From the 2018 freshman class profile listed here (link below) the minimum out-of-state student’s accepted student’s ACT was a 29. I know the 2019 class profile stats have not been updated or shared yet. My daughter has already applied and received notice her applicatio is complete…and after taking the ACT a third time, her superscore is 30 but her highest composite is still 28… Unfortunately Clemson does not superscore. Her major is Graphic Communications and Pre-Business as second choice. Her GPA is 3.98 but will likely be higher after first semester. She has visited twice and had an interview and tour with Graphic Communications.
Did all accepted OOS students really have at least at 29 or is that considered the middle 50% range? Wondering how open the window for her will be?
Is it considered a good idea to send first semester grades even if they weren’t requested assuming we will still be waiting for an admissions decision at that time?
Hi. My son is currently a very happy freshman MechE student in the Honors College. He had a 34 ACT and 3.78 GPA (unweighted) as a school that doesn’t rank. They offered him $7K Merit Aid, which I think is the max for out of state applicants. (He didn’t apply to any of their other scholarship opportunities because he was confident that he’d attend school elsewhere and was sick of writing essays. eyeroll ) I know they care about class rank for OOS Merit Aid, if your high school does that (ours doesn’t.) My son also was awarded $1K/yr as a National Merit Scholar. (We didn’t qualify for any financial aid.)
Since you’re out of state, I do recommend trying to get the ACT composite score to 30+ if she can stand sitting for another test. She should practice the sections she scores lowest on over and over - the questions become very familiar and she’ll start to recognize them. If she really wants Clemson, I think she should put the time in to get that stat up.
To be frank, Clemson accepts OOS students for their higher stats; they want stats to balance the total accepted student stats since they take lower stat in-state students. Clemson’s popularity has been rising steadily and they get a LOT more apps now than even 5 years ago, so the OOS tuition is rolling in and they can afford to be more selective.
It’s a great school and truly has been a remarkably friendly and supportive community from all we’ve seen so far!!
PS. It’s very good that she submitted her application early. If she is accepted and decides to attend, her housing selection time/date will be based on the date she submitted her application. My son applied on the last date of their Early deadline - I think it was 12/2 last year. He had very limited options for housing when his turn finally came to choose.
YEs I do know all of that about Clemson which is why I wondered if the 29-32 was truly the total range or the middle 50% range. I guess now that I look at it… it must be the middle 50% range because surely there are students higher than 32 as in your child’s case. My daughter has sat three times for ACT and had a really strong private tutor… believe me she has put in the time and brought her scores way up… she just couldn’t get to the 30 composite… only the 30 superscore… each test she had one lowish score. I mean her reading was a 32 one time and a 27 another etc. But her high school doesn’t rank and she attends a very highly regarded public school in VA. I suspect if she gets admitted she will be offered Summer Bound… But her major might help and the early application. None of the kids last year that were accepted to Clemson from her high school actually attended so I don’t know if that will help or hurt… They all ended up going to in state schools. She is likely to attend Univ of Tenn which is the polar opposite… she will likely get tons of OOS merit aid there and it’s closer… Thanks for the feedback!!! So glad your son is having a great start!!!
We live in CT. My daughter had a 29 ACT , was waitlisted and accepted a spot on the waitlist, then was admitted at the very end of April. No merit money money. She’s a happy sophomore Tiger! My HS senior son has a 1440 SAT but is retaking it. He has not applied yet. Hoping he has a chance but we’re following the money trail and Clemson is not on that trail, unfortunately.
@imstacey isn’t your daughter a Graphics Comm major? On your advice I think we went to Spring Blitz and had a tour with someone from the dept. It was a fruitful visit. She learned that Pre-Bus was a good second choice major… it’s easier to get into I think and they told us its often possible to slide into Graphics Comm in the summer even if you don’t get admitted with that major. Did your daughter have difficulty getting good housing or roommate situation with an admit off the waitlist that year?
Hi, yes my daughter is a soph GC major with a minor in Bus. Admin. (It’s very easy to minor in Business with a major in GC). She found her roommate through the FB class pages and that went well. Not a problem to find good housing for her but there were extenuating circumstances that definitely helped. No matter what, Freshmen are guaranteed on-campus housing and everyone ends up happy, no matter where they end up. Best of luck! I have a HS senior who is going through all of this now, too! Ay yi yi.