<p>I'm in the same position as some of the other threads, I just came back from USC and Clemson and loved USC's campus and feel. However, Clemson is obviously better academically and on top of that, they are building a new biology/science facility that I will be able to use sophomore year. To me, Clemson seemed close-minded and had a lack of diversity. I'm also slightly concerned that both times I visited USC there was a lack of student life and pride on campus, but maybe we just visited at weird times. What can you tell me about the diversity, pride, programs or really anything about these two schools?</p>
<p>I don’t think that you will see any difference in “pride” between the two schools. </p>
<p>I will agree that Clemson has a better academic reputation for certain majors, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Clemson is overall better academically though. Students attending Clemson are definately in the same SAT/ACT/GPA range as USC students. Clemson has a slight SAT/ACT/GPA advantage over USC because Clemson has more engineering students and engineering students tend to be quite bright. </p>
<p>Now if you are “all that” academically you might prefer the honors college at USC over anything that Clemson has to offer. From what I understand it is an Ivy League comparable education for students that are just barely below Ivy League acceptance levels (average SAT approaching 1400 on the old scale). </p>
<p>Also, for students wishing to major in certain subjects like business or elementary education, USC would probably be a better choice. USC is consistantly ranked #1 in International business and every business major rides the coattails of the IB department. </p>
<p>Also USC offers more majors than Clemson does. Want to major in music composition? Can’t do it at Clemson but you can at USC.</p>
<p>So in a nutshell, it just depends. If you are a serious engineering student, just based upon academics, I would probably recomend Clemson.</p>
<p>And of course I don’t think that either school is the most selective or prestigious in SC. Furman would have both of them beat, of course Furman is substantially more than double the cost of either USC or Clemson. And since you mentioned Biology, I do believe that Furman has one of the top ranked micro biology departments in the country.</p>
<p>Clemson is not “obviously better” academically. Do your research. USC has several programs that are top ranked. Clemson has a few majors not available to USC students, such as architecture, but for the most part, USC has really solid programs all over the map, including in engineering. I know several engineering majors and they aren’t getting a substandard education by any means.</p>
<p>For pre-pharmacy (a Chemistry-based major), I had a friend specifically choose USC over Clemson, because she said USC was better for that major. Everyone else in her family goes to Clemson/went to Clemson. She was a Clemson fan all her life, yet she still ended up coming here.</p>
<p>Within SC, most people are going to say “Go to Clemson for engineering” or other things like that, but if you like USC, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with going here for it.</p>
<p>I assume Clemson has an Honors Program but it didn’t even make the top 50 list. And, there are a lot of Wofford people who will argue that Furman is the best private college in SC.</p>
<p>I almost brought up Wofford. I do believe that Wofford holds title to having the highest percent of graduates to eventually receive a terminal (doctorate) degree, even a higher percent than Ivy League colleges. Or something like that. I can’t remember offhand where I read that.</p>
<p>Wofford would definitely be academically competitive with USC and Clemson and might have a tad bit better academic reputation in some circles. And the College of Charleston has started to develop a better than average academic rep also.</p>
<p>Obviously better? I don’t think so. </p>
<p>I mean, it all depends on majors but there is no way you can say “Clemson is obviously better academically”. </p>
<p>I do agree with you on diversity though, that was a big reason I chose USC over Clemson along with 10000 more!</p>
<p>Looks like 12345a ruffled a few Gamecock feathers!</p>
<p>Go *****.</p>
<p>I won’t go over the academic stuff because plenty of people already have, but I will talk about the “pride”. I was in Clemson this weekend for a conference, and the school and surrounding area is very proud of their Tigers, more so than Cola and the Gamecocks. But to me, it’s because that’s all there is in Clemson, the school. There is pretty much nothing else but farms and cow pastures out there. So maybe we don’t have the same “pride” at USC that they do at Clemson, but it’s because there are other things to do in Columbia.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Wofford is referred to as the “Harvard of the South”, but I never paid much attention to it, because I’m from the area and Wofford would have been like going to high school all over again for me.</p>
<p>Academically speaking, USC, Clemson, Furman, and Wofford all have their merits. I just wouldn’t say one is obviously better than another. If you want to study architecture, there’s no point in going anywhere other than Clemson. If you want to be highly involved in Greek culture, then Wofford has a great mix of academics and Greeks (60% of students there are Greek). If you want to study IB, then USC is it.</p>
<p>But that’s the way it is with most schools. They all have strengths and weaknesses. For example, I know for my major that even among the ivy-league schools, Yale would be better than Harvard.</p>
<p>Yeah I understand, but how do their biology programs compare?</p>
<p>It’s hard to objectively compare the undergraduate biology programs because there is no ranking (to my knowledge) and people would generally not attend both. That said, I think you can consider a few factors:</p>
<ul>
<li>US News grad biology ranking- USC (#160) has a slight edge over Clemson (#181).
<ul>
<li>Med school- Both schools send students to med schools (mainly USC and MUSC), but USC students will have better research opportunities by virtue of having a med school located a few miles away from campus.</li>
<li>City of Columbia- Columbia has two big hospital systems- Palmetto Health and Lexington Medical- both of which hire USC students in mass for work or research.</li>
<li>Research funding- USC is much bigger and draws more funding ($218M) than Clemson ($187M).</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>You should that Clemson is smaller and may have smaller class sizes in biology, which could potentially affect the quality of the education. That said, it seems like USC gets the edge in research and work opportunities, which are huge when applying to grad or med schools (if that’s what you’re looking to do). I am not sure if they publish the statistics, but you might try looking up the med school acceptance rates at both schools. That should give you some indication of the exit opportunities and may speak to the strength of the programs. </p>
<p>I think you will be fine at either school. If I were you, I would give strong consideration to the general feelings about campus and job opportunities after graduation.</p>
<p>Just saying, USC’s biology department has 1400 undergraduates. This is the largest major in the entire university. Because of this, it’s difficult to get one-on-one help, and advising can be a real pain. My roommate was a bio major and has since moved on to exercise science because it fulfills all of the pre-med requirements as well as gives more personalized attention.</p>
<p>As a Clemson student let me just provide my own biased opinion haha (since obviously nobody on the South Carolina forum is going to say anything bad about their own school): I’d say that Clemson is a great school for the sciences (sure the same can be said for USC, just don’t know too much about it) and in addition you’re absolutely right, we are building a brand spanking new life sciences building that you’ll be able to use.</p>
<p>As for close-minded and lack of diversity, I’m an Asian from Boston, MA and I’ve never felt that way about any of my fellow classmates.</p>
<p>With grad school rankings, Clemson is primarily an undergraduate institution so I wouldn’t put too much stock into that and USC has more funding $$ because they are a larger university, that’s all there is too that.</p>
<p>To be honest, both schools are great choices and you’ll probably have to visit both and look at your finances as well as think about where you’d rather spend 4 years of college. I’m interning near Columbia and downtown Columbia, Five Points, Riverbanks Zoo are great places in the Columbia area (along with Rush’s!). There are some not so great areas as you go down towards their football stadium near the fairgrounds and the minor league baseball stadium. And if you don’t like the city, Clemson is on a beautiful lake and right next to mountains so there are numerous recreational settings. I’ve never been bored there and always find something to do. Having said that, both are two completely different atmospheres and again you will have to visit and weigh the pros and cons of each.</p>
<p>If you really can’t decide, just think about it: would you rather be a Tiger or a ****? 
Good luck with your decision! If you have any questions about Clemson feel free to ask!</p>
<p>Look at the major you want, talk to fellow students and look up the professors…being a music major, my son is as far away as you can get from a Bio major, but he turned down offers from UF and FSU to attend USC with a music scholarship. All I can say is, I went to UF and NOTHING compares to the traditions of the SEC if you care at all about sports…no knock to Clemson, but the SEC is it.</p>