<p>Hey, I’m planning on studying philosophy or government at Emory, and eventually going to a law school. Will Oxford be better for me than the College of Arts and Sciences, academically?</p>
<p>Thank you very much.</p>
<p>You only go to Oxford for two years. You’ll probably be doing a lot of required classes in this time period. Either way you’ll be doing your last two years of philosophy and government classes on the main campus. So it won’t matter by the time you apply to law school. Doing four years at the College of Arts and Sciences is better in my opinion. You have access to Emory’s main campus facilities, it’s in a big city and there are more students. There is also a wider variety of classes. I think Oxford is easier to get into but I don’t think it is better academically.</p>
<p>This depends on your personality. Those who like small intimate environments may benefit starting their Emory career at Oxford. Those who like to be near urban activity and don’t want to know everybody in their class would prefer Emory.</p>
<p>College is whatever you make it out to be. Going to the main campus will allow you to “get into the action” alot quicker than oxford students and you will probably be exposed to more opportunities. Going to Oxford will help you make an easier transition to college but will not give you as many opportunities (this is not to say that you won’t have any opportunities). Keep in mind that first two years are primarily spent on meeting the GER requirements and taking basic introductory courses. You may also “transfer” to the main campus in a year if you accrue 32 credits before coming to oxford.</p>
<p>people always say that the prime difference between oxford and main campuses is that oxford is easier to get accepted to. it’s quite possible that oxford is a self-selecting student body, and anyone who focuses on the sheer competition of attending a college does not want to apply. i think the greatest difference is that oxford fosters greater critical thinking skills than the main campus curriculum does. both feature the core requirements, but oxford has the ways of inquiry courses; these develop students’ analytical skills. of course, all academic disciplines benefit from those skills, so you aren’t exactly preparing to become the greatest philosopher in 50 years or anything. however, i believe that you will do much better in studying philosophy, government, and jurisprudence with an oxford education. a liberal arts education–in the historical sense–focuses less on the instruction of facts than it does the advancement of proper thinking skills.</p>