mom of four

My daughter was considering UCLA vs UNC (No scholarshp to either one) ...and then today she received substantial scholarship to clemson, which will reduce tuition to only $3,400/year (she had already gotten in state tuition previously).

She is a history major with plans to go to law school -- so from my parental point of view, I think she should strongly consider Clemson bc of fin aid, however D doesn't want to b/c UNC and UCLA are more prestigious and Clemson is not.

UCLA has 24,000 undergraduates and is 40% Asian, unc has 19,000 undergraduates and is 5% Asian. i am assuming Clemson would be similar to UNC. D attended public school with only 3 -4 % Asian so I think she would fit in fine at UNC or Clemson.

Obviously UCLA and UNC has bigger name recognition and status, but I think maybe it would be better to be a "bigger fish" in a smaller pond than to attend UNC or UCLA where everybody had 4.5 GPAs in high school.

What do you think. We live in S calif. D is interested in attending college outside of Calif. D is fairly conservative, doesn't drink, doesn't do drugs, not sure she is interested in frats.

Of course, i like the merit aid she has been offered at Clemson, esp since she is planning to go to law school afterwards. but the most important thing is whether Clemson would be a good fit for her.

She has been invited to do Honors (the deadline might have already passed). . .again we just got the merit aid notice today in the mail. Any comments on Honors program? Whatr are advantages of being in the Honors? Would she get priority registration?

Again, I would appreciate any comments.

bostonbred

I envy you! Have you visited? If you haven't you really need to...

My D is passing up a "better" school at least according to US News & World report ratings. GA Tech is #7 and Clemson is #27 for top public national universities. However, the choice is clear for her. Clemson is just a better fit.

Mitch_L

Except for the first semester, the honors students do get priority registration. The Honors College allows students to take small, more discussion based classes. Personally, I have loved the three classes I have taken so far in the college.

If your daughter is passing on Clemson just due to prestige, then I would ask her to reconsider. Graduating towards the top of her class at Clemson will not be less in the eyes of grad school admissions than being in the top half of the other schools listed. I honestly don't see too many people not fitting in here. Clemson is big enough to encompass a diverse range of people (party hard to study hard), but small enough to facilitate a sense of community.

What things is your D looking for specifically in a school, other than prestige?

danielhstennis08

i'm in a similar situation... full ride at clemson vs. duke with no aid... i'm leaning towards duke...

Intheknow

Students from Clemson have gotten into top law schools in the recent past (Duke, Harvard, UNC, Emory, Georgetown, Yale....), so it's more a matter of what your daughter does in and out of class that will help her chances when law schools are looking at her -- 10 years ago, a Clemson grad MAY have been looked at askance (LOVE that word), but that's less of a concern today -- again, though, she's going to have to have an academic, internship, service and leadership record to support her law school app, just as students from "name" schools have to

mom of four

well, BostonBred, thank you for your great advice.

After I read your post, I thought that's a good idea! ...wonder what airfares are like for next weekend? ... and through the Grace of God, I found $200/rt airfare on American from LAX to Charlotte, which i thought was a great price, especially for a trip that we'll be taking just 7 days from now.

Now, we are planning to visit from next Wed to Sat, visiting UNC on Thursday and Clemson on Friday.

So now am asking everyone's help, esp you Mitch. Who should I contact for D to truly have a good representation of what clemson is like and to get a good feel for the college when we visit next Friday April 25th?

Hopefully I would like D to be able to
1. stay overnight with a female student Friday night to Sat am.
2.Have a personalized tour of campus and dorms,
3.eat in the dorm cafe,
4. sit in a history or general ed class or two-- and talk to history advisor or instructor
5. view the fine arts dept and find out whether D can continue to do choir, dance and theatre on "recreational" level.
6.talk to someone to find out more about the Honors program -- eg finding out what is different about the 2 honors programs, calhoun and general Honors, what are the benefits,etc.

Anything else anyone can think of that we should do or see or talk to during our visit to the campus? We would also like to tour the city/town of Clemson to see how big/small it is.

Other questions:
1. Would a person born and raised in S Calif find Clemson Univ and town of Clemson too small?
2. Would a person used to driving to school, church, everywhere think that no car all four years at Clemson too confining and that she can't get anywhere?
3. Do you think that Clemson would be too different for a person to get used, esp a person who is used to the faster pace of life in S.Calif? (eg would my D get bored with the campus/surroundings in Clemson being there for 4 years?)
4. For OOS students, are "local" students pretty friendly?
5. What do OOS students do for Holidays like Thanksgivng or Easter if they don't go home, as I am not sure we can fly d home for Thanksgiving , then Christmas, then Spring break, then Easter, then home for summer.

Wow, its been a whirlwind day to decide to visit clemson ( and UNC) "on a whim". . .so glad I found such a great rate for the airfare--when I tried finding flights for the airport closer to Clemson, the fares were $800/pp!! Hopefully I can find inexpensive hotels and car rental too.

So I guess I'll drive 130 miles from Charlotte to UNC, then 260 miles to Clemson, then 130 miles back to Charlotte. It is also fortunate that UNC and Clemson seem to be both along the Highway 85 as I am not very good at drivng in unfamilar places. Any sights we should see along the way?

Thanks for all your help. I don't know much about the South, so this is all new to me.

bostonbred

Mom of four, I think these visits will be so helpful in sorting things out. I will say this--the town of Clemson is very small and underwhelming. However, my D has a car and Greenville is less than an hour away, Atlanta is about 2 hours. I think the campus life is pretty vibrant. She has a few friends attending Clemson from her high school and they come home on weekends very infrequently, even though it's only a 2 hour drive.

Intheknow

Glad you're able to make it down there...don't know about a personalized visit, but the campus visitor center does excellent tours (Clemson University : Visitors : Schedule a Tour. And I would contact the history department chair to figure out some classes to sit in on, maybe other faculty to meet with. Same with the honors college folks -- they have always been good at answering questions for me...they may be able to direct you towards finding someone to stay with overnight, but I do warn you that finals begin on April 26, so you may not find many students willing to play host during this hectic, stressful time. As for "recreational" fine arts doings, there are a seemingly ENDLESS number of chorale groups that students can be a part of.

And it WILL be a culture shock to come to Clemson from a city from ANY size, and certainly from the other side of the country. But depending on your daughter's personality and attitude, she may adopt fine. I've actually seen students from the town of Clemson go to Clemson and not do well ,and students from a city go to the local school and not to well as well...it's less about distance from home and change in geography than overall fit. It's good that you are visiting both schools, since this is really the only/best way to determine how good a fit will be for your daufhter.

Enjoy your visits!

Mitch_L

Visiting both campus will definitely be good for you and your D. I would contact the people the Intheknow mentioned. They should be able to provide you with good information. If there is anything that you can't get let me know. I have a final on Saturday, but I would be happy to help on Friday if necessary.

The 'town' of Clemson is one of the biggest cities in South Carolina.....on gameday. Seriously, Clemson is a fun little town. If your D wants a large town only UCLA will suffice, but the small size is nice. There is always something to do on campus, and Greenville, Charlotte, and Atlanta are close. I went to Greenville for the first time (besides driving through to hockey) last week, and the downtown area is very nice with great restaurants and an excellent park.

Not having a car at Clemson wouldn't be very confining. Except for long trips, most people only use their car to go to fast food restaurants and going to the grocery store (CAT bus will take you too). I know a lot of people without cars who are happy with the decision.

I wouldn't say that Clemson would be boring for her. College here is as busy as you make it. She could join 3 clubs, take hard classes, be in a sorority, and never have a moment of free time, or she could do an extra circular or two, focus on school, and have some free time. I know a couple people from NYC that love it here, and love going home to the city.

The local students here are very friendly. One of my friends grew up 15 min away from campus and he is a very cool guy. They seem no different from the other students on campus.

This year Easter fell during spring break (I think intentionally), and I don't believe we would get many days off otherwise. Most students go home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break. I had a couple friends stay for most of Spring Break because of sports practice and they had a good time.

It may be difficult to sit in on a class on Friday because finals start the next day. Therefore some classes are canceled while others will be doing review sessions. The professors would be the last thing to complain about here though. All of mine, as well as my friends, have been excellent.

Driving up to campus from 85 will be pretty underwhelming. The campus almost pops up out of nowhere. Luckily spring is in full swing down here, and campus is absolutely beautiful right now. I suggest you take some time Friday afternoon to wander around campus. Walk across the library bridge, wander through the 6 floors of the library, go sit in the amphitheater, try to get lost (hard to do), and experience the campus atmosphere. That is how I fell in love with the school. Like I said, let me know if you need anything.

icy9ff8

Based on your original post in this thread, Clemson is not a match for your daughter. However, you are doing the right thing in visiting Clemson as it should be your daughter's informed preference which is most important here. I love the South and have visited Clemson dozens of times over a few decades and, again based on your original post, would be surprised if it was a good fit for your daughter. Clemson culture is football, fraternities & drinking first & foremost. You can easily visit UNC on the same trip.

Mitch_L

I would have to respectfully disagree with the poster above me. While Clemson has traditionally been more of a party school, its reputation has increased significantly over the past few years. According to US News and World Report, Clemson is ranked closely with schools like Miami of Ohio, which garners a slightly different reputation. Only 22% of undergrads go greek at Clemson. While football is hugely popular here, it is because of the spirit that the school has altogether. As far as drinking, there are a large amount of students who don't drink here and a large amount who do. The honors college students are on par with those being accepted into top programs, like UNC (for out of state). Last week I was hanging out with a grad student who has been at Clemson for 5 years (he did undergrad here too), who exclaimed that he went to Clemson when it was a 'party school' and that it has now risen above that academically.

MCS5280

I am currently a Clemson student from the western United States. It is very different down here, and if you are used to having access to the comforts of suburbia (malls, lots of stores etc) Clemson might not be the place for you. The school itself is pretty good, but your daughter might suffer from some culture shock during her first two semesters.

My recommendation is to come down here for a couple of days when classes are in session and see how the campus is with students present. Also, take time to explore the town of Clemson and the surrounding areas, this will give your daughter a chance to gauge how she will fit in. Since you are from SoCal, I am guessing that your daughter will not have a car with her. This really limits what you can access in the surrounding areas, so you should take that into consideration. The CAT bus will take you some places, but you are at the mercy of their schedule.

As for the party scene, I will just say that most Clemson students that I know have a work hard, play hard mentality.

My2Angels

I have to agree with much of what the above posters have said. We are from Long Island, NY (probably pretty similar to Cali) and my son is in his 2nd year at Clemson. When he was deciding where to go, it was the visit to Clemson that clinched it! He was leaning towards U of Miami, but just fell in love with Clemson when he saw it! It may be tough to stay over with a student or sit in on classes because of finals, but you should still be able to get a feel for it. The tour is great, eating in the dining hall, talking to people in the Honors office/History dept & just wandering around campus & the town.
I do feel that I should tell you my son did go through an adjustment period. Culture in the South is very different, but there are many OOS students at Clemson & I think they tend to gravitate to each other - somewhat. My son does not come home on Thanksgiving or Easter. Last year he came home for Spring break, but this year went to Florida with 8 of his Clemson friends. I always feel a little bad when he is not home for holidays, but he manages to find another OOS student to hang with.
Doing without a car is doable, but not always easy. Last year he didn't have one, but would either take the CAT bus or hitch a ride with friends when he needed to go somewhere. This year we caved & let him take our old car. Now he is the one lending rides to others.
My son has no complaints about the academics at Clemson. He is in the honors program & has taken some pretty rigorous classes so far. He just interviewed for Co-ops and many well respected companies came to campus. Both he and his roomate rec'd great offers and will be starting in the fall.
Good luck with your visit!

mom of four

Thanks for the replies.

We are going to visit Clemson next THursday, and then vist UNC the day after on Friday, because we were able to get permission to have D sit in on a 12 noon History class on Thursday. We also have a campus tour scheduled and a visit to the Honors dept scheduled. We plan to eat in the dorm cafe, visit the dorms and then just walk around as Mitch suggested.

Does anyone know the diffences in campus "Feel" between UNC and Clemson.

Also I am a little concerned that another poster thought that Clemson may not be a good fit for d -- i am assuming the reason that the poster thought that was because my d is conservative and doesn't drink or do drugs. SO, is Clemson that much of a party school? I have heard the phrase that Clemson students "studies hard and parties hard" from several posters.

Also, is Clemson that "rural" of an environment that a student from a "City" environment would find it hard to get acclimated?

Mpratt15

It really depends on the person. If they are accepting and have an open mind then Clemson is awesome. Clemson is what you make it. If you want to party all night then you can do it, likewise if you want to study all night nobody will bother you about that decision.

I think that one of the above posters said your daugher would not fit in well is because of the city size not drinking or drugs. Clemson is fairly rural, but it's not like you would think about in the movies. No, you won't see tractors driving down the road. Like other posters have said there are many cities close by that have a LOT to offer. I personally live in Greenville (about 1 hour away) and can tell you there is a lot to do. I'm sure that many students come down on the weekend to just relax. Cities like Atlanta and Charlotte are very close also.

I'm not positive, but I don't think that not having a car would be constricting. I'm sure that the friends she makes would be willing to give her rides any where.

I recently visited UNC and Clemson in the same week, because I'm considering both. I felt like the two were very similar. Both are in fairly small towns. UNC felt bigger, which it should. It has more undergrads and grads and it's campus takes a lot longer to walk through. When I went on the Clemson tour we visited almost all of the campus, but when we visited UNC we only toured the upper half.

I think going into the Honors program would be great. I want to do it myself. I think there are many advantages that it offers.

I think it's great that you and your daughter are coming to visit because it is definitely the only way to understand if you would fit in.