Best midsize school that has the following:

stillnadine
Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:25:30 +0000

I don’t want to upset Pierre 0913 because he does a great job trumpeting Clemson, but within the state of South Carolina, USC is just as well respected, if not more so, than Clemson, even when accounting for the severe rivalry between the schools. I’m not sure what Claudette means by “they let anyone in” because both schools have very similar stats.

USC is larger (which may be a minus for the OP), more diverse in the majors offered, attracts a wider variety of students, and has terrific “school spirit.” Students we know who chose Clemson were “generally” math and science oriented, more conventional and more conservative. Students we know who go to USC tend to be more creative in nature, interested in a variety of majors from international business to sports management to art/film making to philosophy to political science. USC also has a law school. As a fairly neutral bystander (s attends College of Charleston), I can see the appeal of both schools, for different students.

Another major difference is the location: USC is in Columbia, the state capital and has a urban setting. Clemson is very isolated, which can be a plus for some amd a minus for others. But these schools foster amazing loyalty and big time football spirit.