Yes, unfortunately Clemson is not known for large merit starting with the HS Class of 2020. D20 (4.0 uwgpa 35 ACT, Top 2-ish% rank) received the highest auto merit of $12k + some smaller individual and departmental awards. She applied as an OOS (NC) large, competitive Charlotte area HS. She had several cheaper options, but chose it for fit; she didn’t like UNC or NCSU. The known merit schools (UA, UofSC, AZ, etc) weren’t a good fit for her. She’s had a lot of opportunities so far, one advantage of being a big fish so to speak. We were planning on moving here to retire after she graduated college; we just moved that plan up by 4 years, so she started receiving in-state rates her sophomore year. If chasing merit, I don’t usually recommend Clemson, even though we obviously like it. It draws a big crowd from states in the northeast that have very expensive in-state tuitions. The merit offered is ultimately determined by the state’s budget; they’ve been trying to raise UofSC’s academic stats, so that’s where the funds are going. One of the other CC parents created this chart a few years ago; it will at least give you an idea of the merit award levels, although the award amounts have varied from year to year.
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