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Clemson Bridge question
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Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 6:11 AM

My daughter was accepted into the Clemson Bridge program, she is going to do it, but is a little heartbroken… she was top 15% of her class, student body VP, and cheer captain at her HS… is there anyway she can appeal or find a way for direct admit… she wanted this her whole life, although she is technically “in” it isn’t the same

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in 20 years after she has graduated from Clemson


Feb 12, 2022, 7:21 AM

it won't matter that she was in the bridge program. I know it is tough now. She probably has friends that got in. The credits still count the same, the courses will all be accepted. All she has to do is meet the minimum GPA after the first year and she will be "in".

The same thing happened to my nephew at a different school. Years later he ended up marrying a Clemson grad. I still give him crap about not getting into Clemson. He was in the same situation as your daughter but they didn't have a Clemson Bridge program at the time. The Air Force ROTC even gave him a scholarship contingent that he got accepted into Clemson. He didn't. 10 years later at Christmas, when I am giving him crap about not getting into Clemson I can always look down and see his West Point ring. Tell her to apply to the military prep school.

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Re: in 20 years after she has graduated from Clemson


Feb 12, 2022, 8:20 AM

You could save yourself a lot of money and just have her go to Tri County not in the bridge program. Take the same classes she would in bridge without the bridge title and enroll at Clemson next year. A few of my friends did bridge and a few did what I just described. Those that skipped the bridge program saved a ton of money and we’re still at Clemson on time with the same credits of those that did

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This is true, the first paragraph, at least. My son bridged.***


Feb 14, 2022, 6:59 AM [ in reply to in 20 years after she has graduated from Clemson ]



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Here's another thing to keep in mind.


Feb 14, 2022, 8:37 AM [ in reply to in 20 years after she has graduated from Clemson ]

I got an Army ROTC scholarship. I really didn't want to be in the military, but I needed a scholarship. Through my time in the reserves, I met some of the best people I've ever known. And those people made my time a great experience.

Now that I think about it, being at Clemson was not what was so great. Rather, it was the people I met that made it a great experience.

Help your daughter recognize it's that it will be the people and not so much the place that makes her college experience great.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 7:33 AM

I think the greatest line in movie history was spoken by Clint Eastwood just before he killed Gene Hackman when Eastwoodd said, "Deserve has nothing to do with it."

I do not know the answer to your question, but I have 3 grown kids and each has been badly disappointed by various outcomes like the one your daughter has had.

My oldest had great grades, very high standing at a large, excellent high school. Her extra curricular sports, social, academic and work activities were terrific. She was not admitted to her most wanted schools. She felt crushed by her rejections and was sure the results were unfair, unjust and likely
rigged by factors out of her control. She thought I was awful for telling her life was often like that. She attended a highly ranked college on a full academic scholarship with terrific grades, induction into the school's highest honor society, a very good mcat score, nice medical work experience while in college and wonderful recommendations. She was not accepted into any of the 5 medical schools to which she applied on her first or second attempts. She was accepted on the 3rd try at a fine medical school, won scholarships which paid for the final 3 years of med school, and, you guessed it, was not rewarded with a residency at her most wanted hospitals. Today she's a recognized authority in her field, holds an excellent position, is very well paid, and by any standard of measure enormously successful. I suspect she is who she is today and where she is today at least in part by those still odd seeming rejections.

My other kids'rejections were less dramatic, but both of them felt cheated somewhere along the way. They are also now grown, successful and best of all not angry about their lives.

Michael Jordan did not make his high school basketball team as a sophomore. He did get a scholarship to UNC, but most thought Buzz Peterson, also in his class at UNC was going to be a better player.

I know a couple of Clemson Bridge Program kids who finished Clemson with excellent grades, now have good jobs and life for them looks and I think feels pretty good.

My response here is likely to be unwanted and perhaps offensive. But I'd recommend you and your daughter accept her bridge program acceptance and get on with having a great experience at Clemson. I wish your daughter the best of luck at Clemson and in life.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 8:37 AM

^^^this^^^
Ghesh, don't understand the TD on these posts but whatever. Not that it means squat. Proud parent got a lot of wonderful advice. But imo, none better than what you took time and posted.

Your post should be a required read for any young parents. Good teachable lesson to all kids who get dissapointed. Lot of unfair or overlooked moments in life. As Dabo also says, don't let that define you. Again jmho. Good Post.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 7:53 AM

The world of college admissions is a dog eat dog one. Your daughter sounds like a very well rounded young lady and she will be just fine. You mentioned that she was top 15% of her class but, you do not mention where she scores nationally. I would recommend taking a look at the acceptance credentials for Clemson’s incoming freshmen last year. There are a lot of smart students applying to Clemson. Just know that there are students out there wishing that they had been offered Bridge admission. Her time in the Bridge program will be a blur but, her Clemson degree will last a lifetime. Congrats to your daughter on her admission to the Clemson family. She is going to love her time on campus.

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Be happy ,when I graduated there was no bridge & all I


Feb 12, 2022, 8:01 AM

ever wanted to do was go to Clemson.I was more than devastated. I ended up going to Newberry

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Why didn't you transfer in?***


Feb 12, 2022, 8:25 AM



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There's something in these hills.


liked Newberry after being there( small school )***


Feb 12, 2022, 3:18 PM



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Indian or wolf?***


Feb 14, 2022, 7:03 AM



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Indian ,hate the wolf logo***


Feb 18, 2022, 4:13 PM



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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 8:13 AM

Look into The ESP program! Early Success Program. I was accepted into the bridge, but applied/interviewed for the the ESP program and got in (2014 grad). What it is, is you take two summer classes at Clemson (it’s a group of about 30) and you take these two classes you have guidance counselors and mandatory study hall to help you ease in to it and prove you can do it. Then once you complete that you are just like every other Clemson student and have all 4 years at Clemson. But if not, the Bridge really isn’t bad at all. My sister did that back in 2007 and she actually had a great time, bridge students get 99% of the benefit of being Clemson students but it’s cheaper for a year. Don’t let the stigma of the bridge program get y’all down, it’s still the Clemson experience and after Freshman year she’ll have 3 years left as a “Clemson student”. Also for those that look down on the bridge, I ended up graduating ### laude in 3.5 years so it really isn’t a reflection on how smart you are, Clemson is very competitive to get into now and getting into Clemson or the Bridge program is something to be proud of.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 8:21 AM

The Clemson bridge program catches all those parents and their kids who “have” to go to Clemson and makes them pay an exorbitant fee, and for some surely begin mounting debt, when going to a SC tech school for two years and living at home saves thousands. Never understood why smart people participate in Bridge. I’ve got three kids and all we tried to do was get more education without crushing debt.

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Re: why smart people participate in Bridge


Feb 12, 2022, 8:39 AM

Actually Shirley, Bridge saved us $3,000 each of those two semesters. Tuition is still covered by LIFE scholarships, and the kids live on the Clemson campus but in apartments rather than the suite style dorms. Having a kitchen was a tremendous blessing for the HS class of 2020 with limited dining hall service during that fall semester. Most years they are able to use the recreational facilities and enter the athletic ticket lotteries, just the same as full admission students.

Choice of major is one of the determining factors of which students get straight in vs being bridged. My daughter is in a major that accepts very limited numbers of transfer students, so it was reassuring to know that her spot was being held and all she had to do was make the type of grades she made in HS. And to be honest, she had a much better instructor at Tri County for the math courses for her major than the UGa grad who taught the final math at Clemson last semester.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 12:14 PM [ in reply to Re: Clemson Bridge question ]

Same with my daughter Shirley. She got an associates from TCT and transferred into Clemson. Graduated Magna ### Laude and missed Summa by one one hundredth of a point. Not too shabby. She never even applied to Clemson because she said she wanted to save me and her mom money. Some big time character right there. Headed to USC in the fall for her masters (degree not offered at Clemson).

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 7:22 PM [ in reply to Re: Clemson Bridge question ]

Replying to Shirley. Our daughter was accepted at Clemson through Bridge. She nor we were disappointed. She had excellent grades. This was not where she “just had to go”. She was accepted to other schools. She knew what she wanted to study and was willing to study at Tri-County Tech as a freshman. Not going straight into CU was due to her choice of major, not her grades. We were not charged exorbitant fees. We actually saved some $$ during her freshman year. She still graduated from CU with the degree she wanted, in four years, as planned. Bridge is not bad!! Use it to your advantage.

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She should go to her local technical college


Feb 12, 2022, 8:25 AM

and take 2 years of gen-ed that transfers then do her last 2 years at Clemson. Save that $$$. Clemson tuition is completely out of control and not worth it.

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There's something in these hills.


Re: She should go to her local technical college


Feb 12, 2022, 8:39 AM

I understand what you all are saying about Tech school, transferring, and saving money. I do not see the numbers for last school year but, the transfer acceptance rate to Clemson 2019-2022 was 67%. So the acceptance from another school is not guaranteed. It is a gamble. You have a greater than 50% chance of it working but, still a risk. With the Bridge program, you maintain your grades and you are guaranteed admission to Clemson. Each family will have to decide which is the best option.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 8:34 AM

Our daughter was accepted into bridge in 2019. She had similar academics. She had a good experience, though the year ended online back in Michigan due to Covid. The school work at TriCounty was tough for her. There are gpa requirements to bridge over to Clemson. Maybe she had a little bit too much fun socializing and not enough study. Anyhow, her credits transfered but not the 2.7 gpa. Now she’s established a 3.5 gpa at Clemson so that worked out getting that adjustment to college done at TriCounty. Living in the Lightsey apartments was really nice. It’s a good community for them.

I would caution on one thing. Her major. Some majors are closed or limited acceptance. Make there’s a good plan for continuing in her major after bridging.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 9:06 AM

I believe ESP is now the Summer Bound program. Students are getting offered to enter that way vs fall start. There might be a process to request a reconsideration for Summer Bound so maybe worth looking into. It’s a more structured Summer II session to get the students adapted to the college rigors (ie dedicated study hours and coursework support).

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 9:14 AM

Last comments about Bridge. It used to be a race to get your spot, and students lived in off campus apartments. Now you have time to sit down and work through your options. I think living on campus and participating in Clemson activities has really improved the value. Yes you are paying higher tuition than regular TriCounty enrollment, but the overall expenses are less than a freshman enrolled at Clemson.

If your daughter was set on joining a sorority that’s a definite drawback. Our daughter joined a sorority her sophomore year. She just had to be patient in that regard.

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Remind her: it's not where you start, it's where you finish!


Feb 12, 2022, 9:05 AM

She'll be a Tiger after the Bridge program.

I don't know about an appeal - if you check recent admission stats, top 15% in HS would be borderline...
You might be setting her up to hear "No" again.

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Face to Face Meeting


Feb 12, 2022, 9:08 AM

There is nothing more powerful than meeting face to face with the admissions office- head person if possible. Make an appointment and go with your daughter and state your case.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 9:15 AM

I would recommend appealing, I’m not sure what the exact process is. My sister ended up getting straight in after appealing 3-4 years ago.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 9:20 AM

Hey, not the end of the world for her... Really doesn't matter in the scheme of things if she wants to go there...

My daughter bridged and transferred over after the bridge year. She graduated in business in 3.5 years with a respectable 3.4 gpa.

What did we learn?

1. The Lightsey Dorms were much better than most student housing.
2. The year goes by quickly and they really miss out on nothing.
3. She got to meet Trevor, KJ, and others in the community.
4. Very little difference other than Rush and other activities if she wants to be a cheerleader or something like that. You have to bridge over for those type activities.

Caution: The bridge program only accepted about 850 students back in 2018. I imagine that number is near the same. It's still a pretty elite group in the scheme of things since there are 29K or so applications to Clemson and only about 4,000 make it in either direct or the bridge.

The bridge closes out pretty fast. If you don't respond pretty quickly, she could get closed out by someone else wanting to get in that didn't make it in the first cut.

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First, congrats to her


Feb 12, 2022, 10:50 AM

these days Bridge can be hard to get into. It is amazing when you see the number of applications for Clemson.

Next - I would try the appeal route - used to know a professor who was on the appeals board or whatever they call it, and there used to be a link or something that made appeals easy to do, then they changed something, so most do not appeal - this was info from a few years ago, so it may be old.

Someone in this thread mentioned the early entry deal - highly recommend that - I tried to get my son to do it even though he got in without it. I think a summer in Clemson is a great time, but also a way to get acclimated to university life without so many other students doing the same thing and you get a step up on your degree(s).

Do remember that the Bridge program can get filled up.

Good luck sir, and get ready to be a college student parent - it is a big change from high school for the parents also!

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 11:02 AM

Admissions to a university are actually decided at the college level.

Some colleges are more difficult to get into than others and you are competing for spots this year with other applicants this year.

While I'm sure it's ok to go to community college and transfer in, the social aspect of being on campus your freshman year can't be ignored.

If you can afford it, do the bridge program.

If you are curious, try to find the numbers accepted for the current year vs applicants for the college she applied to and see if you can get some test scores from those acceptances.

Class rank doesn't mean all that much because it's so dependent on the quality of the school.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 11:35 AM

For fall ‘21 Clemson had about 47k applications. Something like 18k accepted and almost 4600 enrolled. Clemson is a tough school to get into. Nursing program is particularly competitive. Bridge is not a “you’re not good enough” type of offer. It’s an attempt to spread out class sizes and available resources at Clemson. Getting the classes you need to graduate is the next major hurdle for a Clemson student. The growth has outstripped the University’s ability to keep academically.

Forgot about parking. One advantage of Bridge is the bus system and parking. For the most part Bridge students have a decent place to park their cars and good transport to TriCounty to not have to drive there all the time. My daughter lived in Douthit her sophomore year. Parking was such a disaster around that dorm complex.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 11:53 AM

Don’t be upset. Bridge program is great. Our daughter was excepted to Clemson via Bridge Program. As parents, we were very happy. Her grades were fine but her choice of major was a determining factor. And she was still a Tiger. She moved over to CU after 2 semesters. Also, we were very comfortable with the way housing and security was handled for an 18yr old young lady living away from home for the fist time. Did I mention it saved us parents some $$. She finished CU on time(thank you Lord!!), met her great husband there, took part in plenty of campus and social life. She didn’t miss anything because of Bridge. Count it as a blessing. Best of luck to all of you!!

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I know she's disappointed and maybe....


Feb 12, 2022, 12:57 PM

embarrassed that she wasn't fully accepted. But I have a cousin who was in it. She's now a "full" junior at Clemson and doing great. Your daughter will get most of the Clemson experience and wii graduate with a full, regular degree.

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It ain't how you drive, it's how you arrive...


Feb 12, 2022, 1:55 PM

and yes, there is an appeals process.

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Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.


Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 4:47 PM

The appeal instructions are listed on the Clemson.edu website. If she appeals, she needs to be able to submit additional information. Something that makes her application stronger. A higher SAT score, changes in her GPA for the better. This needs to be some new information that was not available when she originally applied.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 12, 2022, 4:51 PM

The students in the bridge program are the replacements for the freshmen that are going to flunk out this coming year. Those that flunk out are the ones that shouldn’t have been admitted in the first place. Your daughter is in an outstanding position!

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Your daughter is in an outstanding position!


Feb 12, 2022, 4:52 PM

The students in the bridge program are the replacements for the freshmen that are going to flunk out this coming year. Those that flunk out are the ones that shouldn’t have been admitted in the first place. Your daughter is in an outstanding position!

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Thank you for all of the responses


Feb 12, 2022, 6:53 PM

She is going regardless… she learned to spell CLEMSON before her own name. Happy, but a bit disappointed… Thanks!

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Sorry I just saw this


Feb 13, 2022, 10:55 PM

My daughter was in the bridge program awhile back. She was heartbroken that she didn’t get in Clemson. It’s so hard to get in now and your major choice makes a big difference in who gets in. Also, they take out of state students because they make more money from tuition, and give in-staters the bridge program because they know they’ll take it before out of state students will. That aspect really ticks me off but it’s all about money!! Also, some of the kids at her high school took easier classes and got in and she was in the AP program her last two years and did well and didn’t get in. I will say the housing is much better now for bridge than it was when she was there.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 13, 2022, 11:21 PM



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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 14, 2022, 7:07 AM

When my daughter was accepted a top 15% didn't get you a sniff. She was valedictorian and barely got in. The guy that was number two had to take the bridge route. SAT/ACT scores were the leading criteria when she went.

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Re: Clemson Bridge question


Feb 14, 2022, 11:24 AM

My daughter did the bridge program and loved it . She had all the privileges of a Clemson student . She had access to all resources that at Clemson that Tri County didn’t have.

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