My D has been accepted to Oxford and Emory, with some merit contingent on starting at Oxford. She loves the main campus for the vibe and proximity to the city, but also likes the small LAC opportunities at Oxford (small classes/community feeling). So that seems like the best of both worlds. However, I am reading posts about the heavy workload at Oxford, and that doesn’t seem to fit the LAC environment that we’ve seen described at some other places…When I think of an LAC I think of a more relaxed environment, so the focus can be on learning for learning’s sake and not filled with the stress of trying to meet lots of large project deadlines. To this end, some schools even start with the courses being pass/fail… to encourage course exploration, etc. She is just finishing up the IB diploma program in high school and is not excited about jumping into another program with large workloads…if it’s just for the sake of piling it on. She has said she looks forward to being more responsible for her own success…in that, if she knows the subject, she doesn’t have to do a bunch of ‘homework’ to prepare anyway; leaving more time to work on the subjects she does need or wants to spend more time on.
Another concern I have is reports of people being cut-throat. D’s intended major is Anthropology, not pre-med/pre-professional, and she does not need to be surrounded by students who just need a grade to get into med school. I’ve understood that this is going to be some percentage of the students at any good college, but does that really describe the majority of students at Oxford and Emory?
@whenhen,and @aigiqinf and @bernie12 'm hoping you might chime in, as well as well as anyone else who might have good insight on this. Thanks!