My daughter has been accepted at both schools, and is trying to decide if either one is right for her. One thing that is important to her is an active Catholic student group. Besides the opportunity to go to mass, she is interested in volunteer and social activities. There really isn’t anything on the Oxford or Emory website that I can find, but we are mostly interested in finding out from current students and/or their parents about the variety and quality of programming. Thanks!
Here’s a link to the webpage discussing religious life at Oxford College:
http://oxford.emory.edu/life-at-oxford/religious-spiritual-life/
Catholic Student Union (with contact information) and other student religious groups:
http://oxford.emory.edu/life-at-oxford/religious-spiritual-life/student-religious-groups/
Emory College Catholic community
https://www.emorycatholic.org/
Service Opportunities at Oxford College
http://oxford.emory.edu/academics/centers-institutes-programs/pierce-institute/
Thanks BiffBrown. Do you have any personal experience?
Oxford College encourages students to be service and leadership oriented and I did things with groups like Volunteer Oxford but I myself never took part in activities specifically designed for the Catholic community.
If it’s possible to attend a revisit day, many student groups will have information tables set up and/or you can ask to be connected with a student in one of these groups. Congrats to your daughter!
A better link to student religious groups on the Oxford campus:
http://inside.oxford.emory.edu/life-at-oxford/religious-spiritual-life/student-religious-groups/
I apologize for the broken links. Here are some better ones:
Religious life at Oxford College:
http://inside.oxford.emory.edu/life-at-oxford/religious-spiritual-life/
Service at Oxford College:
http://inside.oxford.emory.edu/academics/centers-institutes-programs/pierce-institute/
Hi - my daughter is currently a sophomore at Oxford.
The Emory University Catholic Center is located across the street from one side of the Atlanta campus and functions just like a parish for students and faculty with Mass, the Sacraments, Eucharistic Adoration, activities, service ministries, a Catholic Student Union, etc. right down to a weekly bulletin. Sunday Mass is held at the campus nondenominational chapel, weekday Masses are held at the Center.
The Oxford campus also has a Catholic Student Union. The Catholic Center treats Oxford as a mission, so a priest journeys there each Saturday to conduct a vigil Mass and give absolution in the nondenominational campus chapel. Once in a while that may not occur due to illness or an emergency. There are no Catholic services offered at Oxford beyond this, which is problematic on weekday holy days of obligation (there are some campus nondenominational Christian services for Ash Wednesday, etc.). Emory does run frequent daily shuttles to the main campus which take about 30-40 minutes one-way outside of Atlanta’s rush hour, so with some effort Oxford students can be involved with the Catholic Center.
The crux of it is that one can be a practicing Catholic at Oxford, but it is just not as convenient as it is on the Atlanta campus. Having said that, I have attended two Masses at Oxford and found them to be beautiful and compelling through their simplicity. There was no music other than the sound of our own voices. There are no formal lector or minister schedules; people simply come forward to serve as needed. The priest does not need a microphone, you had better know your responsorials, and in the small group the homily seemed very intimate. There are no announcements for raffles or fish fries. No collection of money. I came away feeling that this must be close to how the early Christians experienced it.
The vitality of the Catholic Student Union largely depends upon the individual members and their elected leaders in any given year. One year it’s good, another year it’s dormant.
As for volunteerism, Emory strives to make this such an integral part of the learning experience that it would probably be detrimental to limit one’s activities to just one group or cause.
Oxford is unique in its use of Theory Practice Service Learning (TPSL) courses. These require the student to utilize and reinforce subject matter learned in class toward a real world service project during the course. So for example a pre-med biology student studying antibiotics might help out at a clinic, a sociology student might serve and observe at a women’s shelter, etc… It is a requirement to take two such courses in order to move on from Oxford. My daughter
assisted an arts teacher in a low-performing school and also worked with immigrant children who were struggling with their social studies.
The second, and largest, method of volunteering at Oxford is Volunteer Oxford. At the top are student coordinators who interface with local organizations, recruit volunteers, and manage the logistics of bringing the two together. They also plan and organize Fall and Spring Break service trips. Next are team leaders who go out with the troops, and then of course the volunteers. There is at least one service opportunity each month. This Spring Break one group went to New Orleans to help refurbish homes damaged by hurricanes and flooding, a second group went to Tennessee to perform small repairs on homes occupied by widows and other women experiencing traumatic life experiences. There is a similar Volunteer Emory on the Atlanta campus, but it is structured differently.
Members of the Pierce Service Corps, as mentioned in the other reply, perform a set number of service hours each week and so probably experience the broadest range of project types. However membership is selective, requiring an application and interviews.
Most of the student organizations (ethnic, religious, professional, etc.) also schedule at least one service event each year. And last, but not least, there are University-wide efforts that occur annually, such as ‘Emory Cares’.
Finally, it is always possible to serve fellow students through tutoring, assisting with move-in and orientation, etc…
Sorry for such a lengthy reply, hope it helps in some small way. And remember - life at Oxford lasts only 2 years.
Did your daughter have a chance to visit the campuses?
Yes she did. She loved both, and is really excited about the best of both worlds. Oxford/Emory is now her number one choice, so if she receives a very good scholarship offer, she will be headed there in the fall!
@econmomto3 That’s great for your daughter! It would probably help to let someone in a position of authority - whether on the scholarship committee/in the admissions office/one of your hosts/someone on the faculty or perhaps all – know that Oxford/Emory is your daughter’s first choice.
Such a message is probably most effectively delivered by your daughter directly (rather than through you). Obviously, she should do this only if she’s fairly certain.
I have no inside knowledge of the process. However, I am confident in assuming that, any other school, Oxford/Emory wants people who want to be there.
Best of luck!