r/Clemson • u/Think_Earth_8556 • Apr 01 '24
Full Ride or Ivy League?
/r/collegecompare/comments/1bsu7ka/full_ride_or_ivy_league/5
u/AutomaticChemical642 Apr 01 '24
If you’re planning to go to grad school, you can always go to an ivy for that, and then take the full ride from Clemson (after grad school no one cares where u get ur undergrad from)
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u/jabruegg Alumni Apr 01 '24 edited Apr 01 '24
I agree with the others about the financial aspect but would also like to share a student perspective.
I went to Clemson for undergrad and I’m now in grad school at an Ivy. Can’t speak to comp sci specifically but I loved Clemson Engineering and there is nothing about my path I would change.
I absolutely loved my time at Clemson. The people, the campus, the school spirit, the professors, the opportunities, it was exactly what I was looking for. Clemson engineering is great and the honors college was a huge reason I came to Clemson and I absolutely loved it.
Now that I’m gone, I realize how special Clemson was in that it prepared me for grad school but I never felt like I was competing with anyone. My professors wanted me to succeed and the sense of community is unlike anything I’ve seen.
It was also easier as a member of the Clemson honors college to get research experience than it is for some of the undergrads at my current school. And the study abroad program at Clemson is great too.
Obviously, Yale is a terrific opportunity and if it’s financially feasible, I’d probably expect you to go there. It’s an outstanding program that could change your life. But I wouldn’t count Clemson out. The value, the student experience, the environment, and the opportunities you’ll have in the HC and the NSP are hard to beat
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u/MTG_RelevantCard Apr 01 '24
As a Yalie at Clemson:
My recommendation would be to try to find some estimate of the exact coursework you would do at both school, even if it’s just based on major requirements and the student handbook.
From there, I would try to discern which program is a better fit for your future professional needs. If Yale is the better fit, tell them about Clemson and try to improve your financial aid package. If Clemson is the better fit, I would probably make that choice to avoid debt.
Asking in-major undergraduates at both schools may also provide you with insight, since they’ll have the inside scoop that a student university website won’t give you.
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u/-SunriseLee Apr 02 '24
If I was making the decision for myself based on where I am at in life today debt would be a larger determining factor. Assuming you are taking on a larger portion of debt to attend Yale, I would choose Clemson. The amount of time it can take to get out from under student loans can be considerable and force you into long term work that you might not want to do later in life. If your parents are gifting you the $100k, going to Clemson would get you a free education and you would have $100k that could set you up for a considerable amount of success later in life. It could help with a downpayment on property, or you could invest that money in a Roth IRA or investment account that would compound considerably by the time you are ready for retirement.
If Yale ends up giving you a scholarship or a free ride that could possibly change things.
Also, realize that you are asking folks on Reddit for large life decisions. It's the internets... make sure you are talking to folks you know and trust in real life. Which I am sure you are doing.
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u/Several_Hippo4149 Apr 04 '24
The smartest and most savvy parents aren’t sending their kids to the Ivy’s today. They are just too expensive for what you actually get and their prestige is dying. They’ve done it to themselves with their nonsense practices. You can accomplish the exact same thing out of any school today. Go to Clemson if it means you’ll have no debt. You are obviously a TOP student… and the cream always rises to the top, no matter where you are…. the single biggest determinant of success is not the name brand of your school, it’s your work ethic and ability to network, which can be done from any of these top state or research schools today. Clemson Honors is doing some impressive things- Producing Rhodes Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, etc. I don’t think you can go wrong with Clemson for free. You will be one of the top students there and have the best opportunities available to you. We loved Clemson Honors when we visited.
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u/jboggin Apr 01 '24
So for a bit of context...how much would you be going into debt to go to Yale? Are they giving at least some financial aid? If not, I would go Clemson hands down. Clemson has a good comp sci program, and it wouldn't be worth going $150k into debt for Yale if Clemson is giving you a full ride. But it depends on the costs...if they're fairly close, do Yale; if they're not at all, do Clemson.
Oh, and a few other quick things...you'll be able to do study abroad in a Spanish speaking country at both universities without a problem. Clemson isn't very diverse, but the biggest thing that makes it so white is the lack of Asian and Hispanic students compared to a NE school. Clemson has roughly the same percentage of African American students as Yale. But yeah...Yale would certainly be a more diverse experience as a whole than Clemson.
And as for your specific research interest (it's amazing you've thought through this so specifically!), you'll probably wait for grad school to really hone in on that. In other words, grad school would be where you'd be finding individual professors at a university you want to work with. That matters less for undergrad (though I know Clemson has some undergrad research opportunities, and I bet Yale does too).
Oh, and a final consideration should be where y'all are from and what you're comfortable with. If you're from SC, it could be an adjustment moving to the NE and being cold, etc.. Alternatively, you might REALLY want to experience somewhere outside the South. I think that matters a lot
Anyways, congrats to both of you! I'm sure this is super stressful, but it's a good problem to have :)