<p>Just came across Newsweek's ranking that Furman is the 2nd most rigorous college in country. </p>
<p>College</a> Rankings 2011: Most Rigorous - The Daily Beast</p>
<p>I knew it was a heavy work load but 2nd? Seems to me this is a plus for Furman and it's grads but I hope it does not scare potential students away. Just curious what others thought of this ranking.</p>
<p>I am concerned about this ranking. I want D to be prepared for graduate school. She is not afraid of hard work. BUT, I dont want a curriculum that is so difficult that she cant get into grad school because of lower gpa. </p>
<p>Would a current Furman student or recent grad please comment?</p>
<p>My D is a current student. If your focus is getting graduate school acceptance for your D, then I don’t think there are many undergraduate programs that have the grad school acceptance rates that Furman has. Check out the post graduate statistics.</p>
<p>[Outcomes</a> and Assessment](<a href=“Furman University | Top Private Liberal Arts University in Greenville, SC”>Furman University | Top Private Liberal Arts University in Greenville, SC)</p>
<p>I think this stems from Furman’s reputation amongst graduate school admission departments. They understand that a GPA at one school does not equate to another and that rigor of programs is a better indicator of success in graduate school.</p>
<p>TennDad- my D is also a current student at Furman. She is doing well with her course of study. Yes, it is hard work but she finds plenty of time to socialize and participate in multiple volunteer groups. Most of her friends also work hard but are very active in EC’s as well. I would say Furman is a place for do-ers. Not the party hard and find yourself kind of school or student body. I am always impressed by the projects, goals, and internships these students are engaged in. For my student it is the perfect school.</p>
<p>My youngest son, a Furman junior, has done very well at Furman and believes that good preparation is rewarded at Furman. My older son, a Davidson alumnus, scoffs at the very idea of such a ranking. Just go, study hard, go to every class and you willbe just fine.</p>
<p>Tennessee Dad, we have a son there planning to double major while playing sports, yes it is tough but he made the Dean’s list so if you work hard and make the right choices anything is possible. They have the 3rd highest NCAA GSR in the Nation tied with Duke! Campus is beautiful, proffessors are excellent, Greenville is a great town. Huge percentage of their recent graduates accepted to top ranked grad schools. As we told our son anything easy is usually not worth much. Highly recommend a campus tour and apply as early as you can to increase your chances of acceptance, tough to get in~</p>
<p>The ranking with the second most rigorous school actually came out this past fall via the Daily Beast ( part of Newsweek). We have twins who are seniors this year and were actually proud to have Furman’s course rigor acknowledged in such a significant fashion. Actually, we can provide some comparative perspective, since our daughter spent 2 consecutive fall semesters at Georgia Tech ( ranked within top 10 for national public universities). Our daughter was exploring the idea of transferring to school with a History, Science, and Technology major and was seeing how the two schools compared. Tech professors were universal in their praise for her writing and analytical skills ( good writer but made >>>better by First Year Writing Seminar. She took a number of upper level liberal arts classes at Tech and her Tech GPA was over 3.8-current Furman GPA just under 3.6. Both of our kids will tell everyone that there is no class you can take for granted at Furman-last semester one of our 2 made the only B+ in an art class. </p>
<p>As other parents have said, the professors, by and large, are outstanding-they make themselves available to all of their students, and in return, expect hard work and an excellent work product. Both S and D have had professors meet with them multiple times to refine semester-long papers. OUr S had the opportunity to work as a TA/Pre-publication editor with one of his professors as a first-semester sophomore and another professor was working today with DD to refine a paper for submission to a regional Philosophy conference. Both of kids did a semester of study-abroad. Our son’s is the longest running and longest duration program at Furman-English study in the British Isles. What was a stunner was that he spent entire summer before his fall study away reading and writing numerous papers. A challenging experience but incredible opportunity. The last thing to remember is that Furman uses a +/- grading scale-so an A- is actually a 3.7-while at most schools an A is an A. </p>
<p>I have tried to present an honest representation of an academic experience worth every effort. Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.</p>
<p>Most of the Furman student body has laughed at that ranking, and when you look at their methodology (which includes looking at ratemyprofessors), it’s hard to take seriously. However, that is not to say we don’t all work very hard, just don’t let the ranking scare you.</p>