Furman University Visit Report by FLVADAD

Visit Activities:

Information Session: Yes - We enjoyed the video and thought the overall presentation was very good.

Campus Tour: Yes - Tour Guide was great! He was knowledgable and did a good job handling a fairly large group. The tour doesn't cover all facilities so plan time to do some looking on your own as well.

Classroom Visit: Yes - They go out of their way to fulfill requests for class visits. D sat in two classes, and two other profs met with her individually. D was really impressed with attention they gave her.

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Campus:

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Everyone was generally pleasant and courteous, but not exceptionally so. Overall, the students did seem happy.

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Could not have been any nicer or more accommodating. Everyone was great!

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The grounds and common areas are beautiful and well maintained. Love the fountains, rose garden and lake. Campus is very park like.

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Most of the facilities are great inside/out. Even the older buildings have updated interiors. Would have given 5 stars but music/theater facilities needs some updating.

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Looked pretty spacious and clean. I understand the apartments for upperclassmen are especially nice, but didn't see them. Rooms have WIRED internet in older bldgs due to solid block walls.

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Looked safe to us. No special deficiencies were noted.

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We really liked Furman's campus and facilities overall.

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Off-Campus:

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There's nothing in the immediate area in terms of places you can walk over to or hang out. In that sense, Furman is isolated. However, there are plenty of places easily accessible by car.

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Greenville is a nice town. As others have said, the downtown area is very nice. Also, it is large enough to provide some nice off campus diversions when wanted. Just right for a college town.

Campus Visit Notes for Furman University

Visit Description:

Overall, we had a great visit. Furman offers some nice facilities, especially for the sciences. We also thought the dining halls overlooking the lake was a nice relaxing touch. D felt it offered a good contrast to what appears to be a very demanding academic environment. The classes we saw walking through some of the buildings were consistently as advertised: small seminars with 10-15 students in each.

We didn't note much racial or geographic diversity just walking around campus. It seems most students are from the Southeast, which is to be expected. Certainly, everyone in our info session was from the Southeast with only one or two exceptions, and there were probably 100 people in the room.

We did note that there were mixed groups dining together, and we did not as much of the self segregated tables we have become accustomed to seeing. I took that as a good sign.

Our impression of the typical Furman student is that he/she is very bright, but has balanced interests and is down-to-earth. One student mentioned that it gets competitive at times, but the overall environment is casual and friendly. That description is pretty much matches our impressions as well.

Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott which was about 7 miles from campus. It was very nice.