<p>I am a parent of a senior (son) who has decided to apply ED to Emory after visiting the school this past summer. I didn’t go with him to the college visit so I didn’t see what he saw in the school. I have no problem with my son’s decision other than I wish that I knew more about the type of kid that is happy at Emory. Going to a school in another state is a big decision and I am really hoping that he has thought about this. </p>
<p>For those of you who have first or second hand knowledge (students or paren’t of student’s), does Emory have a typical type of student? Of course I looked at some of the literature that Emory has sent my son and saw the common data sets on who attends. What I want to know is who is most happy there? Do you need to be a very outgoing, self-motivated type (like you do at the large publics) to find your niche? How is the advising at Emory? I know of one girl who went to Emory and she was very involved in a sorority. Do you need to go greek to have a social life at Emory? </p>
<p>I would love to know more about the campus feel, since DS really wants to spend the next 4 years there. BTW, he is a very friendly, social kid but a math and science type who is more likely to play ultimate frisbee or hacky sack with dorm friends then seek out a new club to create or join.</p>
<p>Some people may point out a few trends among the Emory student body, but I don’t think it’s so strong to justify say that we have a typical type of student. A lot of students and parents make a big deal about going out of state for college, but it’s fine once you start the school year. </p>
<p>I’m attending Emory’s Oxford College, so it’s a bit of a different scene here… but I often spend a significant part of my weekend at the Atlanta campus. In terms of being an outgoing, self-motivated type, this is college: no one is going to hold your hand, chase you down, or make you go to class. At the same time, this isn’t State U; you don’t have to make course-planning a full time job to keep from being screwed over. There are so many different kinds of people here from all over the nation and world that you don’t have to conform to any particular kind of personality to find your niche. </p>
<p>Also, Greek life is not necessary to have a social life (though about 30% of campus is Greek). I’m a freshman… you just kind of form a group of friends and go to various events. I’ve gone to frat parties, parties at Georgia Tech, humanistic/artistic events around Atlanta, and even an off-campus retreat. It’s not hard to find things to get involved in, no matter what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>I am a parent of an Emory Senior and an Emory Faculty member in the medical school. My son attended the main Emory campus as a freshman. He is from Atlanta so there was a comfort level being close to home that helped him as a freshman. As aigiqinf wrote, Emory is like any top college, independence, time-management, etc. will be needed for any student to be successful. But here are my impressions to address what you asked.<br>
Emory does NOT have a typical student–it is remarkably diverse. However, there are a lot of students from the Tristate area around NYC and a lot from the southeast. Still, my son, who was asked about staying around his home said as a freshman, “I did not have to go out of state to meet people from all over the world.” To be admitted to Emory, you have to have some smarts, so that is common to all the students. Aside from that, nothing seems common to every student–a diverse crowd. </p>
<p>The advising continues to be tweaked. THe academic advising from the faculty assigned to my son as freshman was of little help. He is anything but Science-oriented. His assigned faculty advisor was a chemistry prof who knew nothing for a pre-business student. He had to get his own help. He did. Fellow students also help and were very helpful during student orientation. Spaces are saved in all classes for freshman until they arrive on campus fall semester for class selection during orientation. </p>
<p>Socially, Emory has in place an excellent system to keep students involved and not let someone drift away from social interaction. This is well explained to parents at orientation. Without getting into details, it works really well. Greek life is important but not necessary as frats are pretty open to those who are not greek. My son is in a fraternity and loves, loves, loves it. He lived in the dorm freshman year and has chosen to live in the fraternity the other three years. When I asked him why he did not want to live in an apartment senior year, he said, “I have my whole life to live in an apartment. I want to spend the year living with 35 of my best friends.” </p>
<p>Like any college he has had good profs and not so good ones but overall he his really liked his classes. The teaching has been very good overall. He has had only one or two classes that were 50-60 students. Most have been less than 20. Very few have had teaching assistants actually teach a class (only introductory math class that I can recall and that was an experienced grad student). Full profs generally are very accessible to students. These are areas that are quite different than a state U. </p>
<p>My daughter went to Northwestern so I had an opportunity to observe her experience as well. There were not too many major differences from my perspective between Emory and Northwestern (there are some but I mention this to give you a perspective). Overall, Emory has been a great school for my son. As a parent, aside from the cost, I think Emory is a wonderful place for a child to spend four years. I can honestly recommend it without reservation. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>rpg1 - Thank you so much for your thoughtful analysis. That is what I was hoping to hear. DS does love the school and there is a decent chance he will be there next year.</p>
<p>Seiclan, my daughter is the same age as your oldest daughter and I have followed your posts about your son. I think he is a good fit for Emory and will get in ED. </p>
<p>My daughter followed the money and went to another school first and then transferred to Emory when that school was not a good fit. She appreciated the atmosphere at Emory. If you are willing to put in the effort at Emory, your grades will reflect that. She was willing to work hard and felt like other students respected that decision even if they were not willing to make the same level of effort. She was in a sorority and dated someone in a fraternity. She always laughed about the parties and said if some had run in said “OMG, we forgot there’s an important test”, everyone would start making excuses and leave to go study. She appreciated that most students wanted to do well to prepare for grad school, med school, work.</p>
<p>She was in the honors program (senior year only), so she met her final advisor in her junior year. She was “matched” with him by a TA in one of her classes who knew her interests. However, she had opportunities for research before that. It is my impression that if you want to do something at Emory there is a professor that can make it happen. </p>
<p>We were very pleased with her education and experiences at Emory.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at Emory. I took her down for our initial visit then again for move-in. It seems like the school’s “personality” matches her – focused, smart, fun, pre-professional to some degree, and social. She is not a dreamy kid, or a nerdy one (although I hate that term). She does not read for pleasure; she has no interest in majoring in English or Art History (unlike her mother). She wants to get a good job when she graduates, and she wants to have fun. And 2 weeks in, she called to tell me she had tons of friends.</p>
<p>Our son graduated from Emory (now at law school) and loved it! Turned down Duke, Northwestern, and Johns Hopkins because he thought it was a perfect “fit” for him. All certainly great schools but our experience is that fit is critical. Our daughter turned down Harvard for Yale based on “fit” and 2 years later is still thrilled with her decision. We found this non profit a good source for info regarding “fit” and other issues. Hope it helps. [College</a> of the Day! | uraccepted.com blog featuring news and commentary from Joe College](<a href=“http://uraccepted.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/college-of-the-day/]College”>College of the Day! | uraccepted.com blog featuring news and commentary from Joe College)</p>