<p>I have recently received finalist status for one of the top scholarships at the University of South Carolina Honors College (the carolina scholar/mcnair scholar award level), however am conflicted between attendance at USC Honors as a scholarship, or attending Clemson's Calhoun Honors College. I am interested in engineering.</p>
<p>This is the argument in my head:</p>
<p>USC:
- full ride, laptop, parking spot from the scholarship (probably with a small check yearly)
- I will be "special" because of the scholarship status, more opportunity and possible networking connections
- number one honors college in the nation (although this depends on how the numbers work out, I understand)
- located in Columbia, so there is opportunity
- not so crazy about the campus/student life
- decent engineering program</p>
<p>Clemson:
- no top scholarship (although I still expect a full ride or very, very close)
- also means no "special" status
- honors college not as esteemed, but smaller than USC's
- Clemson is a top 25 school (while USC is below fifty)
- Eureka program
- great engineering programs
- great career center (ranked number 9 in the country, I think?)
- close to Greenville area, which is nice
- I love the campus and student life at Clemson (a personal preference, of course)</p>
<p>Any thoughts or ideas about which college/opportunities are worth it? I am still in the process of deciding and hearing from other schools, so I have time to decide.</p>
<p>I’m a USC grad, so USC honors, especially McNair gets my nod. The extra support scholars get from scholarship office, housing priority (&much nicer housing), and lots of small classes with plenty of opportunity to have honors sections in your major is a huge bonus. D is in upper level of her major, where unmotivated students should have dropped off, and she still sees a difference between reg and honors sections. So if intellectual engagement is important, look to see what honors classes are actually offered at Clemson in your major.</p>
<p>Having said that, motivated students can make their own opportunities and if finances are not an issue, then go with school where you feel most comfortable. Do be sure you look at numbers if money is issue…D is at USC (Carolina scholar finalist) and applied to Clemson and got nowhere near the $ to Clemson (invited but couldn’t attend top scholarhsip comp).</p>
<p>McNair invitations have just gone out. Go to the weekend with open mind about Columbia. D’s friend group is largely the wonderful students she met at scholarship weekend. The experience really tipped the scales. I’m sure you’ll get feedback about all the issues you listed…and many will contradict each other. In the end, go with your heart.</p>
<p>First of all, I’ll state that I’m a senior civil engineering major at Clemson. If you’re in-state, you know that Clemson and USC has a pretty crazy rivalry so people are really devoted to their school of choice haha but I’ll try and be objective while stating the reasons you should pick Clemson :)</p>
<p>If you look at any ranking system, it’s pretty clear that Clemson is the best public college in South Carolina for engineering. For other fields like business and science, it’s probably a toss up depending by field but for engineering it’s pretty clear. We are ranked ahead of South Carolina in US News and in a Wall Street Journal, we were ranked in the top 25 among recruiters of engineering majors. The Princeton Review has listed our career center services in the top 10 as far back as I can remember (at least through 2008). I am getting ready to go to the career fair tomorrow and I am currently working through a list of 100 companies recruiting for people in my major. To summarize, not only will you get a top notch engineering education at Clemson, you’ll get access to many opportunities post-college as well. In addition, due to the fact that Clemson doesn’t have many graduate students, the professors at Clemson really care about their undergraduate students and want them to succeed as opposed to focusing more on their research and graduate students. I’ve heard at many colleges you have chase your professor down but here they beg you to go to their office hours. And finally yes as you have stated, Clemson as an institution on a whole has a better reputation in the US News rankings than South Carolina. Lastly, you’re going to have better classmates at Clemson - I remember seeing somewhere in USC’s student newspaper 2 years ago about how they were ashamed that you only needed a 3.0 GPA and 1000 on the SAT to get in. We definitely got a nice chuckle over that (sure admissions standards have improved as it has for most top colleges)</p>
<p>Clemson and South Carolina have two different environments - if you prefer a city environment, South Carolina is probably the place for you but Clemson is a great small town that revolves around the college. Lots of great opportunities for outdoor activities with Lake Hartwell right next to campus and the Blue Ridge Mountains not far away. I personally think Clemson’s campus is a lot more beautiful than South Carolina’s because of where it is set. In addition, I think we are #4 in Princeton Review for the happiest students and have been so for the past few years. We have a saying here: “There’s something in these hills”, not sure what it is but most Clemson students love the school and wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for the honors college since I’m not in it but I know at least in civil engineering you are required to do a research project with a faculty member as a requirement for honors. There are also honors courses available for many of the freshman/sophomore level classes. As you mentioned Eureka, is a great research program for freshman students before they start off at Clemson. I’m sure that it is a great experience that adds to the academic rigor that already is at Clemson.</p>
<p>That said, visit both schools and make the best decision on everything you see. There’s a school for everyone, whether it’s USC or Clemson, so if you feel USC is the better choice, go with your gut! Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have any questions about Clemson. Go Tigers!</p>
<p>Clemson is way ahead in every type of engineering, so your best chances at a future job are going to be through Clemson. I didn’t even know that USC had engineering until the past year or so. If you get almost a full ride, you are getting pretty much the same amount, just not the extra bonuses. But to me, the engineering, and the fact that Clemson is a much nicer town (imo), I’d take Clemson any day.</p>
<p>In the pursuit of fairness I must admit, my brother goes to Clemson, and I live in Greenville, so I’m much closer to Clemson. I like the atmosphere, students, academics, etc. better. If I wanted to stay in state, I’d definitely pick Clemson or Furman</p>
<p>I agree with scmom12 that you should go for Carolina Scholar’s Weekend and listen with an open mind. You will know by the end of that weekend whether USC is the right place for you. We attended McNair weekend last year (my child decided on it and is a McNair Scholar) and I was most impressed that they did not spend the weekend bashing other schools, but focused on what they had to offer that was positive and unique. They never tried to “talk you into going there”…which many Universities do. They said many times throughout the weekend that they wanted YOU to want to be there, and for it to be the right place for you. I really don’t know much about the engineering program at USC, so that may definitely affect your decision. You also have to be able to step onto a campus and just know it is the right one for you. My child had been looking at all rural schools, and ones that were much smaller. He didn’t think that a city school that was so large would be what he liked. Once he attended the weekend, he realized that he hadn’t known that USC was right for him. It is so difficult for all of you to know where you should spend 4 years after a day on a campus and a tour! You may leave after the weekend and rule that opportunity out, but gave it a chance, and never have to wonder what if? Good luck to you. Sounds like you have at least 2 wonderful opportunities!</p>
<p>South Carolina was, in fact, established around 1800, and USC was around 1880. So yes, technically, South Carolina is the original USC. And I like Columbia better than LA, and that’s saying something. I hate Columbia. No need to be condescending informative</p>
<p>South Carolina, here, has been referred to as the main USC, so I’m going to use that as the abbreviation. I know what I said, don’t read into it :-P</p>