Trying to decide between Penn State Smeal, Miami Herbert, or Clemson. I realize they are all different but trying to figure out which will be the happiest at.
Congrats on the great acceptances.
You haven’t given us enough info to go on, posters don’t know what college factors are important to you. These schools are different in size, vibe, location, and weather (to take a few examples)…what of these factors are important to you? Do you have direct admit to Smeal?
Other things to consider: Where do you want to live after graduation? What specific business majors are you considering? Are all of these schools affordable? (my definition=don’t require loans above the $27K max undergrad direct student loans) What is the net COA of each?
Perhaps list the reasons you applied to each, as well as their pros and cons to help you make your decision.
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Sorry…. Finance major, coming from NY state likely would want to work in Ny state or somewhere north after graduation. Cost is not an issue. I guess the academics/schools are all good here- just looking for quality of life, where the kids are happiest and have best experiences. Outgoing but not a huge partier, enjoy watching sports, etc
Penn State Smeal is the easy answer if your desire is to remain in the Northeast US after graduation.
Students experience happiness at all three schools except for temporary periods of mourning after any loss in football.
P.S. Both Penn State & Clemson are “rural” in a good way. Clemson is a charming college focused community as is State College. Both universities are large enough that the communities are very vibrant. State College is located in the geographic center of Pennsylvania so travel to NYC, Philly, or Pittsburgh is just a few hours.
Clemson has Lake Hartwell, Miami has the ocean, while Penn State is a sea of students.
Seems like you can achieve all of your goals from any of these schools. If you want to work in the NYC/Northeast, I might lean PSU and Miami over Clemson, but certainly Clemson students end up in NYC, Boston, Philly, etc.
So much of what you are asking is subjective, IME many students at each of these schools are happy, all have big time sports, all offer the traditional college experience. PSU and Clemson are pretty rural, and Miami is not…does that matter to you at all? Have you visited each?
Hopefully some more posters will weigh in.
Have you visited Clemson? My daughter is a finance freshman, but plans on becoming an actuary so has an advisor for that too who will work with her business advisor. In terms of happiness, it’s off the rails. Weather helps, plus the beach (lake of course), gorgeous walkable campus, school spirit galore. She had planned on coming back to the NYC metro area, but it might be hard to drag her away. There are a ton of students from this area at Clemson. She’s my fourth at college, Rutgers, tcnj, and UDel, everyone loved college, but this is at another level. She had acceptances at solid schools, UMD, Pitt, Rutgers, UMASS, UCONN plus others, but she really wanted a great experience after being in virtual school for 1 1/2 years (plus was looking for less strict Covid restrictions to be honest).
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Yes all seem to be providing a more normal college experience in terms of Covid. Could be happy at any school…. Worry a bit about the size of penn state, a bit about the fast pace of the city of Miami and the club scene which seems to dominate and have not visited clemson. Leaning a bit more towards Penn state and U Miami.
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I was hoping you would weigh in. On my visit, I felt the Clemson students were extremely happy too. The campus is great, and the new business building is a showstopper.
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You should visit Clemson. The Sunbelt is still growing while the Northeast population is declining.
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I can tell you have thought a lot about your choices. IMO, these are the primary cons of PSU and Miami.
If you can visit Clemson you should. You have plenty of time to make your decision. No matter your eventual choice, you have given yourself the opportunity to be at a great school in the Fall.
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My daughter visited the last week of April, a few days before decisions needed to be made. Advice for anyone visiting, even if you get a formal tour, join a Clemson Facebook parents page, it’s pretty easy to find students who will show you around (my daughter did both).
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