I am currently a undergraduate student here at Clemson.

There are plenty of apartment complexes all within 1-3 miles of clemson's campus. The one I currently live in (and like) is Crawford. That being said, its on the pricey side in clemson. In addition, it is a college apartment complex, so depending on who your neighbors are, it might be a little noisy.

Some nicer complex places that are a affordable:
Tillman place- next to monterreys
Daniel square- behind clemson house
uv and the reserve- some people like these, they are a little far in my opinion

If you search around downtown and behind main street, you can find older houses that might be up for rent. Although it might be hard to find now, this might be your best bet for privacy. Also, if you can secure one, the rent is usually not bad at all.

If anything, contact the architecture office at clemson and see if they have any recommendations or current graduate students you can talk to.

Hope this helps!

Graduated grad program last May. I recommend Daniel Square, its probably the only place you can get where you can walk to studio. I got a place that was 1 mile away across the train tracks through Foothill Property Management. I would call them and ask what they have they own alot of apartments. You will most likely have to drive everyday or ride a bike.

So don't you have to go to Charleston your first semester? Make sure you find out which semester you will go to Charleston and which one you can go to Italy so you don't sign a year lease and end up somewhere else for half the lease.

Good Luck

One more thing, do yourself a favor and try to take any class that Doug Hecker offers. He's the best professor there by far and has the most contacts for after graduation.

d.k
I sent you an email through your profile on here. don't know if you got it but I just got a place (small house) 10 mins from campus and am looking for a roommate. I am an incoming G3 student so let me know if you are interested

thank you everyone for your input...i truly appreciate it

Hi guys and gals,


I'm interested in the 3.5 yr program at Clemson and I noticed that the first summer is in Charleston before you begin study at the main campus in Clemson. This seems like it would be difficult to find short term housing for the three months in the summer since most apt complexes require a 6-12 month lease. Does the university have some type of housing set up in Charleston for this program or are there short term rentals there? I would love to here from somebody that has gone through the summer session and what they did for housing for this short period. Thanks

Buff03,

I did the Summer session in Charleston. However, that was the LAST semester that they placed students in their own required housing speckled throughout the city. They had leases with different places all around which they finally exhausted. Now, students are on their own to find housing. However, there is a good population of Clemson Architects in the city and the school still does all they can to help you find a good place for the semester, even if it is for a short period. I am actually going there this Fall and am living with a woman there who is a former Clemson graduate of architecture and now works and teaches in Charleston. Very affordable rent! Just get in touch with the administrator lady down there and she will help you find a place. Good Luck.

d.k.

foothills is good. they have tons of places around. try clemsonrent.com Good luck.

i went with the reserve. not too bad of a drive to campus, but it helps that there is parking behind the a-school.

d.k.

haha yeah. "there is parking" is sort of a relative term....but yeah, you'll be fine.

Good luck, I'll meet ya when I'm back in 2011.

does the parking lot fill up quick or something?

yeah, it's kind of a pain in the rear. I rode my bike to class and got there before my roommate who left at the same time drove. I guess it's just your typical big school parking lot issue. It was just all a big surprise to those of us who were new during the first week. I wouldn't let it affect your decision though....

where would u recommend parking since i will have to drive to campus from the reserve and i dont really trust college transit

the only real turnover in the lot behind lee hall is, unsurprisingly, before and after class. unless you have an 8am class, when the lot is first filling up, or a class after 4pm, when you can park in the employee ( read : professor ) spaces, i would advise coming one class time earlier.

so, on MWF the class times may be 905 t

the only real turnover in the lot behind lee hall is, unsurprisingly, before and after class. unless you have an 8am class, when the lot is first filling up, or a class after 4pm, when you can park in the employee ( read : professor ) spaces, i would advise coming one class time earlier.

so, on MWF the class times may be 905 to 955, 1010 to 1100 ...
okay, if you have a class at 1010, and drive up at 1000 to catch a space, you will likely be ten minutes late for class. if you show up at 950, you will be one of the first to get a spot, but you'll be idling for 10-15 minutes.

if, however, you show up at 910, 915, some stragglers who stopped to grab a coffee after their 8am class will be leaving. the 9am students have already parked, so you will have an easier time getting a space. grab some breakfast from fernow cafe, then go work in studio for half an hour before your 10am. you will show up on time, and not be out of breath from running.

this was my routine in 08, but with the expansion behind lee hall, the parking spaces are undoubtedly reduced in number.

i never really rode the catbus since my apt was in the middle of nowhere past pendleton, but if you are at one of the big developments, its a popular way to commute to/from campus.

It's a rural campus right? How is everyone not biking to and fro?

I knew several people who lived in downtown Clemson who would bike into campus. The problem is that if you live outside of downtown Clemson, or along 93 to Central, there are few bike paths. Most of the roads outside of the Campus' perimeter road are two or four-lane highways that lack even sidewalks. There is one bright spot, however - the CAT Bus system has racks on the front of the buses to store your bike. This provides the option to bus into campus, park your bike outside of Lee Hall, and cycle across campus to Variety + Frame ( aka the craft nazis ) and purchase your studio materials.

thats another thing, where are good places to get materials for studio

so the main source is clemson variety and frame downtown. its a little pricey, but very convenient. they are only open a few hours on saturday, and closed sunday, unless its a game weekend, so purchase all the materials you may need for the weekend by Saturday morning.
<rant>
good luck trying to drive anywhere near campus on a game weekend. as a graduate assistant, the arch office was able to lend out a limited number of parking passes - ostensibly for the faculty - so that they could park behind lee hall and work in studio without getting towed. the parking areas on campus are reserved for iptay/alumni, and your car will be towed if you just try to remain in the reserved lots.
</rant>

anyway ... there is an ace hardware downtown as well. great source for rockite - its cheaper than variety and frame. there are hobby lobbys in easley and anderson. lowes and home depot in neighboring towns and thats about it, i think.

in the digital design lab, the school provides corn starch. plaster may be available, but probably not for casual student use. a company near greenville sometimes donates a ton of chipboard for student use, but it seemed that they were phasing that out when I left. the graphics department has a printing facility out towards anderson that has lots of 1/16" cardboard that is used for test prints. this is available to the arch school.

i found it cost effective to buy supplies online. for instance, a bulk purchase of common basswood sizes to be split between the studio.

i almost forgot about the plotters ...

if its an emergency, you can plot in the library, but its expensive - 2 or 3 dollars / lf. clemson provides access to free plotters to the entire campus, but its mainly the arch department that uses it. they have an estimated turn around time or 24 hours, but at the end of the semester, when everyone plots, it can be quite a bit longer. if you are a graduate assistant, take advantage of your position. you are technically an employee of the university, and can avail yourself of the employee plotters. they have better paper, better ink, and a quicker turn around.

no more free plotting at clemson...$8 per plot (which used to be free)...but the length of the plot is unlimited so we just plot like 10 boards at once and them cut them down