FMU-Florence vs Clemson University

Francis Marion University and Clemson University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in South Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. Francis Marion, a public liberal arts university, prides itself on its small class sizes, personalized attention, and strong undergraduate focus, while Clemson, a public research university, excels in STEM fields, agriculture, and engineering, boasting world-class facilities and extensive research opportunities. With varying acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates, these universities cater to different academic interests and career goals. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your unique educational aspirations and preferences.

	Clemson University	Francis Marion University
Overview
Location	Clemson, South Carolina	Florence, South Carolina
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	94.0%	66.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	49.2%	86.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $80	Undergraduate: $41 Graduate: $41
SAT range	1220 - 1420	930 - 1120
ACT range	27 - 32	15 - 22
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	20.0%
Students submitting ACT score	30.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	47,007	3,028
Total number of admissions given out	23,138	2,608
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,593	699
Yield rate	19.9%	26.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $34,164 Out of state: $57,156	In state: $24,351 Out of state: $34,735
Average net price	$23,732	$13,299
Tuition	In state: $14,118 Out of state: $37,110	In state: $10,384 Out of state: $20,768
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,808 Meal plan: $4,426	$8,230
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	81.0% Average amount $9,699	98.0% Average amount $10,192
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $5,281	59.0% Average amount $5,579
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $21,664	4.0% Average amount $7,593

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,653 Men 48.8% Women 51.2%	3,475 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
Graduate students	5,688 Men 46.8% Women 53.2%	448 Men 22.8% Women 77.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	48.4%	4.4%
International students	4.8%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	7,800	1,413
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina North Carolina Georgia New Jersey New York	South Carolina North Carolina Florida Georgia Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Education Health Professions Agriculture	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.5%	43.2%
Dropout rate	2.3%	15.9%
Transferred out	11.3%	38.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,776 Year 2: $90,762 Year 3: $98,373 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,762 Year 2: $69,079 Year 3: $82,921 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,898 Year 2: $74,262 Year 3: $80,104 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,368 Year 2: $74,721 Year 3: $78,362 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,182 Year 2: $68,592 Year 3: $76,236 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,048 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $76,070 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,632 Year 2: $67,995 Year 3: $74,017 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,398 Year 2: $66,673 Year 3: $73,905 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,136 Year 2: $66,206 Year 3: $73,720 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,228 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,643	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,582 Year 2: $101,964 Year 3: $110,561 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,618 Year 2: $58,866 Year 3: $60,568 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,080 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: $47,870 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $40,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,861 Year 2: $28,443 Year 3: $34,636 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,038 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $34,338 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,535 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $34,010 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,804 Year 2: $28,180 Year 3: $32,997 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,805 Year 2: $30,157 Year 3: $32,022 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,652 Year 3: $31,548

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

FMU-Florence vs Clemson University

Clemson University

Francis Marion University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About