Sweet Tweets

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Death Vally OR should it be Happy Valley?

The Princeton Review came out naming Clemson as the #1 school for happy students!

Not surprising to me. I loved my time at Clemson and wouldn't change a thing about my decision to go there if I could do it all over again.

In fact, I would love to do it all over again. Every time I go back, walk on campus, I'm filled with awesome memories, a pulling nostalgia that makes me wish I was 18 again and moving into Johnstone A all over again.

Maybe it's because it happened ten years ago this fall, but I have such vivid memories of going down the road to Seneca with my Mom and Dad to the Kmart, since the closest WalMart was in Anderson. Of my new desktop computer unbelievably having 24-hour internet hookup, the computer purchase having been a family event, complete with unpacking it in the dining room (complete with speakers) and ooh and ahing over it's features. Going to Harcombe dining hall and staring in amazement at the line of cereal after cereal dispenser...available 16 hours of the day! And running all over campus in the South Carolina August heat for two weeks while I went through Rush. Side note: what didn't make that easier? Having a name tag that said I was from Landenberg, PA. If I had only known...I would have gone and made up my own on my brand new deskjet printer. My first Clemson football game, going to the P&A building for chapter and eating fresh ice cream made from Clemson's own cows. Go ahead, have the chocolate shake made with chocolate milk. It's a miracle I didn't gain the freshman 15. My first Upstate autumn and Moonshine date party out in Pumpkintown, S.C. Yes, it exists. Sitting in the shade of ancient oak trees on Bowman field, at the foot of Tillman hall and listening to the carillon bells play. I love so much about that school at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains, and those memories are all from my first semester. Imagine what 7 more held.

It wasn't perfect all the time, and there were some classes that made me miserable at times, hello honors Econ, but so much more good than bad.

Here's a recap of the Princeton Review's rankings:

Clemson has the happiest students, is the top jock school, Princeton Review says

The Princeton Review says Clemson has the happiest students and is the No. 1 jock school among universities in its 2009 edition of the Best 368 Colleges.

Clemson is ranked second on the list of schools having optimal town-gown relations and sixth on the list of colleges with the best quality of life. It also is included on the list of “colleges with a conscience,” a category that is not ranked, for its students' community service activities.

These are the categories in which Clemson is ranked and the ranking:

1 – Happiest Students
1 – Jock Schools (popularity of intercollegiate and intramural sports)
2 – Town-Gown Relations
6 – Best Quality of Life
7 – Best Athletic Facilities
7 – Students Pack the Stadiums (intercollegiate sports are popular)
8 – Best Career/Job Placement Services
8 – Everyone Plays Intramural Sports
20 – School Runs Like Butter (administration gets high marks)

“It’s no surprise that Clemson students are considered the happiest in these rankings. Clemson is a very caring and spirited place,” Dean of Students Joy Smith said.

“A lot of people work hard to provide the best quality of life for our students and make Clemson feel like a small college that still provides the education and opportunities of a big research university,” she said.

The rankings in “The Best 368 Colleges Guide” are based on surveys of 120,000 students from the past two years. For more, go to www.princetonreview.com.

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Listening to: Coldplay - Viva La Vida
via FoxyTunes

3 Remarks:

Anonymous said...

unbelievably well said. I really enjoyed the review, but even more, I enjoyed your reflections - I could not have said it better myself. I feel a lump in my throat now just thinking of taking a walk in the botanical gardens there - man, that place - amazing. The Lord was/is so evident in that blessed place! Thank you for this. it made my heart smile. :) (as do you, my dear)

Lindsay Adams said...

Oh man, I could not agree more with your comments! Thanks for taking us back to those wonderful college years. I miss Clemson (and you) so much!

Anonymous said...

Melissa,

I am not sure if we have ever met, but I found your blog somehow through BC people and we also have a lot of mutual friends. Clemson is a special place that seems to defy words.... I am glad that it is getting some national recognition that confirms what we all know to be true... "There's something in these hills."

Check out my Clemson blog sometime at solidorange.com