Emory Campus Vibe / Student Life

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
1

<p>Hi guys!</p>

<p>I'm a senior in high school, very interested in looking at Emory for next year. The college seems amazing: it's beautiful, has an awesome business school (which I'm very interested in!), has a very diverse student body, etc.</p>

<p>I still do have a few worries, as I'm sure any person considering ED does</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How is the vibe of the campus? I know there is not a lot of school spirit in terms of athletics, which is totally ok with me. But I do wanna be at a college where kids are very involved and are really happy and excited to be there. Will I find that at Emory? Don't sugar coat, you can be honest :)</p></li>
<li><p>Although this might sound bad, I do want to party in college! I've been waiting 18 years to go to college, and I wanna have fun when I get there! I don't want anything too crazy or unusual, but could someone explain to me the parties at Emory? I heard some of the Greek houses are now being monitored, is that true? Are people friendly at the parties / what are they like?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the LGBTQ life on campus like? My twin sister and I are both looking into Emory. She's gay, and I really want to go to a place where she and I will both feel comfortable! She's not the type to go marching around promoting gay rights, but she certainly will want to feel accepted, and will want the opportunity to meet other gay students. I know Emory's pretty liberal, so this question shouldn't be too hard :)</p></li>
<li><p>I heard of the SAT scores scandal in 2010? I'm not too worried about it, but has it affected the way people look at Emory (especially interviewers for jobs after Emory?)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks guys! I'm hoping someone can assure me of my worries :)</p>

2

<ol>
<li> More than good enough. Not the traditional school spirit, but in general gets high ratings for quality of life and happy student body. Even if people may have wanted to go elsewhere (typically a higher ranked school), they end up being quite happy here and enjoy it. In addition, I feel like organizations like SPC have been doing a good job with on campus events lately to help to invigorate campus life even more and get higher attendance at such events.<br></li>
<li> You’ll be fine. Doesn’t matter if they are being “monitored”. That’s normally regarding hazing, which really has nothing to do with the parties they throw. Most people want to party in college, and you can easily do that at Emory, and it need not always be on fratrow so don’t limit your options as that scene can be kind of trashy and/or ******y at times. Also, since Emory is only as intense as the students are about grades and stuff and the courses are, in general (depending on the major I guess: Chem, physics, CS, math will be of higher than normal intensity, and some b-school classes are stressful because of the environment generated by what I consider a soft grading curve), not that intense, you should have plenty of time to set aside for such events. While Emory is not a true party school, many/most people party and/or have time to engage in random extracurricular activities (as in, ones not associated with building a resume).</li>
<li>Lots of LGBTQ people here (I mean…a lot. I’m not just saying this to be biased and comfort you), seems life is fine for them with exception of the random incidents that are likely to happen at almost any college no matter how liberal it is (and Emory is quite liberal, perhaps more liberal than its 3 southern peers). </li>
<li>Shouldn’t really matter, the SAT scores are still higher than most schools (I mean it’s like 1370-1390 average after the correction) even after the correction and is on par w/places like G-town and Berkeley which are, I’m pretty sure, not scoffed at by employers. Employers know that Emory students are smart. Remember, they were hiring them before and getting good results w/o knowing that their SATs were inflated (or knowing their SATs at all).</li>
</ol>

<p>BTW: By just being a part of the business school, you’ll likely be part of a more festive atmosphere. The b-school itself hosts Thursday kegs in the courtyard and does not have class on friday. Even before applying, you’ll be able to partake in parties frequently because the b-school pre-reqs that are not directly associated with the business such as the intro/intermediate econ. courses and calculus are pretty easy. Your stress levels won’t necessarily go up until you are in the business school taking a heavier courseload with courses that require projects and/or cases (which means that, even in a large lecture, you must find a way to be prepared for class so that you can participate as meaningful participation is a part of the grade). Pre-business/business makes for a very social culture.</p>

3

<p>I am applying as well and am interested in the social life. Do most freshmen party at the frats?</p>

4

<p>Plenty do…Plenty go elsewhere (some dorms can be quite lively and then there are the Clairmont parties).</p>

5

<p>Thanks so much for answering! I was a little nervous about the social life because some people on CC were making it seem like there is not too great of one, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I honestly feel like that mainly comes from those comparison type of threads. One that I didn’t catch that came out in the Vanderbilt thread really annoyed the heck out of me (and it’s from a poster who I respect). They tried to claim that the residence life is “fragmented” (what amazes me is that they were defending the school that puts their freshman on the friggin Peabody campus. Ours are in the middle of the action, close to nearly all of their classes, in front of the gym, next to the dining hall, Asbury Circle, McDonough field, Greekrow, and slightly uphill from the library) This is totally false (and a vague discription. “Fragmented”!?) and, in fact, it is actually quite solid whether you are an under or upperclassman (Clairmont for example, is its own community that puts on its own events and has its own culture. The tower is known for its shenanigans for example. Not to mention, the quality of Clairmont just as an accommodation alone blows most private schools away. It’s literally a resort essentially. Students who could afford to and have a good housing time would actually prefer to stay there as an upperclassman) . For freshman, there are plenty of events to keep them connected or interacting;not to mention, this is Emory, so many students will bond through the academic experience alone as many are pre-med going through gen. chem and biolab or are those pre-bus students taking the now, more difficult econ. classes, taking the unexpectedly difficult intro. polisci classes, etc. Usually academic experiences at Emory grow into further social experiences and not the other way around like at many of the more “social” schools. The outcome is the same however.</p>

<p>The interesting thing about Emory is that the freshman dorms are essentially “village” style now as other schools, but since the village did not open as one large entity (it developed with each construction project. I think the last new dorm is being finished in time for fall 2014, and then they may relandscape the area to make it feel directly connected to the rest of campus unlike now, where they are new and nice, but the area looks like a construction area separate in vibe from the rest of campus: To get an idea of what I mean, see this: <a href=“http://asg-architects.com/2012/04/blog/sustainability-blog/enrich-emory-university-residential-village-video/[/url]”>News — Ayers Saint Gross), the freshman dorms have very high autonomy which means that each dorm has very different character (I don’t think most schools with a freshman village type of thing can really say that. Normally, you have to do faculty in-residence programs to develop any sort of character in each reshall, but Emory’s is more organic). For example, several of the new dorms have different social customs and atmospheres, and places like Dobbs and Harris (older, but nice) definitely do. It’s not a monolithic experience. Plus you have things like intramural sports, songfest, and Dooley’s Boll that foster dorm pride (several dorms have developed their own attire like sweatshirts/hoodies and sweat pants. The songfest shirts are nice too). Plus, Emory, for a school its size actually does have more of a community feel which contributes to Emory having a more vibrant social scene than an outsider would judge it to have (usually Emory gets stereotyped because it doesn’t have football and the traditional type of school pride, but the reality is that it has almost as much student organizations as schools that do primarily because of the ethnic, political, academic, and religious diversity. Seriously, students in such “comparison threads” will say "I loved how insert non-Emory institution that is private has so many organizations. I kind of sit there like “are you kidding me?” They have roughly the same amount and, in fact, so many that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway). Not to mention, SPC and student governing organizations have been doing a very good job of creating things to do on campus. The only thing you’ll miss out on is the D-1 generated social scene. And if you can live without that, you’ll actually find the campus life and social culture at Emory to actually be a tad more interesting than some other places (often I find that what people consider as “interesting” to actually mean “stereotypical” when discussing this).</p>

7

<p>Emory sounds seriously amazing. I applied ED so I’m praying that I’ll get in!! Would you describe the general atmosphere as work hard play hard and are people particularly competitive in terms of academics? I’m not planning on being pre med by the way.</p>

8

<p>Not even the pre-meds are that competitive, in fact most aren’t competitive at all. They are mainly competitive with each other in their extracurricular life.</p>

<p>As for scene: It’s work hard. play hard, with a bit more work hard than schools that take their sports more seriously (I guess Emory is kind of a more laid back version of Chicago or JHU). Classes can be difficult, but that usually doesn’t foster competition (usually classes just band together. Plus, in difficult courses, curves only help).</p>

9

<p>You’re responses are so helpful, I really appreciate it! I’m happy to hear that it’s not too competitive. What would you consider the best freshmen dorm, if you have any input on that? Also is the freshmen blockout for the first two weeks a real thing where freshmen can’t attend parties on Greek Row?</p>

10

<p>There isn’t really a bad freshman dorm. The worst in my opinion was Harris, but that’s turning into a sophomore dorm. All the freshman dorms are unique in their own ways. There even building a new freshman dorm that’s supposed to be really nice. Freshman dorms are arguably the nicest dorms.</p>

11

<p>I don’t get how the blackout works, but I often hear it isn’t really enforced but so much anyway. Harris is actually pretty good now (as in, basically the same interior or very similar to newer freshman dorms. Study lounges/rooms, and everything). It’s really nice in there (they did very well renovating it, and the renovations will be completed this upcoming summer), yet still full of fun as always. I suppose Dobbs would be the one to avoid, even though it’s very nice now too (the rooms are just smaller than the others). But yeah, Harris will be ceded over to sophomores, and Alabama’s renovations will turn it into a freshman dorm (it seems as if it will need a miracle, but I think it’s even smaller than Dobbs. If they can fix Dobbs, they can probably work wonders on Alabama as well).</p>

<p>FlyEagle: If they weren’t tearing down Mctyeire this summer, your statement would be false lol.</p>

12

<p>I’m really hoping that I’ll get in. Do you think that a 31 ACT is high enough?</p>

13

<p>Yes, close to median of admitted students.</p>

14

<p>Here is the real scoop on emory university:</p>

<p>I regret coming to school here. Some people love it, but honestly the only reason I haven’t transferred is because of the academics. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>The vibe on campus is about as bad as you can get. I love watching and playing football, soccer, and basketball yet in my three years at Emory I have never gone to one sporting event(there is no football team). There is no school spirit. On any given day you will see more people wearing shirts from others schools than wearing emory shirts. Saturdays on campus are embarrassing after going to a school with a football team or real basketball team. Honestly people usually spend the day during saturday doing work so they can at least have fun at night. If you come on a tour you will hear " we don’t have a football team…but we have wonderful wednesdays and concerts". wonderful wednesdays are hardly something to brag about and every school has concerts. </p></li>
<li><p>Greek life has been pummeled by the administration and is a shell of its former self. Frats are being put on social probation and people older than 21 are being written up for playing beer pong. The administration walks through every fraternity house thursday, friday, and saturday between the hours of 11:00p.m. and 1:00 a.m. looking for any excuse to write kids up or put frats on social probation. They have effectively crippled the last vestiges of social life emory was clinging on to. if you are looking for a real college experience in terms of a social night life then DO NOT GO TO EMORY. It was a lot different my freshman year, but if I knew it was going to change so drastically then I would have never come here. During the walk throughs of fraternities the administration is allowed to walk into any open room, even if it is a students private room. The school does not allow any drinking games(beer pong, slap cup, etc.), any open sources of alcohol(which they have extrapolated to mean any alcohol they can see that is not currently in the hands of a 21 year old), or any kegs. Furthermore fraternities can get in trouble if they invite too many people over to their house(the official number is 2 guests to one brother) unless they are having a registered party(each frat is only allowed two per semester). Most people have more than two friends on any given night they would like to invite over and hang out with. They enforce these policies heavily, I honestly had more freedom in high school than I do currently living in a frat at emory. Here is an example of how frats are treated now at emory: Chi Phi had beer in their fridge on a Thursday night while some of them were sitting around watching basketball. Jeff Tate, the head of greek life at emory, walks in and opens the fridge full of unopened canned beers. He calls it an open source of alcohol and proceeds to take all of the beers and pours them all outside. The frat was then written up.</p></li>
<li><p>The LGBTQ community on campus is very strong and receives a lot of support from the community. I doubt there are many better schools in the world for a person who is LGBTQ to attend, be themselves, and be accepted for who they are. </p></li>
<li><p>That is mostly in the past and I haven’t encountered any negative consequences from that scandal.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Overall, emory is a great place to get an education. However if you are looking for a true college experience emory is just not the school where you are going to find that anymore. The school in the last three years has ruined the social life on campus, and it wasn’t that strong to begin with. </p>

15

<p>rant time: I really hate this, because I hate how “true college experience” is basically defined by sports, superficial school spirit, and temporary displays of school pride in your case and then you’re basically telling us that we should define it that way as well (I hate that term “true” college experience, as if everyone defines or should define it the same way). Number 1 is your fault. You chose not to attend sporting events, so who cares. I don’t feel bad for you. You should have gone elsewhere if “your” definition of the true college experience were those things, and much lesser so the academics. Most people find campus life at Emory quite vibrant (especially for a school with no D-1 sports) if they are not as obsessed with those things. They don’t find Saturdays quite as embarrassing because there are other things to engage in on and off campus. Emory is more about getting involved in different things more so than “rah rah” sort of fun. For many, being involved in Greek life or other cultural and religious organizations is more than enriching enough. So instead of “true” college experience you ought to be saying “traditional college experience as defined by the media”. You wanted that (or something that resembled your High School), and Emory doesn’t deliver it and I’m sorry about that (okay, not really), but please avoid defining “true” college experience for everyone. This isn’t religion where there is one truth. Many (if not most) people are getting a lot out of the academics and their involvement in EC’s here without all of the traditional forms of school pride, sports fervor, and such. </p>

<p>Who is anyone to tell them that they aren’t getting the true college experience (regardless of the lack of what you describe, they are getting an amazing and rigorous education that is developing their intellect and also getting to mix and mingle with bunches of smart people with diverse backgrounds and ideas. This doesn’t provide a platform for “rah rah” but does result in lots of student innovation and interesting clubs and organizations which students enjoy, whether they emphasize culture, the arts, science, whatever)? Whatever they are getting is more than good enough for them. Also, that sort of thing basically says that those at LACs which are amazing in my opinion, are not providing the true college experience. My social life was fine. Perhaps the way you define social life is a bit one-dimensional. Do not speak for everyone please. Simply say that you like more traditional social environments and leave it at that. Don’t say that the social environment is being ruined for everyone because it isn’t. Again, others on this campus have a blast without paying much attention to your preferences and definitions of a great social life. Just because you can’t have much of one beyond Greeklife and D-1 sports does not mean others can’t. Our alumni donation rates and the fact that the campaign went over its threshold indicates that others appreciate it enough. The more engaged you are, the more you enjoy Emory. The more you like to spectate and cheer, the less you will enjoy it, it’s as simple as that. If you don’t find the tons of activities (and I mean, simple things like doing CMF can be considered fun and obviously it is given the amount of people that participate. I don’t think the students involved in intramural sports are all bored. Emory isn’t at all about socializing at Greek houses and sporting events) and events on campus appealing enough, sucks for you. Perhaps you want fun to be as effortless as walking over to the stadium and Emory really just isn’t the place for that. </p>

<p>I can kind of see where your coming from, but you had to know this when you applied and/or were admitted. I actually don’t know why Emory admits (and then tries to yield) students who won’t fit or like it anyway (anything for the stats. I guess). The school is clearly trying to move into a more intellectual direction, and has always had a quirkier, less traditional social scene. I don’t see why admissions and the types of students we get don’t reflect this reality (I think it did before the new GERs, which are way softer took effect. It seems the easier GERs attract a different type of student because the new ones make us look like any other top 20, whereas the old ones would deter those who were extremely concerned about being tied down or unnecessarily challenged academically. I guess it was more like Chicago in terms of who it attracted then). Would be nice if some students would really consider fit over simply matriculating to the highest ranked school possible. Sometimes the academics don’t even match the rank anyway, so there isn’t much to lose. If you value the traditional social scene so much and cannot go without it’s as simple as not matriculating to places like Emory, WashU, JHU, Chicago (or even some Ivies where sports are D-1 but not really the focus, and academics are very intense), and finding somewhere else even if it isn’t a top 20-25 school. It’s so simple. </p>

<p>BTW: There are places with great academics and the traditional social scene you speak of, perhaps you should have transferred to one of those, because I can’t tell if you really value the academics or other opportunities this place offers all that much.</p>

<p>Also, I tutor some folks in Greeklife and they actually talk about the happenings at length, and they don’t seem ruined or depressed to me. They seem quite happy despite having a stressful course and EC load. They certainly don’t act like their institutions and social lives are in ruins. Again, perhaps because they are fully engaged…and getting their money’s worth from their Emory education and membership in the sororities (and tons of other things). Perhaps things are much more dire for those who simply want to participate in Greek parties and are not part of it. I think there are some weaknesses in the way some Greek houses are being monitored, however, I feel this uneasiness about Greek life isn’t just occurring at Emory. It has been getting a lot of bad press lately and many schools (some of similar caliber to Emory with the whole traditional scene you describe) have taken more annoying or drastic measures, so don’t act as if Emory is in isolation here.</p>

16

<p>If you want the traditional college experience DO NOT GO TO EMORY. Not only do I not attend sporting events but NO ONE attends sporting events. Like every other school in the world emory has a lot of clubs and there is CMF(campus movie fest), however while those are enriching they are not that fun. Intramural sports are fun, but lackluster compared to other schools. </p>

<p>I am not trying to be representative of the entire student body. Like I said “Some people love it, but honestly the only reason I haven’t transferred is because of the academics”. My goal is to worn other kids like me who are hoping to have fun in college and have a (“traditional”) college experience. There are place with great academics and a “traditional” college experience, and if you are like me GO TO THOSE SCHOOLS. It is a running joke with my friends at just how bad Emory’s social life and feeling of community is. Emory is a school where students go to further their professional goals, not to have fun. </p>

17

<p>My daughter doesn’t want to go to a rah rah school because first of all, she doesn’t care about sports, and also, she doesn’t like the kids that go there mostly for the sports. These are kids that care more about the partying and having fun than actually learning something. Perhaps timberfever should’ve done a little research. Obviously he’s there for the prestigious. Prestige doesn’t mean fit. Perfect example of why you should never pick a school because of its name. You can take my daughter’s spot at FSU. She declined her offer there even with a scholarship. You’ll be in your glory there on football Sunday! Rah Rah!!</p>

18

<p>Uhmmm…Maybe people don’t attend sporting events that much because they are not as important here AND most people have found other things to do in their spare time whether it be engaging themselves intellectually or finding some other fun event in Atlanta or on campus. You still seem to subscribe to the idea that if people aren’t attending sporting events and partying as frequently (which tons of people do), they aren’t having fun.</p>

<p>You and your friends should have gone to Vanderbilt, Wake, or a state school (and not the rigorous ones like Berkeley, Virginia or Michigan. You may not have as much time to enjoy it at such places). I don’t feel bad for you guys. Also, calling certain events as “not fun” is crap. Just because you refuse to participate in them and don’t find them fun does not mean that others don’t enjoy them a lot. Again, you aren’t engaged and have limited definitions of fun. You pretty much only find partying and cheering fun. Most Emory students are much less simplistic than that and are thus really able to enjoy the environment. In addition, many are primarily here for the academics and will make the experience fun (which is, you know, how places like JHU, WashU, and the LACs work). Although, thank you for changing it to “traditional”, it’s about the only thing that makes sense. You aren’t aggressive enough to find other venues of enjoyment beyond the “traditional” (I am confused as to why students expect even selective schools to be just like a D-1 state flagship. I thought the idea was that selective schools should have better intellectual atmospheres while still being vibrant, even if in non-traditional ways. For example, I’m willing to bet that intense places like Harvard have huge attendance at sporting events, and neither does MIT who does not have D-1. Yet, just like here and other selective schools, students have developed their own traditions and outlets for social engagement). You also sound as if someone who expects the intellectual/academic spheres to remain separate, which again, is a weird expectation for a selective school, and is not the direction Emory (and most other selective schools) is moving in. </p>

<p>I’ll try to remember this conversation: “Being highly engaged outside of the stadium or Greek house (as most students at places like Emory do) cannot be fun at all, especially in the traditional sense”. Sure…I accept that hypothesis. I also accept the following hypothesis: “If me and my friend don’t have good social lives, hardly no one does”. And geez, what do you and your friends do, stand around and complain about your social lives? You all can’t come up with anything? Lack creativity or inspiration? Kind of confused here. Me and my friends never really had problems when we were away from our clubs, orgs, or other things. Perhaps the things we came up with aren’t considered “fun”, but we seemed to be enjoying it. Maybe we were delusional or confused. I don’t know what was wrong with us. Finding ways to have fun on this giant (relative to many privates and even the same size, geographically as some publics) campus and in this giant city should have been so difficult…I have no idea how we did it.</p>

19

<p>I am just responding truthfully to the question asked by this thread. 1. how is the vibe and community on campus and 2. how is the party scene?. Both of which are pretty bad, and if that is important to you then this is not the school for you. I am not trying to debate the merits on why people chose to go to a particular college. Of course there are more aspects to emory, but that is what this thread asked and Bernie gave a pretty glossed over answer and left out a lot of details which made emory sound a lot better than it actually is. yellowgranite, this school sounds perfect for your daughter, however it might not be as good for other people with different interests. I should have gone to vanderbilt or wake, I hope people like me don’t make the same mistake. I know a lot of people who have transferred to other colleges. Hopefully this thread helps people from making the same mistake. </p>

<p>idk where those quotes came from bernie, but I will say it is pretty ironic someone with over 2,200 posts on college confidential would claim to have a good social life…</p>

20

<p>I don’t disagree with anything you said (and I’m not going to bother to read any of the other ridiculously long posts, so sorry if it’s been said). </p>

<p>BUT you should have known how much sports meant to you when you first came here. Nobody denies that we don’t have a sports scene. It’s your fault for matriculating when that matters so much to you.</p>

<p>Tour guides have to say “concerts and Wonderful Wednesdays are awesome”. It’s their job. And it’s your job as a consumer to realize what is fluff and what is not.</p>

<p>Also, does anyone care if people aren’t wearing Emory tshirts? I rarely wear mine. We associate ourselves with the school… Even if we’re not wearing them…</p>

<p>You’ve pretty much said “This is what I wanted college to be like. I went to the wrong school”.
Which is a fine thing to say. A lot of people say that.</p>

<p>But you shouldn’t define what a “true college experience” is for everyone.
You should be more like “this is how Emory is. Some people like it. Others don’t. I didn’t”. </p>