<p>I'm currently a freshman at Duke, and I'm looking to transfer to either Clemson or University of South Carolina.</p>
<p>Duke focuses more on graduate students, and truth be told, I'm just not as happy here as I want to be (especially when I'm paying such a high price to stay!)</p>
<p>I'm hoping to be a genetic counselor (which USC has a masters program for), and am currently planning to get a genetics/biology/public health type of undergraduate degree. Duke does not have a well-established genetic program, another reason why I am looking elsewhere.</p>
<p>I'm considering a political science minor because I find it interesting - I love football, but won't make the decision solely because of the SEC vs. ACC football argument haha.</p>
<p>I'm looking to have fun, be happy, all while getting a worth-while education. I am in a sorority, and both schools have my chapter --- </p>
<p>In transferring, you usually don’t receive much in the way of FA from the schools to which you are transferring. It appears that USC probably would be cheaper for you than Clemson and that might matter to you. If you could get into Duke, you can probably apply for acceptance to their Honors programs; USC’s is very highly thought of, but Clemson’s looks exciting to me. You will also want to ascertain which school will take more of your Duke credit hours; don’t assume they’ll both be happy to have all of them. Clemson offers a major in genetics which will give you a much deeper familiarity in genetics and chemistry than the minimum requirements demanded of the USC masters in genetics counseling. You could take many of the same courses at USC but not be able to major in genetics. A close attention to the curricula at USC and Clemson should prove helpful.</p>
<p>South Carolina has the highest ranked Honors College in the entire country. You really need to make some phone calls to each school (call the department directly) and get info on your desired major.</p>
<p>I think it’s also important to ask what other reasons do you have for leaving Duke? Because that may play into your decision and without that information we’re just kind of guessing for you. You mention lack of a specific academic program as “another reason” you’re looking to transfer but I get the sense it’s not the primary one? </p>
<p>You’re not far from these schools - have you visited them both? Clemson is in a very, very small town - 14K population without the students. Columbia is 750K. Do you like smaller communities? Or a more vibrant city scene? Tell us more about what you’re looking for!</p>
<p>Why not also decide based on the value of the school name on your resume?</p>
<p>I’m from South Carolina and Clemson is a pretty good school-definitely better than USC. Duke is way better than either of them, and so I wouldn’t give up that without a lot of deep thought.</p>
<p>Just how do you know that you’ll be happy at USC or Clemson? I attended several schools in college (due to summer programs, study abroad, etc.) and wasn’t happy at any of them. I just didn’t like college in general.</p>