I’m having trouble choosing between the above three schools. Does anyone have any advice/insight on these three schools? Or general advice about how to decide? I’ve visited all of them, but during breaks so school wasn’t in session. I do not have a great fit at my current school and am not sure how to go about choosing
this time. My parents don’t care which school I chose and I haven’t been able to discuss this with my friends.
I’d coming in as a junior transfer(50ish credits) and am interested in the humanities(major slightly different at the three schools due to program differences but generally, media/cultural studies). Not film production though. At my next school, I Really want to feel like a “student.” At my current school, it feels like I’m a random person who goes to class and sometimes goes out with a group of people. We don’t have a great campus. So, Active Clubs, small classes, a good library/spots to do work, and most importantly a “vibrant” student experience are important to me. I am motivated, enjoy studying, and am pretty high energy. I dislike just sitting around and thrive when I have a lot going on. I want to be surrounded by passionate, interesting people. I also appreciate a sense of community, close friendship(ideally more than just people to go out with) and having access to professors/some research opportunities would be ideal. No career plans but highly interested in pursuing graduate school in the humanities. Thanks in advance:)
Are these current admissions of aspirations?
@privatebanker I don’t understand the question. I’ve been admitted to these schools for the fall 2019 semester.
That was the question. Are you in or hoping.
Congrats on three great acceptances. All three have what you’re looking for and probably why applied.
Emory is a bigger school, bright students and in a big city. Lots to do.
Col Coll will have a tight knit community. Not everyone wants their approach versus the traditional college semester. You’ll be busy. There’s access to a lot of outdoors options and a beautiful part of the country.
I’m not that familiar with PItzer. Other than it’s sterling small college reputation.
As a junior I would be concerned with the much smaller schools personally. Embedded friendships and small student body may be tighter to crack into for you.
Emory seems to have it all and has a wonderful national reputation. That would be my choice.
It seems as if your interests might lean at least as much toward social sciences such as cultural anthropology as toward humanities. If this is the case, I might recommend Pitzer for you in that you’d be studying within a strength of the school.
You said you don’t like your current school. Are any of these similar? I guess if I didn’t like my current school, I’d try to pick one that is different.
I think it is likely that Colo College kids would have taken at least a few blocks with others in their major by the time they are juniors. It might be harder to find someone to partner with in a class if that’s the case. Also might be harder to get into the block system when others have had 2 years to get used to it.
That was my first thought as well. Emory is not only larger but also has ~500 students moving from Oxford to the main campus each fall, which shakes up the social scene a bit.
Though LACs usually offer smaller classes than comparable universities, a junior transfer in the humanities would undoubtedly find small classes at Emory as well.
Emory is the the most prestigious and there you will be around other exceptional students - plus Atlanta is great.
CC is the best choice, IMO, given what OP has said. No idea what his other school was like, but chances are it’s nothing like CC.
It’s not easy breaking into a community Junior year if socializing isnt your thing. The way CC is structured, you’ll be thrown int a class several hours a day, maybe even at remote locales so you’ll get to know those classmates well and fast. Also, my impression of the students there, is that they tend to be easy going and accepting.
Do you care about the politics of the students or the city, at all? Emory by far is the conservative student body, although Atlanta is very liberal, African American majority city with lots of diversity, both Muslim and Jewish residents, and lots of Asian Americans are comfortable in Atlanta. Atlanta has the most beautiful Mosque ! Emory is more southern in its student body and conservative, than say GaTech in the same city.
Colorado Springs is white and Hispanic, and less diverse by far than Atlanta. Colorado College and Pitzer are both liberal, very liberal student bodies , although Colorado Springs as a city is considered quite conservative, home of Focus on the family, and other religious groups. Its a stunning beautiful city with Pike’s Peak the dominant landscape feature. Skiing, hiking, and mountain biking are is very accessible and Colorado College has a week off in between each intense three week class.
Atlanta has a surprising access to rock climbing and mountain biking too, just a few miles north, the Appalachia starts,
with great kayaking too.
Pitzer, its in the Claremont consortium, so you can take classes at Pomona College, Mudd, Scripps, and Claremont McKenna.
But since you are transferring , less chances to do that. Pitzer is easier for admission than either Pomona or Claremont McKenna or Harvey Mudd. I don’t know how that impacts Pitzer students if at all. Claremont is
much smaller than either Atlanta or Colorado Springs, its more of a small town near the San Gabriel Mountains.
Claremont is about a good hour from Los Angeles, so you will not go there every weekend. There is a cute downtown to Claremont with sushi bars, a farmers market and a few bars etc. Its more suburban than Atlanta or Colorado Springs.
I might pick Emory University. I think its just bigger and more interesting overall, to be in Atlanta for two years.
You really have to want to take one class at a time to go to CC. It would help if you want to ski, as most
students will be skiing on the weeks off, and you get a lot of weeks off in between the 8 classes, so seven weeks
you have to figure out how to keep busy in Colorado Springs.
Pitzer, somehow I believe its ranked somewhat lower than your other two choices, and has an “alternative” feel to it,
so you have to be comfortable with alternative lifestyles to be happy at Pitzer.
The Claremont group is a very liberal set of students, who have California values, so diversity, and support for all lifestyles.
Colorado Springs? Those lifestyles are considered a “sin” by a good number of residents, but Colorado College
is there to battle those viewpoints.
CC enjoys a good rep in the state as well as surrounding one’s, a surprise to me when we visited since I’d barely given the school any attention till it made its way on our list. One of mine ended up there and he loved it. Not a skier. Not at all social. In fact,eccentric, but he found lifelong accepting friends. It was the perfect pick for him. There is a lot to do on campus too. Vibrant school.
Sorry, but not only does that defy common sense, it defies the facts (which took all of 5 seconds to google). One is a private Uni which has a broad geographic following. The other, is a public with a large instate presence.
Emory has students from all 50 states, with less than a third of Frosh (31%) from the southeast states. (Heck, there are many students from NYC/Long Island; and NY is not exactly a conservative bastion.) Emory has more than a few SJW’s.
In contract, Ga Tech is 61% instate, i.e., Georgia alone.
And don’t forget, while Pitzer maybe on the more liberal side, it is jut one of the 5 colleges in Clermont. The others are more moderate in their politics.
https://apply.emory.edu/discover/facts-stats/first-year.html
https://irp.gatech.edu/fact-book-online
Sorry, back to the decision.
@Coloradomama Not sure where you got your information from but Emory is very diverse geographically and it is not considered to have a very conservative student body. You may be confusing it with a different school.
Emory has a full set of conservative Christian clubs and has many conservative students, and conservative students are happy at Emory.
http://www.religiouslife.emory.edu/faith_traditions/christian.html
Pitzer is about as different from that as you can get!
I am not saying that Emory does not have geographic diversity. They have lots of politically very conservative students who are attending. I get that information from Emory undergrads.
The student body at Emory is one of the more politically diverse colleges, so yes, there are lots of Christian Clubs and Conservative students- and there are lots of super liberal students and everything in between. No need for a food fight here- the OP will be able to find their people. Ime, the biggest commonality is that Emory students- regardless of where they are on the political spectrum - seem to be go-getters: lots of very ambitious students (with ambitions ranging from pre-professional to theatre). The fact that the school is accustomed to a large influx in Junior year is a plus - you will have other people who are looking to find their place, and there will be more efforts made to integrate the newcomers.
Colorado College (again, ime) is very much a ‘fit’ school: if it suits you it really suits you- but if it doesn’t it really doesn’t. Imo, that is high risk for somebody transferring in after an initial poor fit.
The best thing about Pitzer is that it’s part of the Consortium- but you would want to check your requirements carefully
Emory also has close to 20% Jewish students. It’s not known as being a conservative campus. @coloradomama you said specifically that Emory is predominantly southern in its student body, not true. Over 70% are not even from the Southeast states.
@cptofthehouse that is what I’m hoping. That the social concerns due to size will be overridden by the cohort-like, seemingly close-knit structure of block classes. How can people not become friendly with their classmates if they’re in class every day with the same exact people? Seems natural to me. On the other hand, some
People in this thread said that because everyone knows each other, I will be the odd one out. Do you think that CC students are generally Open to new students? Is it cliquey?
@Coloradomama I do really want to ski, and somewhat interested in the idea of taking one class at a time, but am also concerned about the variety of activities in CS Vs ATL
I think Pitzer is out for me. So, between CC and Emory…I Am drawn to CC more than Emory honestly. But, logically i am a bit apprehensive about the niche that CC is. A bit of a gamble to go there. Emory is a lot closer to “home” in terms of urban life, and east coast student body, which is what I’m used to. On the flip side, I’m attracted to how different CC is and the eye/opening (maybe even nurturing?) opportunities it offers