<p>I'm a high school junior, 4.0 GPA, lots of sports and volunteer work, and I'm interested in health sciences, pre med, physical therapy, not sure yet. Basically I fell in love with University of South Carolina but I want to make sure it's a good option for me. I love the location and the campus and I think I would get a decent scholarship as well which is very important to me. Also I'm open to any other school suggestions you think may fit</p>
<p>You have good options at USC in all those areas. Look at the admissions site and find the money matters link. It spells out what grades/scores you need (in general) for the different school scholarships. Also look at the stats of honors college and capstone scholars. These programs give you a lot of additional opportunities and support.</p>
<p>I liked USC but Clemson was 100000000 times better</p>
<p>@lpt121212 Can you provide any reasoning behind that thought process?</p>
<p>I really can’t see how anyone can say Clemson or USC is 100000000 times better than the other. Although the two schools have a bitter rivalry, they’re honestly not <em>that</em> different.</p>
<p>The only real differences that I see is that some students may prefer Clemson because it is closer to the mountains and is in the middle of nowhere, while other students prefer USC because it is in a city.</p>
<p>Academically, both schools have a great reputation. Athletics, they also both have a great reputation. Both are large southern state schools with numerous opportunities. Both have great Greek life if you want it.</p>
<p>Anyways, I know several students who spent their first year at Clemson, hated it, and transferred to Carolina. I assume the same is true for Clemson. I just don’t see how you can say either school is <em>so</em> much better than the other.</p>
<p>@AUGirl The USC campus was in a sketchy neighborhood which was concerning. As a northerner i felt more comfortable at Clemson considering there was a large Northeast presence. As for academics, Clemson is considered the better school. If you did some research, you would find that Clemson is consistently ranked dozens of spots higher than USC. Clemson is a top 20 public school, by USC is not. At my school, USC is looked down upon because literally anyone could get in, while there is an element of selectivity for Clemson.</p>
<p>How many programs at Clemson are rank #1? At USC the Honors College is the top ranked public school honors college in the country as is the International Business school. </p>
<p>@ahsmuoh All I know is that Clemson overall is the more more selective of the two. I was just trying to give my opinion on the two schools thats all I don’t need you to attack me. Thanks :)</p>
<p>I wasn’t intending to attack you. My point was just that you have to look at the specific program that you are interested in for each school. If a student is an Honors student and wants to study International Business - you can’t get much better than USC. I am sure there are programs at Clemson that you could say the same thing about. Also - some prefer city dwelling and others prefer college town - to each his own. </p>
<p>Taking data from College Board, I would not say the selectivity of Carolina and Clemson varies that greatly. Clemson has a 57% acceptance rate and Carolina has a 64% acceptance rate. Yes, Clemson is more selective, but for <em>most</em> students, if they can get into Carolina, they can get into Clemson. Only a minority would not be able to get into both. In fact, College Board lists them both under the same designation of “Somewhat selective”.</p>
<p>I can’t find Clemson’s SAT scores listed on College Board. However, ACT scores are listed. Clemson’s range from 26-31 and USC’s average ranges from 24-29. Again, the difference is only slight. The majority of Carolina students would fall into Clemson’s “average” ACT scores.</p>
<p>As for the Northeast comment, I don’t even understand that one. Every other student I meet is from New York, New Jersey, or some other northern state. There’s even a joke that this is “USC: University of New Jersey South Campus”.</p>
<p>The USC campus is also not in a “sketchy” neighborhood, in my opinion. It is in a city. There are “sketchy” areas near the campus, but there’s also the State House, which I would personally not call “sketchy”.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t see why <em>anyone</em> in their right mind would look down on a student attending an accredited public university. There are a LOT of opportunities here at USC and anyone who looks down on a person bettering themselves through an education should be ashamed of themselves.</p>
<p>Finally, my last point: USC is a great school academically. Last year, I had the opportunity to study abroad at the equivalent of a French ivy league university for the year. There, I was in classes with students from Harvard, Berkeley, Princeton, Cambridge, and other “name” schools that I am sure you have heard of. My education matched very well with theirs and I did not feel out of my league at all. USC very much prepared me for my year abroad.</p>
<p>I think USC is a great option for you. It is a large school with a lot of resources, but it really depends on what you study. As a scientist, I value the fact that it is a top-tier Honors College and one of 107 universities in the country with a “very high research activity” rating from the Carnegie Research Rating (cite: <a href=“List of research universities in the United States - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_universities_in_the_United_States</a>). </p>
<p>Over the past two and a half years at USC, I was fully funded for two research projects, worked as a summer research intern for Chapel Hill, presented at the top international research conference in my field, have a pending publication, have been asked to attend a selective research workshop, will be a government contracted researcher this summer for a top institute, and am currently in the final stages of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and in the running for the Udall Scholarship. </p>
<p>All of this alongside getting an awesome experience in the School of Music, spending a semester abroad in Germany, joining a social fraternity, taking super cool classes through the Honors College, making great friends and meeting beautiful women, and attending SEC football games. </p>
<p>What more could you ask for? I guess the second paragraph is only applicable if you are interested in a STEM field. </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions.</p>
<p>JK, sounds like you’re a great student, have many interests, and have a good shot a scholarship at USC. </p>
<p>(and hope lpt gets into his choice Clemson)</p>
I don’t think selectivity matters when it comes to later in life. Employers won’t give a hoot, and people with IVY degrees do the same work as technical school people.