Hi everyone! I am so excited; I got my Clemson acceptance in the mail yesterday! Clemson is one of my top schools because it has strong academics and being an instate student, I can go for relatively cheap. I have several question for Clemson students/people knowledgable of the school regarding whether I would fit in. I personally categorize myself as a liberal, but I have many conservative friends and am not opposed to being around conservatives; however, I would like to go somewhere where I am not estranged for predominately supporting the democratic party. I am open to going to a school that is more right than left, but I do not want to be surrounded by a student body that is very conservative. So, I guess my question is how would I fit in in this sense? In addition, I am really drawn to clemson because it close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and I love to go hiking. I also am really into music, preferably classic rock, indie/alternative, so I would love to go somewhere where people share this interest. Some of my hobbies are photography, writing, volunteer/leadership activities, and spending time in the outdoors.
Congrats Wildflower98! I will address some of this as I just discussed some of these topics with my DS who is a junior at Clemson. Regarding politics, he has friends from “both sides of the aisle.” His report, even during this contentious election cycle, has been that the students listen to each other, and may tease each other for differing points of view, but it is never uncomfortable or nasty. I do not think he would report campus as being “very conservative” – rather there are some conservative views and some more liberal views. Regarding outdoors, in addition to the camping gear and outdoor adventure trips that Clemson itself offers (and remembering there are water sports available right there on Lake Hartwell), he has arranged to go camping and hiking (independent of school sponsored activities) with friends several times during his time at Clemson. I can’t address the “music scene” (although I suspect Greenville has diverse offerings), there are many leadership and service opportunities. Check out the list of over 300 clubs. https://clemson.collegiatelink.net/organizations. Perhaps you can write for the school newspaper… I believe there are usually opportunities there. Good luck and Go Tigers!
Thank you so much replying, I really appreciate your helpful and thorough insight! P.S my mom is a tiger so she is rooting for me to go there too!
It is a special place. Our family did not expect to fall in love with it the way we did. We all are now a part of the “Clemson Family.” It sounds cliche, but in our experience it does exist. Good luck with your decision… remembering of course that “Moms know best!” 