Emory/Duke/NU/Rice/Tufts/Vanderbilt/WUSTL

NorCalDad
Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:12:01 +0000

HeartlandMom,

I concur with MBJ in that much of your daughter’s decision may boil down to personal preferences. These personal preferences may include: U.S. region; climate; athletic programs (i.e., Duke, NU, Rice and Vanderbilt have Division I sports); urban/suburban/rural; etc.

By and large, for each of the schools you mention, I would think it would be easy to gain access to professors. At Emory, the vast majority of classes are taught by professors, and with a 7:1 professor/student ratio, it should not be difficult to meet with professors. As well, all of the schools on your list have impressive student resources available.

Without a doubt, there are some differences with the student body make-up to these schools, especially in regional students. At Emory, the largest group of enrolling freshmen come from the South (38%), followed by Mid-Atlantic (20%). There are fewer students from the West Coast (8%). Each region brings a certain “personality” to the mix. (I know of some California students who went East to school and weren’t able to adjust to the new environment, but then came back to California and feel entirely at “home”.) In general, the Emory student population appears diverse, especially when you factor in scores of foreign countries represented. (See this link for Class Profile: [Class Profile](Admission | Emory University | Atlanta GA)

About “happiest” as a factor, it can be viewed in the same way one would consider macroeconomics vs. microeconomics – i.e., “happy” as in general campus vs. “happy” as in individual student. I think this is an important factor that some students and parents may overlook. To best evaluate what kind of campus/school would engender “happiness” in a student, begin with the student and assess his/her personality, the amount of structure (or non-structure) desired, the importance of “school spirit” (often related to athletic teams), liberal vs. conservative, Greek activity level, perhaps ethnic diversity factors, etc.

On a “micro” level, the “happiness” factor may be affected by ease of transition to the school, making friends, ability to easily engage with other students and professors, residential life on campus, dining hall food, roommates, etc. Each student is different in his/her needs and wants, as well as different in the ease by which s/he creates a productive, comfortable existence. The transition can be easy for some students and painfully difficult for others. Do a search for “Harlan Cohen” to get more insight into these issues.

If I were to take a subjective stab at evaluating Emory’s “personality”, I would say that it is academically intense, but not too intense. Some students might say it’s a “work hard/play hard” type of school. Academic fervor is an open, somewhat collaborative endeavor for many. The academic strengths make up for Emory’s lack of high-profile athletic programs that might engender “school spirit”, which some at Emory might consider to be lacking. (Although Emory has considerable breadth in its academic offerings, it is especially strong in its pre-med and undergraduate business programs. On the other hand, it has no Engineering department.) Emory is much more diverse a campus than most schools. The number of international students is signficant, and their presence can be felt on campus (especially with Korean students, who have visible social organizations at Emory). Greek life is active, with about 30% of students in fraternities/sororities. Atlanta is a cosmopolitan city that is unlike much of the rural South and serves as a regional hub for the Southeast. Its resources as an urban center is notable. Beyond Atlanta, there’s a considerable “global” perspective that Emory supports. Evidence of this might come by observing the number of global video-conferences that occur at the Cox Computing Center each week. Or by Emory’s installation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory as the most recent outgrowth of the Emory-Tibet Partnership.

The only thing that is certain in making evaluations of these schools’ “personalities” is that each of us is different, and what may be a positive factor for one person may be a negative for another. Know yourself; know what you want; and be true to yourself.