<p>As a Freshma-Sophmo-Junior at Furman (more on this later), who looked at both Elon and Furman during the application process, who had a very close cousin who graduated from Elon and who is from Maryland and is religiously agnostic, I think that I can comment on a lot of concerns about the school itself.</p>
<p>The first thing that I would say to people when looking at colleges is not to believe the stereotypes. I’ve found in my first year here at Furman that while racial diversity is limited (I won’t lie, I’ve had classes that have been all-white, or nearly all-white), there is much more religious, cultural, and socio-economic diversity than many people will give the school credit for. Additionally, the incoming president, Rodney Smolla, is the current Dean of Law at Washington and Lee college and has stated that increasing Furman’s diversity is one of his major goals for his tenure here.</p>
<p>Yes, a significant number of Furman students do go to church on a nearly weekly basis. Yes, in the DH (Furman students abbreviate nearly everything, including Dining Hall), there is O God Thank You For This, Our Daily Bread (if I can remember correctly). Yes, we do have an amazingly gorgeous chapel on campus that is large, and very noticeable. Yes, the student body is, in many ways, conservative politically and socially. Yes, students do dress up for class, with Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines, Southern Proper, Southern Tides, Patagonia, North Face, and Mountain Hardware all being the most popular brands). Yes, Southern manners are important, and students will hold the door open for you. Yes, there are a large number of students who have a lot, lot of money (I know a guy whose father’s unfortunate passing two years ago has left him with a $36 million dollar trust fund). Yes, religious organizations play a large, but not annoyingly in-your-face, role on campus.</p>
<p>All of these factors play a role in shaping the culture of Furman. This is completely true. At the same time, my best friend at school is an avowed Athiest from Connecticut who never goes to church, who goes out on a near nightly basis, and who never gets dressed up unless we’re going downtown. One of my other best friends is a hippie rock climber from Atlanta who goes climbing four times a week and is a huge bluegrass music fan. Another of my friends is a Jewish guy who is a religious major and is the most warm-hearted and fun people I’ve ever been around. On my hall, Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats, and a bunch of people have signed “sustainability pledges.” My RA goes to church, and is always willing to accommodate people who also want to go, but he certainly isn’t knocking on anyone’s door Sunday morning.</p>
<p>To anyone who visits Furman and decides it is not the school for them, there is a very good chance it isn’t. Furman is an extremely difficult school. There is no way to sugarcoat the fact that if you come to Furman, you will spend more time studying than you thought humanly possible. Luckily, Furman has one of the best college libraries in the country, some of the best advisors in the country, one of the best tutoring programs, the incredible Freshman seminar program, professors who will come in to work on a Saturday if that’s what it takes for them to make an appointment with you, fellow students who will pause writing an essay due the next day to help you work on your Spanish homework, drop dead beautiful facilities, and an overall atmosphere of hospitality and hard work.</p>
<p>Furman doesn’t have the over-the-top party scene that many schools have. I would say that this is the greatest cause for student discontentment. I believe that the stress people have from the workload certainly can make people look unhappy, but I don’t think it really makes people unhappy with the school, overall. Furman has a strict dry campus policy. There is no way to get around the fact that Furman does not have big parties on campus. Last semester, because of zoning changes in Greenville County, most fraternities did not have houses, and because of upstate SC’s Phoenix taskforce, which was created to fight underage drinking, there were really no large house parties (other than the first week, when numerous students received citations). This means that the social life revolves primarily around smaller parties in the on-campus apartments (which are technically dry), and the awesome bars and other clubs downtown. I don’t see this as a bad thing, at all. In fact, because of Furman’s strict policies, I find that it is much, much easier for me to focus on my work. If I want to go out, I know exactly where to go, but if I need to study, I’m not distracted by on-campus drinking. Furman also has a four-year residency requirement that has few exceptions (for those living with parents, for four upperclassmen per fraternity, and for a few other programs).</p>
<p>Elon, on the other hand, has a much more developed Greek system, with on campus Greek housing. I saw this, and was a bit put off by the proximity of Greek housing to the other housing, and by the segregation of Greeks to the other students. Here at Furman, Greeks live next to independents, and are fully integrated into the school. The Fraternities throw a lot of parties downtown, but few at houses and no open apartment parties. The system leads to much more unity on campus, I think. </p>
<p>When it comes to academics, I don’t think there is really any comparison between Furman and Elon. To put it simply, Furman is far and away better. Our Political Science department is top-notch (albeit more conservative than not), and our Natural Sciences are phenomenal. While Elon has been improving recently, Furman is one of the best academic schools in the country. Because of Furman’s limited national name recognition, it’s a lot easier to get into than other schools of similar academic prowess, but it is a school that is incredible almost across the board. Some departments are fairly small, but almost all are great. I will say that there is grade deflation here, which makes students stress out, but grad schools know that, and will look at Furman students accordingly. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a freshma-sophmo-junior, which means that I came in to Furman with three semesters worth of credit from APs, so I’m in the graduating class of 2012, am technically a first semester junior right now, and am in my first year at the school. Last semester, I got the chance to take four primarily freshmen classes. This semester, I am in two upper level PolSci classes, which are amazing and rigorous, my freshman writing seminar (awesome), and Spanish (can’t lie, I really don’t like Spanish). I’ve gotten the chance to see the intro classes, which are of high quality, but aren’t too hard to be impossible for freshmen, and upper level classes, which are far more demanding, but are taught extremely well.</p>
<p>As for the surrounding area, Furman has the far and away advantage. Greenville is an international business hub, featuring corporations such as BMW, Michelin, and a number of prominent advertising agencies. The downtown is spectacular, with a huge number of mid-to-upper range restaurants, and a plethora of bars. The Reedy River runs through town, and there is a great park that straddles it. I go downtown about two-three times per week, which is probably slightly more than average. I could not go to school in a place that wasn’t within five miles of a major city. At the same time, the fact that Furman isn’t within walking distance of Greenville means that people have an incentive to find things to do on campus. Furman has the unique Cultural Learning Program that makes students actually go to on-campus events like lectures, movies, and presentations. To graduate, one needs to attend 32 events designated as CLPs. There are numerous CLPs available, and I was able to get 16 over last semester, alone. The school has a great radio station (which I’m a DJ at–you can listen to my show, and even call in with questions, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights 10p-12a. Hit the listen online link on the right-hand side of fuwpls.■■■■■■■■■■■■■), a great newspaper (which I write for), and a huge number of clubs and other extra-curriculars. Furman students are incredibly involved, which is really awesome.</p>
<p>I hope that I was able to answer as many questions, as I could. Obviously, I love Furman incredibly much, and will be happy to answer any additional questions that you post or PM me. When it comes down to it, I think that if you’ve really looked at both schools in-depth and spent time on both campuses, the decision will come naturally. That said, I’m incredibly glad I chose Furman, and hope that more people will in the future (especially Northerners! I’m tired of getting made fun of for my “merr-lin” accent!).</p>