I’m a high school senior from an Atlanta suburb. Clemson and USC very likely may be the two schools that my decision will come down to. I am not very worried about getting into either school, and money is not much of an issue. I plan on majoring in something business (likely finance or econ). I know USC has an outstanding Int. Business program, but I am not particularly interested in this. I have visited Clemson and loved the atmosphere and how friendly the students were. I definitely see it as a place I could be happy. However one thing I am not certain about is the location of Clemson and how small downtown seems. I am also not too sure about the quality of the Clemson business school. I am interested in Greek life and am also unsure about how Clemson greek life compares to that of USC. Any insight or opinions on the business schools, campuses, social life, or any comparisons would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Carolina is better known for business than Clemson and is more urban. The city of Clemson is small. Greenville is about an hour away with more things to do than the city of Clemson. Both schools are very good schools. Have you visited USC ? You should tour to be able to make an informed decision .
I wonder if @Crimsonstained7 has an opinion on this.
@carolinamom2boys thanks for the input. I have not visited USC yet but I am trying to do so in the next few months.
Also, does anyone know how much better USC’s business school is? It’s kind of hard to find a lot of info on Clemson’s business program.
Any reason why you’re set on South Carolina as a GA resident? GA Tech, UGA and Emory all have good business schools.
@falcon97 I’ll be applying to UGA as well and I will definitely be going there if I am accepted. However I’m not 100% sure that I will get in.
What are your stats? I was born in Georgia, and still have family there, and I’ve heard that admissions are pretty lenient for GA residents and the Hope Scholarship isn’t too hard to get.
What are your GPA and test scores? I can’t speak about USC because I’ve never toured there, but Clemson is getting very competitive to get into, more difficult for OOS students . HOPE scholarships are for SC residents only. You said you were born in Georgia and still have family living there. Do you live in Georgia now?
Usc is better for business, definitely. Beside Uga, which university will you be applying to - what about UA Tuscaloosa honors, auburn, fsu…?
I’m surprised you remembered that I live near Clemson @thatrunnerkid haha.
To answer the original questions, Clemson is beautiful. I would much rather walk around Clemson every day than Columbia. Downtown is small but active. A lot of nice shops, some really good restaurants, but it is small, there’s no getting around that. Columbia, in my opinion, isn’t all that nice, so again, I prefer Clemson’s downtown to Columbia. There is a bus, I believe, that goes from Clemson to Greenville, so if you want a better downtown, then you can easily hop on the bus for a day trip. Greenville is awesome, although I’m biased. It’s consistently ranked one of the best downtowns because of the amazing revival since the 80s or so. Falls Park is beautiful, there’s great shopping (I’ve heard, I don’t do much shopping), great restaurants (an article not too long ago said that Charleston and Greenville are probably the best culinary cities in the south), and lots of outdoor/active things to do. Minor league baseball, hockey, indoor football (I believe), a concert venue (formerly known as the Bilo Center, I still refuse to call it the Wellness Arena) that has major tours come through. So it’s not like there’s not a good option if you really want a nice downtown. It’s comparable to being at my school (Northwestern) and taking public transport to Chicago.
I don’t really know about the quality of the business school. You could look up grad rankings, which often correlate pretty well with the undergrad programs (although that’s not always the case). USC’s international business program being so great, I assume, means that the regular business program is also pretty good. Clemson greek life is probably one of the quintessential examples of southern greek life. USC, as far as I can tell from friends, has pretty good greek life too, but Clemson, I would think, has the edge there. USC seems to be pretty fun, and I haven’t heard any complaints about their social life. Clemson is ranked as one of, if not the top, happiest schools though, so I’m assuming social life would coincide with that.
If you like UGA, like you’ve stated above, but don’t get in somehow, Clemson is going to be more similar, in my opinion, than USC just in terms of the little I saw of the campus culture and the feel of their downtown and such on my one visit many years ago.
Clemson will be just as hard to get into OOS as UGA instate.