Today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite things. Clemson. I could not be more happy with where I decided to go to college. I always had it in the back of my mind that I wouldn't stay in Texas, because how many chances to you get to move somewhere totally different? However, I wasn't about to go super crazy with it, so I created a geographical area that only consisted of southern states - this girl wasn't about to endure real winters or not have southern hospitality. I ended up applying to two Texas schools, three in South Carolina and one in Virginia. I didn't apply to any reach schools (fear of rejection was the main reason), so I was blessed to get accepted to all six. However, after months and months of wish washing, I had narrowed down to two. Both in South Carolina and, as it turns out, less than an hour from each other. Lots of people considered the other school my better option, but deep down I always knew Clemson was the place for me.
I toured Clemson the summer before my senior year, during a marathon college tour I did with my mom (I'll probably make a post about this later on). Clemson was the last school I formally toured in that week, and to say it left an impression would be an understatement. I was impressed by the pretty campus, which I only see as more gorgeous now that I'm a student. I was attracted to the bigger school atmosphere without it being massive. Most state schools in Texas have 50,000+ students and sprawling campuses. Clemson has about 16,000 undergraduate students, and I can get across campus in 15 minutes - usually seeing at least a handful of people I know along the way. Clemson is the best of both worlds - small enough to not feel anonymous, but not too small to feel like high school.
Another thing that really attracted me to Clemson was football. As a Texas girl and a cheerleader for all of my middle and high school life, I love football, and I can keep up with the game too. Tip: if you want to impress boys learn how to understand the basics of football, and keep gradually learning more (kidding, kind of). There is no better way to spend a Saturday than gameday in Death Valley. We also have a fun tradition where the football team runs down the hill that's part of our student section at the start of each game. ESPN named it the most exciting 25 seconds in college football, and I couldn't agree more. Watch this video to get a slight idea of what it's like, because when you're actually there, it's so much better.
Clemson also provides the great environment of a college town. I believe we were ranked among the best college towns in America - or I would rank us at that. Clemson (the town) is really small, so it's easy to get around even if you don't have a car. I do recommend befriending someone with a car though, because sometimes it's necessary. However, Clemson isn't completely isolated either. It's 45 minutes into Greenville, the nearest big city. There are other small towns on either side of Clemson, and it's only 20 minutes away from Anderson, a larger town. Clemson is also only 2 hours away from both Charlotte and Atlanta, which have the larger airports (I recommend Charlotte - getting to the Atlanta airport is awful). I've never felt like there was nothing to do in Clemson. There are always activities offered on campus, or there are plenty of things to do in the surrounding area.
Now I should probably mention the most important thing about college, academics. Clemson is ranked in the Top 20 public universities in the country. We boast great agricultural and engineering programs, but really I think any major would be satisfied at Clemson. There's great duality between classes. I've had a 200 person lecture, and 25 person discussion based course in the same semester. The school is big enough that there are a range of professors to take, especially for general education or intro classes. Most of my professors I loved, and left the class feeling like I actually learned something - novel concept huh?
At first, I wasn't sure how I felt being at a school where I didn't know anyone, but Clemson very quickly became home. It's all a matter of getting involved and meeting people. I would not trade the great freshman year I had for the world, and I am so excited for the next three years at this wonderful place.
So I hope you enjoyed my Clemson infomercial. I could talk for days about how much I love this place. If you're looking at colleges, consider Clemson. Go Tigers!
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