Furman's Reputation

Colleges and Universities A-Z Furman University
21

<p>Interesting article. I hope that the Furman board can go to being positive now. I like Furman as does my son and appreciate the fact that they took a risk with him. He was a terrible high school student who simply chose not to work. He has made Dean’s list in four out six semesters in college and currently has a 3.7 GPA. He is planning on a career in college teaching and is looking at graduate school. I am grateful schools took a risk on him because of his unique musical skills. Even our flagship with it’s 30% acceptance rate accepted him because of his music (C’s and all). His SAT was solidly above average but not spectacular. I can’t imagine what the outcome would have been without the special consideration. Admissions committees did look beyond the HS grades.</p>

<p>I don’t feel uber SAT scores and grades are always the best predictors of academic success. I also don’t like the idea of poorly prepared students struggling in college (referencing accounts in posts above).</p>

<p>All top LACs have had to initiate “sustainable” measures for protecting their endowments. My older child noticed that at her alma mater, Grinnell (one of the highest endowments among LACs-1.4 bil), more wealthy kids and fewer middle class students entered each year after 2008. The school did work hard to maintain its financial programs for first generation, low income students. She had a nice merit scholarship which was increased as tuition went up each year. Grinnell no longer does this and is offering more loans where in the past they capped loans at 2k.</p>

<p>I hope Furman continues to increase its diversity under new leadership. Our colleges do need to prepare students to be world citizens and this can only be done through having international, minority and first generation students. It was a wonderful experience for my daughter. Prior to college, she had attended schools that were primarily upper middle class white and Asian students. I think she is a better citizen as a result of this. Living with a first generation college student as a freshman was much, much more of a growth experience than any service opportunity she took part in. I would like to see more of this at Furman. The lack of diversity was certainly why she elected not to even consider fine LACs closer to home .</p>

22

<p>As a current Furman student, I can say that the majority of my friends were publicly happy when Smolla stepped down… I feel the change will help put us back where we should be. My class was shocked at the standards of the class immediately below us. I understand some people have a hard time in high school and change. My brother was, to an extent, one of those people. However, these were simply students that were not ready for what was coming, and Furman professors were not going to change for them. I was proud of that, despite the fact that I knew the drop out rate might increase. If you come to Furman, you have to be ready to hang with the academic standards already in place. I have spent time tutoring friends, because I personally do want to see as many people succeed as possible.</p>

<p>Now about Furman… I’m going into my senior year, looking for grad school programs. Every professor has been exceedingly helpful, and I plan on taking an independent study with a professor in my field of choice. I work on campus, and the bosses I have had are the sweetest, most entertaining group of people. I would not have traded this experience for anything. Was Furman my top choice? To be honest, no. I had unrealistic expectations about myself academically. Was it the best choice for me? Yes. I now stand ready to take on the world having discovered more about myself and my goals. My GPA will definitely be good enough for grad school, but in the end it is just a number. I will have some spectacular references from major names in my field of choice. Depending on your chosen field is whether or not the school will have the reputation you are looking for.</p>