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Wofford, Furman, Converse, USC-Columbia, Clemson, Citadel, and College of Charleston
Wofford and Furman are two of the best private schools in state. They are both very small liberal arts colleges. Converse is also a small liberal arts private school. It is an all-woman's school.
USC-Columbia is the state flagship and has more than 30,000 students. They boast the number one international business program in the country. Clemson is the rival large state school. They're well-known for engineering, but both schools have solid programs.
The Citadel is a predominantly male public school that offers a military education. College of Charleston is also a public school well known in the state.
I've heard Wofford referred to as the "Harvard of the South", but I'm not really sure how much 'better' it is than any of the other schools I mentioned. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, there are also many other schools in the state to choose from.
Wofford is no better than Furman, although Furman is more expensive. Both are excellent small private schools. Furman has an advantage in some categories like student body population, Swan Lake, a fantastic golf course on campus, Paris Mountain very nearby, the Swamp Rabbit Trail, Eugene E. Stone soccer stadium, a rugby field, an indoor/outdoor tennis center, a performing arts/concert hall, a versatile arena for basketball/concerts/trade shows, a beautiful chapel, and the Furman mall—to name a few. Wofford is more "urban," while Furman is more spread out in a suburban/rural setting.
Thank you for the information about Furman. Sounds like a great school.
Both are great schools. Wofford has some awesome facilities as well. Old Main is one of the best historical structures in the south. The Richardson Building is a great student wellness center with racquetball courts, yoga/dance studios, NFL standard training rooms etc ( the only nicer facility may be The Strom at USC), the Village has been toured by folks nationwide as a new model for student housing, the campus is terrific with a great tree canopy. The Milliken Science Center is one of the best is SC. Wofford is only a short drive from Charlotte for big city attractions.
The University of South Carolina is #35 on Kiplinger's 100 Best Values list for 2013 for in-state students and #50 for out-of-state students. Clemson is #34 for in-state students and #39 for out-of-state students. Your field of study notwithstanding, I guess it depends on whether you want a small town college setting or an urban setting when choosing a school. I went to Clemson for three semesters in '78 and '79. I finished at USC where I attended from '84 to '86. I'm a city boy.
Furman are Clemson are the most acclaimed. Clemson is the #25 public university in the country per US News. USC has one of the best honors colleges in the country and the International Business school is the best. Clemson is far better in science and math related majors, e.g. engineering. USC is better in business, music, arts etc. Furman is a liberal arts so this is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. Furman is known as a great LA school.
All this is moot in terms of the original question posed. There are so many factors to consider and the "best" is a function of those factors. If you want a bigger school with a small town appeal, Clemson rocks. If you want a big school in a city then USC is your choice. If you want a liberal arts college then Wofford or Furman may be your choice. CofC does not compare academically but Charleston is a fun area.
I don't disagree with you comments about magazine rankings, they are almost worthless and are easily manipulated. But, to clarify a few points on this post and one other, there is a difference between CofC and Clemson/Carolina. In business, CofC does not have the business school depth in terms of resources or alumni compared with Carolina. Nor does CofC come anywhere close to USC is research funding or financial resources. And, there are simply more disciplines at Carolina which lends itself to more specialized majors. Clemson offers much more inthe way of engineering and architecture. So, there are differences, Clemson and Carolina also attract better students. Now, you can get a good education at any of the schools, that boils down to the student and how much he or she works to learn.
Forthe record, I did not go to Wofford or Furman but. Both s hooks have much higher entrance requirements than CofC. Both schools have very low class sizes, are Better funded and have very talented faculties. So, your assertion that Wofford is not that great is just wrong.
Stupid in the sense that they would say Duke and NC are in Charlotte, that they would think of Wofford as an elite school, that Clemson was better than C of C / Carolina because of its USNews rankings... just a general homer-ish view of things.
Stupid in the sense that they would say Duke and NC are in Charlotte, that they would think of Wofford as an elite school, that Clemson was better than C of C / Carolina because of its USNews rankings... just a general homer-ish view of things.
Did you go to CofC? Is that why you are so persistent on having it mentioned with the best? I am not sure what you consider elite but, anyone to say that Wofford is not a terrific school would also fall into the stupid category on your list. Exactly what criteria are you using to say that Wofford is all talk and that CofC is just as good as Clemson or Carolina? Are you being a Cougar homer?
I think this argument is silly until we find out what the poseter's goal is. But since everyone else is blathering on I'm game!
If the poster is majoring in education they might be best served by Winthrop which I do not recall a single person pointing out. If they are going to be a non-traditional or part time student I've actually heard the best things about Citadel in that regard. Or they might be better served going to a tech school for a couple of years and only paying full fare at a larger state school the final two years or equivalent. Its rarely mentioned but the two year technical college system in SC s very strong.
I think a lot is being missed in this discussion. CoC is by far the best party school- and FWIW it has actually leveraged that status to attract stronger students than it did 20 years ago. It is a great lifestyle school if you will.
Clemson is not as large as everyone assumes because the overall student count includes students who are off campus during their co-op semesters (and that is a very prevalent experience at Clemson) as well as students spending semesters at the satellite architecture campuses, people using the greenville learnign center & ICAR, etc. Clemson also has a number of programs such as architecture, agriculture and some of the specific engineering degrees that are not offered at any other SC school. If you are planning to enter a graduate program for any of the sciences or medicine Clemson will typically be your best bet. If you do not like sports or the country you could very well have a problem. All the bars in town will actually fit on one t-shirt! Clemson is also very white except for a contingent of foriegn grad students. One of my black friends used to crack the best jokes about being a black person in Clemson.
USC is the largest but also a bit of a sprawling mess. That said it is also by far the best business school in the state and the best school for someone studying government since they can actually pick up jobs or internships at the statehouse. It is also a much more inclusive environment due to its size and being located in a progressive (by SC standards) city.
If you like the beach- I think Coastal Carolina has actually improved greatly in recent years. I grew up nearby (literally 2 miles away) and would have never in a million years considered Coastal but it really has moved up. And the building projects have really improved the campus to the point that athletic facilities aside it has the overall nicest/most functional buildings of any of the SC schools.
I'll give the Citadel the nod for the most dedicated alumni.
And the Furman/Wofford rivalry is pretty humorous since they are two sides of one coin. Furman has one of the most attractive campus settings I have seen. Wofford is more of an urban campus but deifnitely Southern/genteel ersion of urban. Both are small- Wofford comically so. And both tend to attract either upper crust or those hoping to move into the upper crust. They both also tend to have graduates that easily get accepted to graduate programs at larger schools. Wofford is also the most greek campus in the state.
Sadly the one school I think should be avoided is SC State. The administration, board and financial management is an absolute mess.
Thank you for the information!
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