My DD absolutely loves Clemson and it is her first choice. My only reservation is that we are from the northeast. I would love some insight into how northerners are treated both in general and in the greek system.
My one favorite thing about Clemson is the fact that everyone is nice to each other just because they feel like it. At Clemson a lot of the students are from the South and a lot are not. I truly believe that there is a place for every person at Clemson. It is a school that is proud of where it is, but I’m sure that no one is treated badly just because they are not from the South.
I do not have a lot of experience with the Greek System. I have heard people discussing if Northern girls have a chance in “Southern” sororities and what not. I feel that a sorority will pick the people that they like regardless of where the person is from. I do not think that they would reject someone just because they are not from the South.
Hope it helped and Go Tigers!
Can’t speak to Greek life, but echo that it is not a problem in general. 35% of Clemson students are from out of state, many of them from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast (including our DS, who loves it there). “Clemson Family” is a real thing and we have found Clemson folks – students, parents, distant relatives and friends – to all be a very welcoming community united by love for the school.
My son is currently a freshman from NJ. He absolutely loves it at Clemson. He is currently a pledge at a fraternity that is perfect for him. Although, the rush process is stressful he received bids from 3 fraternities. Ultimately your son/daughter will know which one he/she will fit into. My best suggestion is to visit in the fall during a football weekend to get the full experience. Last year my son received his admissions letter the first week of November. In addition to the social side his class sizes are also great. He has one large class and 4 classes with only 30 students. It truly is a great school if you child wants small classes with a big school feel.
These are nice things but also remember that Clemson is in the profound South, and if you’re from the North, there can be culture shock. Described to me within the past few weeks by Northerners who have spent a long, long time at Clemson:
- Many of the students may be OOS, but also a portion of the students haven’t ever been out of state a single time in their lives. They’ve never been on airplanes some of them. Again, there’s no criticism here, but if you’re used to a sort of worldliness in your peers–travel; languages; ethnic foods; cultural awareness and fluency; etc.–your son or daughter may be the source of information for others;
- Many of the women attend Clemson with the ambition of finding a husband, getting married, and becoming stay-at-home moms, not that there’s anything wrong with this, but be aware that being a woman and having career ambitions outside of the home may be less the norm there than it is in the North; this may affect the study habits of peers;
- The arts are painfully underfunded (and largely unnoticed) especially compared with Football. Football is king. And Football days can leave the campus rather dirty and worse for wear. Not to mention it strips other departments of resources;
- The science departments (science department) have some people who teach from a Christian/ creationist POV. I have no names to share;
- Over recent years, Clemson has become more and more conservative. One common career goal if you’re in, say, theater, is to want to do production for a megachurch. A new megachurch is being built down there.
Schools that were less this way, and in the same general geographic region, were UG in Athens and Emory.
@dustyfeathers What are you basing your information on? Have you ever stepped foot on the campus of Clemson or in the state of SC? The information that you give is hugely inaccurate. Did you know that there is a huge international population in the upstate of SC due to the presence of Michelin, BMW. The people of SC most certainly do travel out of the state of SC. Your statement regarding women attending Clemson to find a husband is both insulting and inaccurate . Clemson has not become more conservative over the past few years , nor do they teach ultra conservative Christian values. Please state your sources here or please identify your input as opinion not fact . I grew up in Baltimore City, Clemson was not a culture shock for me.
@Dustyfeathers wow.
As a born & raised NYer who moved to the gasp south for grad school at Vanderbilt-- I was quite impressed with the engineering and honors programs at Clemson, and would have been pleased for my D to have chosen Clemson. A colleague of mine earned her PhD in biology (specifically in evolutionary biology) at Clemson (and yes- she works outside the home) had recommended the program.
::sigh::
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Clemson is a major flagship university in a smallish upstate town in the South. As such, you’ll run into a lot of things: temperate winters, curvy roads, a darn fine football team, amazing architecture and enhineering programs, and a lot of fraternities and sororities, but also a lot of kids who belong to neither. (Also big orange tiger paws on the roads. My kids loved them when we’d take them to Homecoming.)
If you’re from Boston or Brooklyn, chances are Clemson will be less diverse than home. (If you’re from Corning or Naugatuck, not so much.) You will probably have a hard time finding really good felafel, but a much easier time finding good barbecue, though it won’t look much like that stuff they serve at Chili’s.
People read books, travel (even out of the country!), worship the deity of their choice or none at all (though it will usually be the Christian God, just like most of the US), speak a second language (and English fluently, though yeah, your child may pick up “y’all” as a form of address, it’s hard not to, even for Northeasterners), listen to a wide variety of music, and even wear shoes when appropriate.
People in the theatre department may or may not want to work for mega-churches. I’ve no idea. There’s big money and actual employment in that arena, so it’s possible, job prospects being what they are for theatre majors. And honestly, if you want to break into Broadway, Oklahoma City U or FSU or Steinhardt are better choices.
Arts are somewhat less funded at Clemson because-- like most states with binary flagships-- one school (Clemson) was the men’s uni originally and the other (USC) the women’s uni, and consequently strengths follow what one would expect from early 20th century sexist focus. However, if she’s into sciences, engineering, or architecture, she’s in good shape. However, if she’s an engineering major who just likes live music, it’s not hard to find.
You may, at some point, run into a stereotype of the sort Dusty describes. (They may even be from SC, but not necessarily.) Now, I’m going to assume Dusty isn’t the actual source of those stereotypes as s/he says “described to me…by Northerners”. All I really have to say about those kind of folks is that they’re probably about as representative of Clemson as Snooki from Jersey Shore is of the Northeast. She exists, but she’s not Everyyankee-- nor should anyone expect her to be.
Honestly, my experience is you get what you put out there. People won’t make a big deal about your child being “from off” unless your child makes a thing about it. The biggest thing she may run into is people commenting on her accent or finding out the hard way that all tea is sweet tea unless otherwise specified.
CC has been very helpful. I have enjoyed reading the posts and gathering so much information from those who have been kind enough to share. This is the first time I have felt the need to post. We are from the Northeast. I would be honored to have my Yankee child attend Clemson. Yes, the south is different from the Northeast as it is from the West. We have traveled to NC and SC and have found everyone to be extremely friendly and helpful. We have found that the true southern hospitality exists. We know several local families with children at Clemson and have nothing but wonderful things to say. One is a girl who is not looking for a husband, rather an education. There are some kids from the North who have never been on a plane. From the families that we know, we have heard that the Clemson “family” is very accepting of everyone no matter where they are from. We were told that their children have made friends from both OOS and IS and would tell you in a minute they made the right decision by attending Clemson.
@Dustyfeathers
Hoping that post is to punk everyone here. Otherwise it is an amazing constellation of offensive slurs. I grew up in the NE but now live in the south (not sure what the “profound south” entails). C’mon down. I’ll even brush my tooth for ya.
What I reported is almost verbatim from two professors who have taught there for decades. Yes I’ve visited Clemson, of course! These are the comments that I gathered in personal conversation during a mutual visit. You may not agree with the comments, but they are the impressions of two professors who have been part of Clemson for quite awhile, and clearly there was venting of their frustrations. Take the information as you wish.
I guess Southerners aren’t as closed minded as some others believe that we are.
You can fill in the blank for most any school that pours $$ into their football team and you will hear the same lament from the faculty looking for funding resources. This is not just a Clemson issue. Yawn.
I hope that the negativity of two professors does not put a damper on the thousands of kids interested in receiving an education . It’s unfortunate that people continue to work somewhere where they are clearly unhappy.
Well . . . . it’s okay to dismiss their comments as “negativity” or it’s possible to say: these are two people who have devoted their entire adult careers to Clemson in the hopes of making it the best institution it can be. Sadly, Clemson has fallen short in several areas, as happens at virtually all institutions in one way or another. After years and years of these people bringing in millions of dollars in outside funding (to make up for profound shortfalls in their different departments despite football getting funding galore), mentoring students, giving up their own interests to serve the students and community, and otherwise being productive, devoted members of a place that they have loved enough to spend their entire lives in, it remains that Clemson has some things that could be balanced better.
It’s possible to listen to the comments or dismiss them as griping, but I think that it’s worth at least reviewing their comments.
Also, the topic of this thread is Yankee experience at Clemson. It’s worth noting that there are cultural differences–one isn’t necessarily better than the other (which is how my comments have been interpreted here) but a Yankee ought to be prepared that they are entering a profoundly different world from that of, say, the Midwest or Northeast or Pacific Northwest.
For the record, I’m from the South originally.
Just curious- how much time have you spent in the "profound south and what do you define as the “profound south”?
Its unfortunate these 2 professors have sour grapes.
@Dustyfeathers, you say you’re from NY. Have you ever been to Queens? Even the poorest and least sophisticated person in South Carolina is like Bill Gates or Prince Charles compared to many people in Queens. Images of South Carolina as a land of barefoot peasants aren’t accurate–try Queens.
Sound biology is taught at Clemson–not creationism or whatever. The sciences are very strong at Clemson.
@Dustyfeathers I am not from the South originally. I grew up and attended college outside of Baltimore. There are ways to give less than positive feedback without making an entire state sound unsophisticated. Your comments regarding female students at Clemson is quite insulting. I truly hope that that is your interpretation of what your friends said and not their opinion of the young women they are tasked with educating . That would be truly disconcerting. And for the record football is highly funded by Iptay, their alumnae association . Bottom line is football is a moneymaker for the school.
Dating myself here. I remember when “IPTAY” stood for “I pay $10 a year” then it was “I pay $20 a year” then it was “I pay $30 a year” wonder what it is now- 200? 300? 1000?
160.00 to 25,000 @jym626