I recently visited Clemson and am really interested in the college. While the partying will not be a determining factor of where I attend I would like a full college experience wherever it will be that I attend in the future. I was wondering what students tend to do on weekends and how they spend their days. I visited Elon as well and as I didn’t like their campus as much as I liked clemsons, I did like how students were outside and “partying” with others. However, I didn’t see much of this at clemson. While it was earlier in the day that I was at Clemson, I didn’t see many areas where Clemson students would even be able to be outside the same way elon students were. I just wanted to know if clemson students party on weekends similarly to elon students and if they are actively outdoors. What does their nightlife consist of?
-Clemson mom here. DS2 talks about being outside all the time. He’s an outdoorsy guy and one of the reasons he loves Clemson is all the stuff they do. He’s been hiking, camping, taken trips to the mountains and visited a friend’s lake house. Also, most participate in some kind of rec sport. He’s been involved in a couple.
I’ll leave the partying part of your question for someone else. 
Actually have sons at both Clemson and Elon – lucky you two great choices! Clemson folk definitely also hang outside, Bowman Field is one popular spot for outside festivals and pick up games/sunbathing. Both have active rec programs, although Clemson’s lake is much larger and has a beach, sailboats and kayaks! One observation is I think more kids go home on weekends at Clemson, although S2 has not reported any issue with this… it’s not every student every weekend. Clemson has “bigger sports” so especially during fall, football games are the focus… although again it’s not every student every game, but many of them! Days are spent in class, studying, participating in clubs and exercising. There are party and non party options on weekends, some hanging at the dorm, some organized by campus wide student groups. Good luck with your search.
osaycanuc: Clemson and Elon are two schools I am very much considering. Can you tell me the take away from your childrens experiences at both and any comparison points? What are some of the major differences? Do you have any recommendations when deciding between the two?
Talked with my older son (at Elon) about this… he says that he believes Clemson is more sports focused overall (due to big football) although Elon has some good sports programs, just not at the same level and not with the same fan intensity. I will say that he found Elon to be more socially elitist than we expected… apparently a good dose of wealthy youth who can be a bit judgmental (and we are a pretty affluent family, but have chosen to raise our kids without being handed the latest tech gadgets.) Now that he has found friends who have more similar values it has become a better fit. Younger son (Clemson) loves it. Neither are in fraternities, although it’s a big influence at both schools. Both have made their way without it, although older son initially would have liked to have had the opportunity to join. I will say that when we visit Clemson we feel it is a friendlier and more welcoming campus and community. Our guess is that both schools are looking to grow enrollment in the coming decade, so you will want to be aware of that. Communications program is definitely very strong at Elon, and they don’t really offer engineering so not sure if major needs to be considered in your case.