Clemson University Top Questions

For the most part, yes.

Yes and no. I'll break down which are true and which are false. True: Clemson students are smart, very smart (Minimum SAT scores are 1200 and we have had football players nominated for Rhodes Scholars). Clemson students are dedicated fans. We sleep outside Death Valley for South Carolina tickets and Littlejohn for Duke/UNC tickets (if that is not dedication, Webster needs a new definition). Clemson students are a huge family. No matter where you go in the world you can find a Clemson fan and have an instant connection. (All it takes is to see a Tiger Paw and you are friends) Clemson students don't know their history. I hate to admit it, but many students have no idea when Clemson started, how it started, why certain places/people/events are important, etc. Many have no idea how many important things were invented at Clemson. It is also a same to admit many seniors do not know our alma mater. (They have to put up the words at football games) Clemson is in the middle of nowhere. It is true, but it adds to the charm. But it is 2 hours from Columbia, 2 hrs from Charlotte, and 2 hrs from Atlanta so nowhere is a perfect location. Clemson is not as diverse and they appear. I hate to admit this one also, but it is true. The amount of activities focused on diversity are relatively low compared to other events. The student population not including athletes has a low number of minority students, and now with rising admission standards the number is not growing. Clemson is dedicated to the goals of the Board of Trustees. We have a goal to become a top 20 university. Currently ranked 32, but have been moving up the rankings for the past 7 years. Even though tuition has raised by almost 200{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} since I entered as a freshman, it is all worth it to have a degree from one of the best univerisities in the country. Clemson is off the map. Most people have NO IDEA where Clemson is located. I don't understand why no one realizes it is in Clemson, SC, not Florida!! False: Clemson students are boring. We are all diverse and located in the middle of nowhere..have to find a way to have fun. (Do boring people sled down the dam on trays from the cafeterria?). Clemson students are country. We have students from all 50 states and 119 countries...enough said. Clemson students are fair weather fans. For the most part this is false. Many of us follow our teams passionately and actually stay till the clock reads 0:00. However, a few bad apples made this stereotype. Clemson students are bad Greek members. Our Greek system is contained on campus to make a tight community. Highly involved in the city and philantrophy. Clemson students show bad sportsmanship. While there is always that drunk frat boy/non-student fan which ruins things for the others, but our alumnis are some of the most open and well behaved fans I have experienced. Clemson students can be unsupportive of other places. Whenever a disaster occured somewhere outside the Clemson world, our students were the first to step up. Many fundraisers occured for 9/11 and many banners of support were made and sent to VA Tech. Clemson athletes have it easy. On the contrary, they have to work the hardest. Our players pass class or they don't see playing time. They graduate, some even early. Our sports programs rank in the top 20 for athletic graduation rates. Also have the first athletic enrichment building/program in the country. Clemson is a boring place to be. Not by far! Lots to do on/around campus and close to big cities so you can always get away. Clemson doesn't have a world wide connection. Clemson alumni live all over the world and have business connections everywhere there is an alumni. Just having Clemson on your degree means a lot. You never know who will know your program in depth.

Not really, Clemson is, sadly, getting away from it's agricultural background.

These stereotypes could not be further from the truth. There are people at Clemson who come from very country areas, but they make up a very small portion of the overall student body and are generally concentrated into agricultural programs.

no

No hillbillies, and we only walk around shirtless and barefoot on sunny summer/spring days.

The party scene is easy to avoid if it doesn't interest you. Parties can definitely be found, but students must make an effort to go off campus to find them. There are plenty of activities for those underage or just not interested in the party atmosphere.

Although we love to watch sports and have a good time, academics are just as important and partying isn't the main focus.

No... the southerners are all gentlemen and belles, and the rednecks are really just good old boys with big trucks... actually there is an impressive international student body.

Mostly, yes. The student body is large enough that there's a niche to satisfy everyone, but if you're looking for an earthy, diverse place open to lots of different lifestyles or sexual orientation, this is not it. If you like Jesus, you'll be okay.

Yes there are. I've been in Clemson for 6.5 years now.

No

sort of, there are a lot of preppy kids, but most people are typical college kids

To some degree much education is stressed more and more at the institution

There is a lot of active greek life on campus, but less than 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of kids are in greek life. Club sports are about as popular as greek life and when there are local parades for "First Friday" (usually the First Friday of the school year/First Football Game), both Club Sports and Greek Life are equally presented. Sports school, that term unfortunately gets a bad rep. Yes we are a big sports school and by the time you graduate you bleed orange because of a massive sense of school spirit campus wide. However, Clemson still has great acedemic programs, community service programs, and general student life opportunities. We cannot help being adamant about Clemson sports because (yes to another stereotype), the area is very rural and there isnt always much else to do. Being a rural school there are great areas for camping, hiking, backpacking, boating and other outdoor activities in the Clemson area. But, being a rural school, if you are a big shopper/ mall goer, I would stay away, not a lot of opportunities for that close to the school, would have to drive a bit to get to the malls and more urban shopper friendly areas. Finally being a southern school there is a huge sense of hospitality. You can see it in the sprinkling of gentlemen and ladies around campus, but there are other scenes where that isnt as prevalent. But if polo, vinyard vines and vera bradley make you gag, there is no way to avoid it in class or on campus.

as far as the student and faculty are concerned it is not a very diverse population, while there are some African-Americans this is far from the norm, there are many more Asian students. The student body is very hight spirited wearing the school colors every Friday. The university is not very progressive--it seems to want to stay stuck academically in the nineteenth century and the town is very small--the university has about 17,000 students but the town has only 11,000 residents and for such a small university and town the crime rate seems to be disproportionately high but it might just seem this was because everything that happens is emailed to the student population.

Ummm, this is somewhat accurate. A lot of students are preppy, but it definitely does not apply to all students.

There is a huge element of preppiness.

Yes but everybody is so kind and good-natured. It must be that southern hospitality that runs through everybody's blood, considering most of the students are from the south.

1) People in fraternities and sororities dress like this 2) NOT TRUE at all 3) It's hard to get in if you are out of state, but they will be more lienient on in state students