18-03-2025
Clemson University among top 10 colleges with friendliest students: Princeton Review
Clemson University is usually the talk of South Carolina due to its award-winning football team, the Clemson Tigers.
But did you know it is also known for having some of the friendliest peers?
This is according to The Princeton Review, which ranked the university No. 10 in its roundup of college campuses with the friendliest students.
Here's why you should attend Clemson if you're looking for a place of higher education that offers smiles all around.
The Princeton Review's annual college rankings are based on what attending students in the Best Colleges book share about their college experiences via student survey. Each ranking list reports the top 25 (of the book's 390) in a specific category.
Ranking lists in the current edition of The Best 390 Colleges were tallied according to survey data from 168,000 students at the book's 390 schools. The student survey ask 89 questions in four sections, with students asked about their school's academics/administration, college life, their fellow students, and themselves. Under the "Quality of Life" category, students are asked if they strongly agree or disagree with the statement, "Students here are extremely friendly."
Students who attend Clemson believe the campus has a "family atmosphere" that can be felt throughout. The culture was described as one where "everyone has everyone else's backs," and students were viewed as "extremely nice and polite." The student body's pride and love for the university is what unites peers, despite their differences in background. One students puts it this way:
"Our differences are strong, but I think it's the love of campus ― the way we can see the mountains in the distance and breathe such fresh air, walk everywhere we need to be in 15 minutes or less, and the fierce spirit that we'll always call Clemson home ― that unites us and makes us feel like old friends."
∎ No. 1: Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
∎ No. 2: Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan
∎ No. 3: Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California
∎ No. 4: Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois
∎ No. 5: Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
∎ No. 6: Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
∎ No. 7: Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
∎ No. 8: Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
∎ No. 9: Pitzer College, Claremont, California
∎ No. 10: Clemson University
Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Princeton Review ranks Clemson University top 10 friendliest students
