Furman is no longer dry; Alcohol is allowed in North Village, the dorm for juniors & seniors, who would be 21, and there is also a restaurant on campus now that serves alcohol.
-
Clemson is a great school, and students do love it there, however, you have the proximity to a decent size town backwards. Clemson is in the town of Clemson, which is really pretty much the college, with some shops, restaurants, bars that cater to college students. If you want to go to a city with more going on, you have to drive. It is about a 30-40 minute drive to Greenville, and about 1 1/2 hours to Atlanta. Furman is a 5-10 minute drive to Greenville.
But I agree, they are both great schools, but very different, so again I would encourage the OP to visit to see which is a better fit.
Thanks for the update, dheldreth- great that Furman is no longer a dry campus!
For the towns: I went to both college and law school at schools that were in towns. One was a tiny town and one was a town-ish part of a big city. Having those towns next to campus definitely helped create entertainment. Yes, downtown Greenville is a lot larger than downtown Clemson, but being able to walk a few minutes to see your friends a pub in downtown Clemson (which is right next to campus) would, to me, make a social life a lot better than having to drive 10-15 minutes to downtown Greenville; random and spontaneous social events would be much more likely in downtown Clemson, I’d think.