<p>Hello! So Emory is my #1 school, but due to financial issues I did not apply early decision. My parents probably make too much for any need based aid, so I have to count on merit scholarships.</p>
<p>I know getting Emory Scholars would be a huge reach for me, like very huge; however, I was wondering if anyone knew how competitive it is to get the partial tuition scholarships from this program?</p>
<p>extremely competitive to even be a semifinalist, which would give you a partial scholarship. average stats are usually 2250 SAT/3.95UW GPA.</p>
<p>Do you happen to know if they consider senior year first semester grades or mostly look at Junior year and then will check up on senior grades?</p>
<p>Has anyone else applied to the Emory Goizueta Scholars program?!</p>
<p>I you considered also applying to the Oxford Scholars program? Merit aid is easier to get there. [Home</a> - Oxford College](<a href=“http://oxford.emory.edu/]Home”>http://oxford.emory.edu/)</p>
<p>That seems like a great option, but they have to be admitted first. Hopefully they can say that they are solidly above the median at Oxford (if the OP has 1350+, they meet this qualification, and if 1400+, they are in scholars zone), such that they are close to a shoe in. Otherwise, they are also at the mercy of a non-need blind system (I think Oxford considers fin. need in some cases now according to either Latting or Wagner) that may see 1) caliber for merit aid is nearly absent, and b) they need help. Number 1 will reinforce the effect of number 2 such that their admissions chances may not be optimal (but not neccessarily bad, just not as good as they could be).</p>
<p>Thanks guys! I haven’t really considered Oxford because I definitely prefer the size and atmosphere of the main campus. Luckily, there are other schools near the top of my list that are similar to Emory that will give me a lot more merit money!
I just wanted to get a somewhat realistic view of what I can anticipate getting from Emory, which I see now is probably nothing…but hey at least I won’t get my hopes up!
Thanks again :)</p>
<p>If they will give you a lot more merit aid, are they that similar to Emory? Are they similar in size and atmosphere, and not selectivity or something. Because a significant amount of the schools in the top 30 or so in USNWR are either exactly the same selectivity as Emory, and the rest in the top 20 are MUCH higher (even some below are a little higher). I don’t think they’ll be more generous with merit aid, so be very careful about what schools you think will give you more merit aid. Also, seriously don’t write Oxford off because of size and “atmosphere” preferences (this is probably why UG education at many places is not optimal, because that is the reasons students come). </p>
<p>Depending on what you’re doing (definitely case for sciences, and probably the case for many social science and humanities), it may actually be a better place to start than main campus (and lots of other “top schools”) especially if you care more about the quality of your education than you do about “location” and “size”. Post-graduation success actually seems to be more concentrated from the Oxford pool of students (as in, it seems they do an awfully good job of getting into medical school, great graduate schools, etc), which suggests that they do something much more “transformative” than what would happen on even some of the best research-1 campuses. I feel like many Research-1’s basically just rely on the incoming caliber of the student to predict post-graduate success (this is code for: “often is not about educating undergrads so much as keeping them happy enough with the living situation/social atmosphere, and stress levels so that faculty can focus on research and revenue and prestige raising activities”. This all makes sense when you consider why HS seniors choose colleges, even the best seniors.) while LAC like schools are actually trying harder to facilitate success regardless of this. Unless you are some super duper student that intentionally seeks the best courses, instructors, and and an academic challenge, you’ll find that the academics at most of the research-1 top privates (or research-1 top schools in general) is over-rated for the normal student (and yet these students will convince themselves that they are getting a much better or more rigorous education than they would have at other places. They usually are not. It’s usually only slightly better, the same, or even lower). I’m just telling you to beware of this before you get caught up in being wooed away by the atmosphere of these places. They may “feel” and “look” nice, but there should be much more to them.</p>
<p>On a side note: If you had any hooks, maybe you should have applied. Did you apply for any of the scholars programs?</p>
<p>I applied to both the main campus and the oxford campus, as well as the scholars program.
I haven’t written off oxford completely, I just hadn’t really considered it to the extent that I have considered the main campus. Come decision time, if I get in to oxford and not the main campus, I might look into it more. </p>
<p>However, I have kind of had a change of heart on what career path I may be taking. Probably something with international affairs and anthropology as opposed to biology and anthropology. So the oxford campus might not be the best option (?) but like I said, I’ll look into it more!</p>
<p>By similar schools I just meant that I noticed similarities when visiting–not ranking, which wouldn’t have much of an impact on my opinion of the school. And the merit aid I was referring to is automatic, based on national Hispanic scholar status! </p>
<p>I have plenty of safeties/matches that guarantee merit aid, I’m just trying to explore my options because Emory is by far my number 1 dream school.
Thanks for your insight, Bernie! :)</p>
<p>Oxford would be a fine start in that area. The classroom experience will certainly probably be more rigorous and allow for closer interaction. The weakness is perhaps that you would have less easy access to things in Atlanta. For example, it would be easier to become involved with the Carter Center if you were on main campus. Also, if you were interested in hitting the ground running academically, there are definitely some heavy weights over in political science and history that do awesome research and teach well (example, Lancaster). Unfortunately, about anthropology on main campus, I feel like it has many good elements and is certain very good in the grad. school/research arena, but the undergraduate experience may be described as “crowded”. Most of those courses are known for being easy and large (thus teachers lecturing at you from powerpoints, less discussion oriented, rote memorization oriented exams. There are essays and writing assignments, but I don’t know how meaningful they are). I think Oxford can probably do better in the anthropology undergraduate arena, at least for the first 2 years (actually, even after like 3, much of my friend’s anthro. courses are still pretty large). I suppose the advantage of main campus would be that anthropology is closely associated with its derivatives such as the human, global, and predictive health programs/depts which are actually quite good (these 3 are relatively new, but their curricula definitely encourage a more hands on approach that has led to the development of various student led initiatives and projects). Just, from the looks of things, I would say that even NBB has managed it’s “crowd” better (for example, many of the electives, especially the 400-levels are smaller, discussion oriented courses that focus on primary literature and sometimes even hands-on application. Seems like they gear many more classes toward an evidence or inquiry based approach). </p>
<p>I suppose you can come to main campus and make up for any weaknesses you experience in the curriculum, by charting a path that allows you to get into undergraduate fellowships or research opps. as soon as possible, but don’t come with too high of expectations in the classroom beyond getting decent grades (unless you get scholars, in which case, you can pick your classes before everyone else 
). Good luck! I hope you have at very least some success in getting the funds to attend.</p>
<p>Note: I’m mainly putting down anthro. a little. I actually think polisci on main is very strong. One advantage with polisci (which essentially hosts international studies) and say, history, is that many courses do not have pre-reqs, so you can begin your requirements AND electives as a freshman if you would like. Starting freshman year, you can dive into topics that interest you in the field, and boy are there tons of interesting courses to take (in addition, they often live up to the “private school” pitch of having small classes with meaningful conversation. This is good to be exposed to as a first year so that you don’t become accustomed to the “just make an A and get past this” attitude that will develop in much of the larger classes/freshman requirements).</p>
<p>Awesome info, Bernie! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know all of this! :)</p>
<p>I think if i do get the option of Emory or Oxford, I’ll really have to think about what’ll be best for me! Again, thank you!</p>
<p>Oxford does not limit you in your ability to peruse the major you are interested in, I just want to make sure that’s clear. It just changes the start of your academic career, not the end.</p>