My son is struggling with his decision to attend Clemson or Maryland. He intends to go pre-med, and has an interest in research. He is a conscientious student, who also likes to have fun. We visited both schools and liked both campuses. We are OOS for both, and they have similar costs. Maryland is closer, and drive-able, Clemson is a plane ride away. But that seems like more of an issue for me than him. Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?
My son was accepted to both schools. We haven’t visited UMD yet but visited Clemson last spring. Enjoyed the tour, nice/knowledgeable guide but my husband and I thought it was rural (our area is close to everything). Also it is far, we drove but it is a fly school! I have twins and these are the only two colleges just one son applied. Last weekend our instate university sent merit/financial details which moved that school higher. Students from our area are happy at both Clemson and UMD I’ve heard. Our oldest went to a Clemson football game two years ago. Good luck! Can he go to accepted student days at both?
We are signed up for Maryland’s accepted student day, but we can’t make the accepted students day at Clemson. I also thought Clemson was very rural, but my son wasn’t overly bothered by that. I am afraid he may “outgrow” the area quickly. The College Park area in Maryland not especially nice, but I can appreciate the proximity to DC and other metro areas. We are from Long Island, so I also have concerns about the cultural adjustment that may go with a southern school, but again, I seem to have more concerns than my son.
Also wanted to add that school reputation is also on his mind…coming from the Northeast, Maryland seems to be stronger in that regard (at least for him). So, lots of conflicting issues.
I would recommend going to Maryland or another one within driving distance of home, especially if you have doubts about the rural location.
I’m a Clemson grad, and in my view, the students who chose Clemson at least partly because of the rural location are the happiest students there. It is a great school for people who like getting outdoors with the lake adjacent to campus and mountains nearby.
Keep in mind Clemson is 45 minutes or so to downtown Greenville which has a cool downtown area with a 30 foot drop waterfall right on Main Street. Here is a website about Greenville www.visitgreenvillesc.com
Greenville is the most populated county, MSA and CSA in South Carolina and Clemson is actually included in Greenville’s CSA so it isn’t as rural as people think.
Thanks so much for the reply - appreciate the perspective!
I don’t understand why you wouldn’t visit a school before making a decision one way or the other. Just because you can’t make admitted students day doesn’t mean you can’t down there on another day and visit. It’s worth a visit for some input on where he will be spending his next four years.
D was accepted for both and after visiting both Clemson was chosen by a landslide. We are also from NY. Campus, area around campus, things to do, school spirit, and just general happiness of the students swayed her.
My stepson, a New England native, chose Clemson over Syracuse, Babson and several others. He visited them all, and in the end Clemson was the clear choice. His experience in the College of Business was great, and he had no problem with name recognition when searching for employment in the northeast after graduation. He also had no difficulty with cultural adjustment. Overall, he found Clemson to have a nice combination of happy students, great school spirit and solid academics.
Thanks to all of you. We actually visited the campus last summer - He really loved the campus, and the “downtown” area. More concerned about the lack of conveniences associated with a more rural locale.
What do you mean by lack of conveniences?
You may not have seen a lot of the stuff that is in town or near town, like the Walmart, Publix grocery store, Walmart Neighborhood grocery store, Food Lion, BI-LO. There is a mall, Target, Best Buy and other big box stores and chain restaurants in Anderson about 15 minutes from campus.
If your son likes Charleston, doing pre-med at Clemson could give him an advantage for going to med school at MUSC in downtown Charleston, near the beach.
When you live in Clemson, you really live in Seneca, Pendleton, and Central as well in addition to Anderson, with Greenville not far with a bigger mall and more retail and restaurants.
Seneca has a decent small movie theater about 10 minutes from campus, and Anderson has two movie theaters.
If I was young enough to redo college, Clemson University would be among my top choice schools for its location which includes a beautiful recreational lake & a charming small college town & great weather.
Really appreciate all the responses…you have all put our minds at ease regarding the location! 
As a pre-med, does he have less expensive in-state public options that would be more convenient to travel to in-state medical school interviews if he makes it to applying to medical school?
One of the bad things about going far away from home for college is the student has to spend much of his breaks traveling back home.
A lot of students get homesick especially their first year so being within a few hours of home can be a benefit.
Maryland and Clemson are similar universities so I’m not sure if it would really be worth the extra travel time and cost to go to Clemson if Maryland is much closer.
I lived in Maryland near DC for a couple of years and that is a fun area to live and has a lot of outdoor recreation opportunities like the Clemson area.
Thanks again for all the input - this site has been a wealth of info during the college application process! Decision made…Clemson it is!