<p>I have applied to both clemson and USC. I know that clemson is much more reputable than usc for engineering but is usc's program bad? Ive heard mixed opinions on this. Does going to a less reputable school seriously hurt your chances of getting accepted into grad school?</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am an alumnus of Univ. of SC, and I was able to get into a good graduate school. I’ll tell you what really helped me, but your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>The first thing to realize is that name DOES matter, and USC isn’t that great. If you want to get into the best schools, Clemson isn’t known outside of the Southeast either. However, if you play your cards right, you can get an adequate education for VERY little cost that will get you where you need to go. I was able to go to USC for free through scholarships, get into a top 15-ranked graduate program, get paid 30k/yr to study there, and receive a job offer afterwards for ~100k. All of these things were accomplished with zero student debt because I went to a cheap school. Here is how I did it:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get accepted to USC’s honors college. This program gives you lots of one-on-one time with professors, who you will need to write you reference letters. You also get into the best classes and have a higher priority than the rest of the students. Finally, and most importantly, it gives you a chance to do research.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to go to a good graduate school, you M U S T, I repeat MUST do some form of academic research. Since you are coming from a less well known school, you need to shoot for having your name in print before grad school applications need to be turned in. Doing so proves to the best schools that you can do research that is respected and recognized by the larger academic community. The honors college gives you access to the professors, who are likely to give you research jobs. Average undergrads at USC do not have this opportunity, though. You really have to set yourself apart.</p></li>
<li><p>Get outstanding grades. I’m not talking about a 3.5 or a 3.7, but a 3.9 - 4.0. You need to be the absolute best in the department, and your professors need to know it. That is how you get that all-important research job, which is your ticket to a good grad school.</p></li>
<li><p>Ace the GRE’s. A good score doesn’t set you apart or help you, but a bad score will scuttle you. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m not trying to intimidate you or seem overly harsh, but competition is fierce, and if you can pull this off, you will come out WAY better off than your friends who opted for the expensive school (and the $60k-120k of debt that it brings). Just FYI, with a little bit of time management, you can have plenty of time to party as well. I certainly did. </p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>You should note that the benefit of going to a good school isn’t the quality of instruction that you receive. It is the connections that you make, and the professors that you can study under and get references from. Also, most famous companies only recruit from top schools, which is why going to a good grad school is so important. Most of the classes that I took at my grad school were rubbish, and the ones at USC were actually better, as far as instructional quality. </p>
<p>Also, remember that the only thing that a graduate school truly cares about is your capacity to do research and publish papers. Doing so brings money into the lab, which makes a professor happy. Academia is a business, and great papers are the product. School name, GRE’s, and GPA are just ways that the grad school can hope to guess if you will be a productive researcher. This fact is why having a publication record usurps all other factors.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>if you want the best technical education in South Carolina, Clemson is the place to be</p>
<p>If you can get accepted to USC’s Honors College, you can probably also get accepted to Clemson’s. Doing undergraduate research at Clemson and getting some publications would also help you get into a good grad school. I mentioned USC purely because that is what my personal experience was. For engineering, Clemson is more highly ranked than USC, but on the world stage, both are underdogs.</p>