<p>Dear Parents, for those of you that are familiar with Furman, what are your opinions of this school? In terms of academics and student life?</p>
<p>poster BobbyCT has a child starting there in the fall, in case he doesn’t post…</p>
<p>Furman always had a good reputation among the Southern schools. However lately, I have not heard it come up as much as College of Charleston, Elon, Rhodes, Guilford, Sewanee and some other schools. I don’t really know why.</p>
<p>The kid who was #4 in last year’s senior class at our h.s. is a freshman at Furman this year. His Mom says he loves it. His sister was #1 in the class four years ago and is graduating from Duke this year. They are a smart family so must have been impressed with Furman. I believe the academics are very strong.</p>
<p>Good friends of ours are a three generation Furman family from S.C. They love Furman with a passion. Their D graduated in 2002.
She loved Furman but made some comments to the effect of it being a very homogenous campus. I’ve heard her call it “the Furman Bubble”.</p>
<p>Very strong reputation among those in the know (academics). Never visited by I understand the campus is beautiful. Draws more non-southerners that you would think.</p>
<p>There are a number of smaller southern schools that are not on the radars here in the northeast that are some excellent choices. I know my son has a friend at U of Richmond who is doing wonderfully and loves it. Other schools that have given some nice merit money and have great programs are Rolliins, Eckard, Stetson in Florida, that I know kids who are personally happy there.</p>
<p>Furman has a great regional rep. It is considered the best private college in SC. We visited last Fall and it is a beautiful campus, people were very warm. We know many kids that are there and they are very happy. It is probably more diverse that most think, but I do believe that like many LACs there is “bubble effect” - agree with PackMom. They have great acceptance rates into regional grad, professional schools.</p>
<p>We love, love, love Furman! DS will graduate on Saturday. The entire experience for him and us has been nothing short of fabulous. Beautiful campus, tough and engaging academics, nurturing environment, fantastic student body, etc, etc. He jumped in with both feet and was very involved with many different clubs, organizations, student govt, intramurals, etc. DS will leave campus this Sunday kicking and screaming. He is headed to Wake Forest for graduate school on a full tuition scholarship in the fall. Furman is well known in the SE, but does draw from all parts of the country. Furman attracts the same students and competes with Wake Forest, Davidson and Elon among others. Also known for sending a high percentage of it’s graduates on to graduate school. DS turned down Duke, WF, Rice, WashU and Clemson for Furman.</p>
<p>Strong academically, great pre-med preparation, and a student body that by all accounts loves the place. We visited and were told that 23% of Furman grads marry another Furman grad. The whole campus has an exceptionally friendly, warm vibe that the students clearly pick up on and perpetuate.</p>
<p>Google “Furman” and click on “Images.” The campus is dazzling.</p>
<p>D2 visited Furman as part of a Mock Trial tournament last year. During her short time there she liked it enough to recommend it to D3 who subsequently visited and applied. Although D3 will be attending elsewhere, we really liked Furman very much. Very strong academics, great facilities, and the professors and administrators we met during our time there were very personable and attentive. In general, we found a lot of things to like about Furman, including the city of Greenville. </p>
<p>Had D3 enrolled she was invited to go on a two week study abroad program to China over the summer, prior to Fall Orientation, that’s 100% funded by Furman. That’s just one more example of the kinds of things they do there that really impressed us.</p>
<p>It came down to Furman or UNC Chapel Hill for D1. Furman offered her a LOT of scholarship money but in the end she chose UNC for it’s diversity and study abroad opportunities. That being said, it was a tough decision. We visited the campus many times and spoke with professors in several different departments. Furman’s academics are top notch. D1 even did an overnight visit and really liked the students she met – many of whom chose Furman over other “top tier” schools (i.e. UVA, Vanderbilt, Wake, etc.). BTW – Furman’s mock trial team is consistently ranked among the nation’s best.</p>
<p>The campus is breathtaking and Greenville is a 5-10 minute car ride. If you haven’t visited Greenville, I highly suggest it. It’s delightful.</p>
<p>As rodney mentioned above, my D will be a freshman at Furman in a few months.</p>
<p>D fell in love with Furman after her first visit. She was initially attracted to Furman based on the strong reputation of their Psychology program. After attending a class and meeting with the Chair of the Department, her mind was made up. She was specifically attracted to the small, discussion based classes. That type of learning environment really appealed to her and she thought it would get the best out of her. </p>
<p>On the social side, she really felt like she fit in. D is not a partier so she was very comfortable with the somewhat conservative nature of the campus community. D is a “yankee” but she felt more at home at Furman than any other LAC she visited in the Northeast or Midwest. </p>
<p>From a parents perspective, I liked the academic focus of the school. Although I had not heard of Furman prior to her search, we both feel like she found her fit. (I also love Greenville so our visits will be even more enjoyable)</p>
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<p>Interesting - when D did a college visit at Brown a faculty member asked where else she’d visited. When my D said Furman, the prof hadn’t heard of it.</p>
<p>Here in the southeast, Furman is well known and highly regarded. I’d say that if you drew a continuum between Elon and Wake Forest, Furman might be around the midpoint (academically, not geographically).</p>
<p>Thank you for all the awesome responses!!</p>
<p>Just one quick question though: Which airport would be the best to fly into for a visit to Furman? And what would the an estimated drive time to get to campus from said airport?</p>
<p>I am a Furman graduate and keep up with a score of Furman graduates. Feel free to Pm anytime. My classmates attended University of Va Law, Vandy Law, Harvard Med, Harvard Law, Yale Div, Univ of Chicago and Stanford (chem), Northwestern and Columbia (conducting) University of GA and SC of course…wrote novels, journalists…one is a Bishop…four teach in universities.</p>
<p>So…on the strong side…Furman is very rigorous in the classroom and faculty members will get behind your student and champion their graduate school dreams. The campus is extremely gorgeous and Greenville is very new wave Southern with lots of industry and a good downtown. </p>
<p>Furman wants to be more than a regionally welcoming campus and is eager to diversify in every respect. Applications outside of the Carolinas, FLA and Georgia are all very welcomed and although it is easier to enter Furman than Wake…I would not consider the classrooms to be easier…</p>
<p>Re a Daughter going into Psych…Furman grad founded Behavioral Psych…the Psych dept does a bang up job putting students into doctoral programs and the major is very research based and hard core. Ditto the Chem department. </p>
<p>My Vanderbilt son is being coached by a Furman grad in Mock Trial if that tells you anything…Furman outperforms its reputation on many levels. Give it a look. Be the change at Furman is my hope for anyone who feels comfortable there. Personally…I think Greenville is more fun than Winston Salem and there is easy access to stunning foothills of North Carolina’s most magical mountains…Furman is in upland Carolina where the economy is good and anyone going to Atlanta or Charlotte almost has to pass by…</p>
<p>Take a look</p>
<p>oh and Lukester…seems like yesterday that your son turned down Duke for Furman scholarships. I am so happy that he has no regrets and I am not surprised at all that he is going to graduate school at Wake on a big scholarship…but please accept my congratulations on that coups! Your son undoubtedly worked very hard for this privilege…of an underwritten graduate education</p>
<p>Meatballs: The closest airport is GSP (Greenville Spartanburg) which is on the other side of Greenville from Furman, and is probably about 30 minutes away. </p>
<p>The Charlotte airport is about 2 hours away and Atlanta, 2 1/2 hours (or more depending on traffic.) Asheville, NC, about an hour away, also has a regional airport.</p>