<p>My son has narrowed his top two schools to VT and Clemson, majoring in engineering of some sort. He is a good student, but fairly laid back. Enjoys sports (playing and watching) and is not into drinking or partying. He is OOS for both (from MA). We visited both last spring and he seemed to like VT a little better. Looking for feedback on the two schools, academic, social, etc. I am posting this on both VT and Clemson CC boards.</p>
<p>We looked at Clemson a few years ago with our son and found it to be very similar to VT in many ways. He, too, liked Tech more (we did also as it was In State 
) Both are great land grant universities, both have great engineering programs as well as many other strong fields in case a student decides to change majors. Strong school spirit for each. </p>
<p>He/We thought Tech had a bit of an edge in the aesthetics of its campus. It seemed more cohesive with the academic buildings on one side of the drill field and the dorms on the other. We like the mountainous surroundings of VT, too. Socially, my s isn’t much into parties, either, and he has found several groups to join and be happy. There is something for everyone there, really, and the kids on each of the campuses seem very content. The excellence of the food at VT is legendary. Just was ranked again in the top 2 in the country.</p>
<p>I think VT may have the edge regarding certain engineering disciplines, but hopefully you can find out more about which ones given your son’s interests. VT will be opening a beautiful new state of the art engineering building in the next couple of years. It should be amazing and offer students a wonderful opportunity for their studies. </p>
<p>Clemson definitely has the edge with weather, though. Blacksburg can be a bit bleak with clouds and rain during the winter months, so there is that. (I guess if one is feeling the weather blues, you can go find good comfort food to eat! :))</p>
<p>Anyway, hopefully more folks will chime in. Your son would do well at either place! Good luck to you both!</p>
<p>My S also looked very closely at VT and Clemson. He received an OOS scholarship from Clemson so it was very tempting. After visiting several times he decided that VT would offer more in name recognition and recruitment processes along the east coast (we are from PA). He sat and spoke with Clemson advisors regarding recruitment and decided that VT had the edge regarding engineering (not sure about other majors). He also felt more at home with Tech’s campus. I think you need to visit both a few times to make an informed decision (I know its far). My S is a current freshman and is very happy. He is working hard, loves the campus/food/football games etc. I was surprised to hear how much non-partying there was going on. It seems as if most freshman mainly go out (party) on weekends and that there are alot of other non partying things to do as well. He said if you want to party you have to seek it out, but that it was not the focus at the school. If you were saying that your S felt more comfortable at Clemson then that would be different but if he is considering engineering then I do think VT is the better choice.</p>