super helpful. Thank you!! Do you have any insight into how conservative the student body is? We know a student who felt like she had to join the atheist club in order to find any like-minded liberals! Lol.
I don’t have any personal insight there, as this daughter is my oldest, so I haven’t had a member of the student body yet.
Great to hear info from a local! Our D21 is very excited about next year and really loved it when she visited!
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That’s wonderful to hear! Furman is so well regarded and their alumni are a very committed group. Where will your daughter be coming from?
We live in New Zealand, so she’s on summer vacation right now 
We’ve lived in NZ and the US, and she decided a few years ago that she definitely wanted to go back to America for college. She keeps up with friends there and loves the variety of universities in America. Some of her NZ friends are already planning to visit (once things get back to normal!). Plus she’s our youngest so we’ll be able to spend time in both places.
We live in GA and my D’s school sends several kids to Furman every year. We were able to tour last year before everything shut down, and while I have driven by the campus over the years that is my only time actually on campus. We had a wonderful tour guide (coincidentally from the Chicago suburbs like you plus in my sorority) who spent time with my D after the tour and has remained in touch. So our observations:
While my D is from the south, she is very liberal for this area (e.g. founded the social justice club at her school, etc.) So she had a lot of questions for the tour guide along those lines and appreciated the perspective of a non-southerner. She was told while overall there is a conservative vibe, it is an accepting campus and easy to find your people. Since both my D and the guide are involved in the Arts, she was told it would be easy to find like-minded people there as a start.
The guide did not have a car on campus (she was a junior at the time of the tour). She said she regularly rode her bike on the trail to Travelers Rest (a very cute area) and had no problem finding someone with a car to take her into Greenville when needed. She said she occasionally took the shuttle but usually caught a ride as many kids do have cars on campus.
I don’t remember what your D is studying, but my D is interested in chem and communications on a pre-med track. Furman has very good opportunities for research and a good career placement program. We wish it were a bit closer to a large medical center but there are solid options in the Greenville area and many corporate opportunities if that applies for your D.
Adding my perspective on Greenville as I’ve been there many times for work and pleasure… it is a wonderful and charming small city. My SO (who lives relatively near you, I believe) loves it too. We’ve been to Greenville multiple times for little weekend escapes and love the downtown and surrounding area. I hope you get the chance to visit both Furman and Greenville!
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So if they release decisions BY Jan. 15, should we expect to hear back today?
I guess just today or tomorrow. At this point, not sure it matters. Lol. I don’t think they send emails a day ahead of time and only sent them when they updated the portals.
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I would assume tomorrow. My D is anxious for this one as two friends have already been accepted with merit in the earlier waves. The waiting has been hard because of that.
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Yes I wonder if all of the $35k merit offered were given in that first round.
I do too. Both of my D’s friends got the Townes $35k. I don’t know how many they award. My D vacillates from cautiously dreaming of the Duke scholarship full ride to wondering if this will be her first rejection. Ha ha. I’m just hopeful she is accepted and gets decent merit.
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Do you know if any of those friends applied test optional?
They both submitted test scores and both were higher than my D’s SAT (1510). My D has a higher GPA (though not significantly so) and more EC/leadership. Obviously I have no idea how strong my D’s essays are compared to the applicant pool. It just depends what they are looking for.
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Well, D21 will be a guinea pig then when it comes to merit. She should get something at Furman just not sure how much. They do know our school a bit and have recruited some athletes from here but I don’t think any non-athlete has ever enrolled and very very few apply.
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Hi! I am a prospective student at Furman (who will hopefully find out about his decision tomorrow). I am from upstate SC, have toured Furman, and have many friends attending. Overall, I have found that there is a lot of diversity when it comes to political opinion. If I had to pick one or the other, I would say Furman students lean more liberal actually. Furman is considered one of the most liberal colleges in South Carolina when compared to others (Wofford, Clemson, USC, etc). Many friends tell me that there is a prominent theme throughout the campus in regard to caring about social justice and equity, regardless of political preference. South Carolina is a red state, so you aren’t going to escape conservatives, however, I know Furman definitely has many open-minded students, and traditionally, Greenville has been seen as a very politically diverse city as well (thus why there are constant campaign rallies).
I also saw your comment about the earlier waves and scholarships. According to my admissions counselor, the only reason some got their decisions earlier was because they applied before a certain date. I have two good friends who applied test-optional and received the Hollingsworth (35k for in-state), so I don’t think it’s disadvantageous if you don’t submit scores. I also know Furman is one of 4 schools in the Duke Endowment fund. This is an extremely financially generous program that allows for many scholarships and much financial aid. Most of my friends who’ve been accepted got a pretty generous scholarship (25k+),
Overall, one of my top picks for college! I wish they would’ve just said decisions were coming out on the 15th rather than by the 15th! Really got all of our hopes up that we would receive a decision earlier this week… LOL!
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Good luck, everyone! Fingers crossed for good news all around!
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What time are you all anticipating decisions will be out? Late afternoon?
I feel like decisions, in general, come very late afternoon but it seems that the last batch of Furman ones came more like mid afternoon (here in the midwest). Not sure if they are consistent with the times they release though. I think the last one was around 3:00 CST.
Great info thanks. Good luck!
D21 accepted with the Bell Tower -$30k per year!
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