Furman Freshman Tips Please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Furman University
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<p>I haven’t checked this forum in a while, but let me try to answer some of your questions:</p>

<p>First off, it’s great to hear that your D is considering Furman! I would say that at this point in the year, it may be a bit soon to be putting all the eggs in the transfer basket, but if she really does want to get to Furman next semester, it’s good to know she’s thinking about it now. If it’s the party scene she wants to get away from, Furman is, in many ways, the anti-party school. You can go all four years here without once feeling directly pressured to party, drink, etc. It’s there for those who want it, and not for those who don’t.</p>

<p>As for the scholarship question, I can’t directly answer this, but I can say that the FinAid department here is excellent, very helpful, and (for me, at least) gave significantly more aid than other comparable private schools. It may be true that it’s more difficult to get merit aid as a transfer, but I would definitely give it a go and see what happens.</p>

<p>On the question of Greek life, I would say that it most likely would be an option as long as your D gets in contact with the sorority recruitment team before she comes to campus. Sorority rush takes place in January, and she really wouldn’t be too far behind in the process coming in then. That said, there are certain forms and fees that need to be paid, I believe, in November or December.</p>

<p>Hope that helps! </p>

<p>If you have any questions, your best bet for a quick response is to message me, but feel free to post here, as well.</p>

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<p>This has been so helpful thank you everyone! I was wondering about athletics at Furman.</p>

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<p>My d is going to apply as a transfer for this spring semester, 2011. Any advice on fitting in? She is not happy at her current school. It is in a big city and lacking a sense of community. She wants to feel like she is part of the school and not just a student attending classes.</p>

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<p>I haven’t been on here much since the start of classes (note to self: overloading is actually more work than not overloading), but I’ll answer the last two questions.</p>

<p>Athletics here aren’t really a huge deal (we’re in the Southern Conference of NCAA D-IAA), but a decent number of people show up to football, soccer, and basketball games. Our football team is pretty good this year, but most people leave at halftime of games. Soccer is a lot of fun, too. It’s not an SEC state school, but it’s there if you like it.</p>

<p>As for fitting in on campus, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, coming in second semester is going to be a little harder than first. There aren’t going to be a huge number of new people looking to group together. That said, Furman students are a welcoming bunch, and we always love to add new people to our circle of friends. Get to know people by joining organizations on campus, striking up conversations with people in class, and by befriending your RA and getting them to help you out with the transition. </p>

<p>Second, people at Furman do–for the most part–dress up relatively well for classes and going out. I don’t want to make it sound like we’re elitist or snoody, but you’ll do yourself a huge favor if you put in a bit of effort to look presentable in class. This doesn’t apply to everyone, of course, but a healthy majority. </p>

<p>Third, go through the rush process. It’s in January (which for your D, is pretty close to the time she gets here), but she’ll meet a huge number of people (not just freshmen) by doing formal rush. This is probably the best way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time. I won’t make any specific recommendations on whether or not to go Greek (I’m currently independent, but did rush and briefly pledged), but the rush process is a great social activity. </p>

<p>That’s all I can immediately think of, but I hope the best for her transition and look forward to hearing about how she enjoys it! PM me if you have any questions, or post them here and I’ll try to get back in a reasonable amount of time.</p>

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My advice is simple, don’t go to Furman if you are social and like to go out.