Help deciding Auburn or Clemson University

Hi, my son has narrowed down his admissions to these two universities. Both V similar. He will be doing Business. We are OOS for both. Auburn is offering Scholarship money, whereas we don’t qualify for any financial aid at Clemson. We have enough saved up, but my question is, is Clemson worth the money after the 4 years. It is ranked higher as a university than Auburn is. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! Congrats to your son! Yes, he has definitely narrowed it down to two very similar universities, I can see how its a tough choice from here!! I really can’t help with insights on the two choices, but I thought I would chime in on things I would check into that might help spotlight some differences that could help with the pro con list.

For Business majors, perhaps look into the matriculation to graduate programs (and where students are going), look at the percent of students who have a job before graduation or within a year of graduating (and if possible, where they are working). I would also look into the internship program, which will be important for a Business major. How much is the school leading the placement (and building relationships with companies etc) vs. the student being on their own?

I know Auburn does not guarantee freshman will get housing, how big of a worry is that for your family? Beyond campus housing, how ample is off campus housing within walking/biking/bus route distance to campus? If he has to live further away and commute in, how is parking around the business class buildings (is finding a spot every day going to be a headache)? Both of these universities are in small towns, did he have a chance to check out the towns before the shut downs?

Both of these schools have made a recognizable name for themselves in sports, how big of a deal are sports to him? If he doesn’t like sports, Clemson would be easier to handle because its really just a football school, and while they have the best football so that’s a pretty big deal, its also just one season. Auburn is a sports fanatic’s dream, the football is good (and the rivalry game with Alabama every year can’t be beat), the basketball is good, and the SEC is usually the only baseball anyone talks about, so all three seasons give a student something to do and a good team to root for if they are a sports fan.

Hopefully that helps open up some new trains of thought. For what its worth, in the Midwest I would say when both names are said, no one could tell you what either school is academically strong in but Auburn would be the one to get the nod as a stronger school but to be fair I think we (schools around here) probably send more kids to Auburn over Clemson because as with your experience, one offers merit aid and one doesn’t so that might play into my perception also. Good luck!

Check the business rankings for each college, I think you’ll find Auburn has a large lead in that ranking area. And more importantly, make a visit to each school. My son visited both schools and decided not to apply to Clemson, fell in love with Auburn instantly…so this is a biased perspective. If you know the choice is between the 2 schools I don’t think you can go wrong but a visit should help with decision making.