Hey guys!
I have been admitted in a few Universities and I’m down to these four: Emory, Grinnell, UCLA and University of Washington… As I am an international student I don’t have financial aid in UCLA or UW, and they are way too expensive for me… I was granted financial aid in Emory and Grinnell, but I’m not sure if they match up to UCLA and UW…
What can you guys say about these universities?
All are great schools. About Emory and Grinnell not matching up to the others, I can assure you that’s not true. Emory is a great University, sometimes called a, Southern Ivy. Grinnell is a liberal arts college, but a good one. At the end of the day, all are good options, just know that Emory and Grinnell are very worthy.
Thanks @gdlt234, I am actually very inclined towards Grinnell… Which one would you choose, not considering the financial aid?
Between Grinnell and Emory? I’d have to say Emory. 7:1 student to faculty ratio compared to Grinnell’s 9:1. Plus Emory is stronger in the physical sciences
I am probably taking a biology/anthropology major
Between Grinnell and Emory? I’d have to say Emory. 7:1 student to faculty ratio compared to Grinnell’s 9:1. Plus Emory is stronger in the physical sciences
If you like Grinnell, and it is affordable for you and your family, then you can receive an excellent education, with excellent post-graduate opportunities. I don’t feel your prospects are necessarily better just by attending Emory, and I don’t think those in academia would feel an Emory degree, nor a UCLA or UW degree, is “better” than Grinnell. These are different categories of institutions, and they are all excellent respectively.
Emory and Grinnell are both strong institutions in their respective “types” of schools. Grinnell is a top LAC, which attracts an intellectual but not hyper-competitive student body. Class size is typically not bigger than about 25-30 students, and the feel on campus is open and non-judgmental. There is no “greek life” – fraternities and sororities. As the college is located in a small town, the college spends a lot of money keeping campus active, with a lot of speakers, music, etc. Grinnell students benefit from the unusually large endowment for a small liberal arts college, meaning the facilities are gorgeous and there is funding for international study, research etc. Grinnell has phenomenal sciences, with research opportunities for students, and a program called MAP – essentially, mentored student research funded by the college. Grinnell is very well regarded in the US as as school which sends students onto Ph.D. programs.
Emory is a university, with separate colleges of arts and letters, sciences etc. Classes will be the more typical university model, with large lectures in intro level courses and discussion sections taught by Ph.D. students who lead small group meetings to review the material taught in lecture. Emory is in residential part of Atlanta, accessible to a more urban experience than Grinnell would be. Emory is well-regarded as a university in the US, and a student can do well with an Emory undergrad degree.
Two different experiences – classic small, liberal arts college, in a small town, with smart, interesting students, or large university close to an urban experience. You can’t go wrong with either, it really is what feels like a better fit for you. Spend some time on the websites, watch on-line video tours, to see what feels right to you.
Congrats on your acceptances!
Emory lists its average class size as 25 per class. Most likely, introductory classes are going to be much higher than that. Upper level courses will be on the smaller size. I cannot find its common data set, or information to break it down further for you.
At Grinnell, per the common data set, out of 408 classes:
90 classes have 2-9 students
189 classes have 10-19 students
112 classes have 20-29 students
14 classes have 30 - 39 students
3 classes have 40 -49 students
My son attends Grinnell, so I can personally attest to the high level of rigor, discourse and personal attention from faculty. The facilities, support, etc. are as Midwestmom described. It is well known to grad schools. It also has a good career and life services department.
I think you need to decide what kind of campus environment you want.
You will get a great education at either place!
Thanks guys!
If you are interested in combining the two and studying bioanthropology, Emory is a no-brainer. For general biology and/or cultural anthropology, either is fine.
Ah, this changes things – I would defer to warblersrule’s advice re: bioanthropology, who knows quite a bit about anthroplogy as a discipline.
Be wary of comparing student faculty ratios between research universities and small colleges. They are NOT comparable.
Harvard supposedly has a small student faculty ratio, but that’s because they have many, many professors who teach at most one class per year. In contrast, professors at small liberal arts colleges teach 4-8 classes per year.
When comparing student faculty ratios, you should be comparing schools in the same category.
I wouldn’t call Emory a large university. Its approximate 14,500 students (under and postgrad) would place it in the medium-sized category. The emphasis at Emory is definitely on academics - no football team and the sports teams they do have compete in NCAA division III.
All things considered, I believe Emory and the Atlanta area have more to offer and would be the better all-around collegiate experience.
In my previous post, I was referring to Emory and Atlanta having more to offer than Grinnell. I wasn’t making any comparisons between Emory and UCLA or UW.