<p>Hey. I recently posted asking for college suggestions and started researching some of them. Can anyone tell me anything- and I mean ANYTHING- about Furman College? Thank you.</p>
<p>Nice school with a very beautiful campus. Strong academics, becomming more selective every year. Student body leans to the conservative side, not much diversity, but they're working hard to change that. Overall, a good choice.</p>
<p>Most beautiful campus. High tech town halfway between Charlotte and Atlanta. Happy kids. Good looking kids. Check it out more.</p>
<p>thank you both!</p>
<p>Hi
I went to Furman for undergrad school. Furman, Rice, Wake Forest and University of Richmond divested themselves from the money offered by the Baptist Conventions in the 1980s to insure academic freedom. The students are not so much conservative as they are upper middle class or a bit sheltered..there is an active Democratic base and Richard Riley who is a graduate was Clinton's Secretary of Education. If you look carefully at the student body religion make-up it is diverse in Protestant denominations but has yet to attract students from various faiths in big numbers but they want to make this leap. The campus is lush and exceeds your expectations even when you read it is lush--drooping magnolias, rose gardens, sunshine, golf course, beautiful athletic facilities, congenial speaking tradition on campus, lake, tower. Sorry but it is prettier than Wake Forest or University of Richmond, but since it is near Greenville and Charlotte, has not attracted the high numbers from northern states yet. Sits in the foothills of the serene NC mountains but has easy access to the slaburbs of southern cities on 85 South and has a fun downtown that is revived and renovated. The student body is sort of relentessly Protestant but they are also friendly and intelligent and not a monolith. I wish there were also more students who are Jewish, Catholic and Asian, African American, and so does Furman. They will eagerly accept students that are motivated and offer diversity in race, religion and geography. The teachers by the way love to teach kids from new locations and they were super to me. Last year's SAT averages were near 1350. My fellow Furmanites had great outcomes in graduate schools because classroom instruction is excellent and resembles that at Wake Forest or other fine LACs. They are building a state of the art Science Complex and have extremely strong Chemistry and Psych and Poli Sci depts. Music is excellent..Boston Pops Conductor is a graduate. Large student body % from the burbs of Atlanta...which means they are really from everywhere. Lots of Floridians which means they are really from parents from everywhere and students are used to big cities and travel. Many students go abroad. Lots of kids from Raleigh and Charlotte, Jacksonville, Miami, Chattanooga, Charleston. There are no TAs. Teachers know your name and care about your personal and academic growth. The professors are demanding and warm and accessible. Greenville/Spartanburg is booming and believe it or not a lot of Germans and French people live there now making cars and tires. It was a tired cotton mill town on the skids in the Polyester era of my youth.
The waterfalls, sliding rocks, and trails of the Pisgah National Forest are less than 30 minutes to an hour north, so this is the playground for Furmanites. Lovely mountains beyond words. Where Cold Mountain really is. Weekend trips tend to be to Atlanta. Beach weeks in SC where the beaches are rather grand.
Here's what happened to my classmates: Chemistry at University of Chicago and Stanford PHD, Voice at Northwestern,now a tenured Professor, PHD in Economics working for the CIA, PhD in Social Work, now a tenured professor at major University, two novelists, one journalist in a top ten paper, five lawyers (Vanderbilt, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Harvard), two doctors (Harvard, South Carolina), one Bishop, two clinical psycholgists. Those are just people I talked to this week for the holidays. I guess my point is that although Furman is not as selective as some colleges in the top fifty, the classroom instruction is outstanding, students are life-long learner kind of people, and it is definitely an environment that will help you achieve your potential. PS It is known as Furman University. Further questions feel free to PM.</p>
<p>Furman is a stunning place, only beat in shear beauty by Princeton, Stanford, and UVA, actually, it feels like an ivory crossing between the best of Stanford and UVA. Only dectractor to the campus is that those swans can be deadly, one of them bit me!</p>
<p>I loved the Southern hospitality and the cleanness of the campus, but the conservatism, homogeneity, and serenity of the campus really just didn't gel with me. I almost felt the need to go get the Alpha's and a DJ and bring an ATL party up in there because it was just was too... I don't know, but great school for those who are fine with the atmosphere.</p>
<p>terrible about the swan nipping you! some hospitality! yeah..that is about the scariest thing that can happen to you there. A cranky swan attack. The proximity of the mountains creates calm which is great for studying and all you have to do to return to the bustling new South is get back on nearby I-85.</p>