That sounds like an amazing experience for your son. How was his integration onto main Emory Campus after Oxford?
He got to meet with one of his advisors and the other department before moving over. He was lucky and got on campus housing. He also joined Alpha Phi Omega (community service frat - and same chapter I was in so a legacy) first semester. There were a couple of glitches but turned out it wasnāt because of the transition is was simply human error and could have happened no matter what but the faculty helped. He had one advantage as a legacy - with all the changes since I was there at the heart the processes at Emory are the same. He loves the Atlanta campus. Is a member of the university chorus (was in chorale at Oxford) and switched to Ad Hoc Emory. He got to perform with them in the fall at a concert and now was Grover in The Lightening Thief. He took a research class that let him present at a symposium and is currently working with the faculty to get an internship or research assistant spot. So all good!
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Just checking in with you to see how your tour went?!! Hope your son had a great time, would love some input before heading out there in a couple of weeks!
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Our takeaway from our comparison trip- went to Oxford Preview Day on Friday and then the Admitted Students Swoop Day at Atlanta campus on Saturday.
At Oxford after the welcome we broke into three groups had an Academic Q&A with professor panel, then we split off and had Student panel Q&A to get the āInside Scoopā, incoming 1st years were separate from parents (so they could feel free to really open up), then we had a housing/Res life Q&A. They had a donut/coffee truck set up for breakfast then had a luncheon prepared in dining hall where more Ox students came and ate with us to chat about their experiences ā¦ and we also got to chat with other accepted students who were coming from all over the country ā¦ and then a walking tour before checking out and getting a bunch of swag! (Really rolled out the red carpet!)
Emory had a Q&A with a panel of students and then a campus tour (we had toured last Spring and it was basically the same) and they also gave us vouchers to eat at the main dining hall on our own (which we did). We were able to see a dorm room at both campuses (Oxfords seemed nicer and larger but both typical dorms). No chatting with professors in Atlanta but it was also Saturday. One of the four students on the Emory panel had also started at Oxford so several questions were asked regarding her personal experience with the transition, housing when she came to ATL campus, how she was able to assimilate and feel a part of Emory main from Oxford (also several working in admissions started at Oxford and were happy to share their story). There were SEVERAL parents/students in ATL Saturday who had been at OX on Friday; we as a group asked many questions! Got the impression that since the first two years are mostly core classes as students matriculated to their majors as juniors youāre meeting new people anyway but still have your Ox friends.
With regards to our opinion of Oxfordā¦ campus was small but really nice, main quad was strung with lights and had tons of Adirondack chairs for lounging or visiting and we saw several students around campus all seemed friendly with each other; beautiful buildings that were well maintained, science building seemed state of the art, dorms were just as generous as some weāve seen; gym, pool, workout facility needs to be updated-son was a little disappointed in these especially the pool. There is also really nothing immediately around the actual Oxford campus except old houses but campus has tons of study spaces and outdoor gathering space and porches. The small town of Covington is a busy place not 2 miles from campus. Quaint downtown āsquareā with cute shops and little eateries and a few coffee shop hang outs and a fabulous place to get bubble tea! Several movies and tv shows have been filmed in and around Covington (most noted The Vampire Diaries but other movies too) so it was fairly lively as a tourist spot!
There was a lot of reassurance that the academics are the same on both campuses. We had looked at the course offerings and that seemed to be true. Son is going to email dept head at EmCampus to ask his thoughts on how prepared he feels Ox students are for CompSci/Math major and ability to double major as heās starting to really think about adding.
Oxford admittedly is remote but son saw several benefits-smaller classes (38 largest class vs 150-200 at Atlanta campus) means more exposure to professors less intimidating to approach them if you just arenāt getting it, much more support from non-academic staff, got the impression students have more say in programming-suggestions can happen easier with only 1000 vs 6000, good opportunity to be a leader on campus ā¦ less competition for leadership within clubs and organizations if thatās an interest ā¦ plus if you want to go to Atlanta there is a free shuttle running several times a day ā¦ on Friday and Saturday it runs until 2am!! What we heard from students is they felt like they got to know more people being at Oxford because they connect with class above their 1st year and class below 2nd year. But we also heard the students have to put themselves out there as far as getting involved and getting to know their professors, things arenāt just handed to you at either campus ā¦ I think thatās true anywhere and might be less intimidating at Oxford. Oxford has a ton of events and activities but you have to be willing to show up. Same goes for getting academic advice, while professors will notice if you donāt show up to class they may/may not realize you want help or advice if you donāt askā¦ again thatās going to be at any campus.
The three students in my Inside Scoop all did social life differently-one 1st year thought sheād be in Atlanta every weekend as she came from a big city, but ended up so far only going three times. She found there are so many activities at the Oxford campus to go to she stopped having FOMO about main campus and was happy being with friends in Ox. Another was a 2nd year and had done two gap years so is a little older. He was very involved with a few organizations at the Atlanta campus so he said heās there every maybe other weekend but mainly because he put himself there and got involved. The third said heās never had a desire to go to Atlanta campus, thinks there will be time for that and just enjoys sleeping and hanging out with friends. Although none chose Greek life they knew people who did and that was another way to make a connection with ATL campus.
Sorry so longā¦ wrote it as much for myself as others 
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OP- HS kids donāt realize how many different career paths are possible within the overall field of psychology. So I wouldnāt get hung up on that- kids will change paths, find something else more interesting, etc. The path to becoming a social worker who works in a counseling capacity is very different from a PhD in Clinical Psych. For the former, having volunteer experience with vulnerable populations (homeless shelter, working with kids in foster care, prison visitation program, hospice) is much more important than actual research under the supervision of a lab, other researchers, professors, etc. So in my mind, since you are comparing undergrad at credible universities with lots of resources-- I wouldnāt focus too much on the outcomes right now. She doesnāt know what she doesnāt know.
Iād help her figure out how important the urban/not urban piece is. And for you guys to figure out whether living with a sibling is actually a practical solution. I had a sibling at my college- we overlapped for two years- and it would not have worked for us, even though we were very, very close (and actually had shared friends, shared activities, etc.)
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Thank you so much for your input and details! Our visit will start in Atlanta on the 24th and then go to Oxford on the 25th - so it is the other way around but unfortunately, we will not get to do the full preview day as it conflicts with our schedules. I have been to Oxford before, but this will be different with an admitted student. I hope the admitted student days have some of the excitement that the preview day had! I hope our experience is as pleasant as yours I truly feel it is a good fit for my daughter. If you have any recommendations for food or the bubble tea in the Covington area let me know! Would your son have a car if he decides to go to Oxford?
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I totally agree with this - my daughter is very work/financially driven - I can imagine this could drive her in other directions depending on her exposure to other fields in the same area of study or otherwise. That is what is making the decision difficult - everything has been variable and all over the place and I should have suspected that would happen with a 17-year-old with little experience in life. It really is a lot of pressure to figure out her whole future they are all at similar costs except for Richmond and the only thing that is not variable is the prestige of the university. Her thoughts on urban vs. non-urban, small vs. large, psychology vs. otherwise - none of those preferences have been written in stone as I have seen throughout this year. She started the college process thinking she wanted to go to a large public University and now is leaning toward all the smaller ones. She got accepted to several large public universities because that was what she wanted when we first started this whole process (Wisconsin, Marlyand, Florida State, Clemson, NC State - waitlisted UNC-CH) but is no longer interested (NC state is only slightly appealing only because it is local - and it is not that appealing to her). The only thing that is not variable but may not matter is prestige and how she feels after visiting, the āfit,ā will also matter, but I can imagine can also be variable through her experience there after she commits. Canāt wait to get through the visits!
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thatās a really good price for Emory. there is no drop-off in academic quality at Oxford but it is certainly a different vibe and my kids would not consider it- too quiet. If your kid likes the small LAC vibe then it is a good choice. I donāt think the kids have trouble integrating into the Atlanta campus but keep in mind most upperclassmen move off campus Junior year so she will likely still be living with her Oxford friends, and will probably graduate with most of her closest friends being from her Oxford years. Itās small. Maybe like Haverford?
Personally, and this might be overstepping my bounds, living with her brother at GW feels weird to me, sorry. you already said she doesnāt want NC State because she wouldnāt want to live at home. sharing a pad with her brother feels almost more stifling for both of them, somehow. If you can swing a similar cost for GW but have her living in the dorms then it would be great.
Richmond sounds like a bad fit, although I am sure many non-Greek kids have great experiences there.
I think all of these choices have enough prestige to get her where she wants to go if she works. If none of them seem to really appeal to her then I might reconsider some of those big publics. Wisconsin and Maryland are big can be made small and she can find her place.
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GW requires first and second years to live on campus. Here is link for requirement exceptions.
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Is this considered on campus housing?
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We fit in one of the exceptions/exemptions but after hearing from others and their accounts donāt know if we would necessarily go with this option. It would add another $4-6,000 to the GW bill.
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My S is at GW and heās very happy, but DC is expensive and we definitely are paying more than we anticipated (tuition, housing and meal plan expenses increase every year plus DC activities).
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BeeFresh Bowls is where we got bubble tea in Covington - son got honeydew and daughter got coconut! Both mine are gaga about bubble tea and it did not disappoint! The Housing/ResLife/Student support admins (the adults!) had a HUGE argument over which coffee shop was the best - Bread&Butter or LocalCoffeeā¦ they finally agreed that Local has better coffee but Bread has better eats and hangout vibe!
We are debating the car situation as our sophomore is turning 16 in June. Most likely we will send college boy without one for a semester and see how that goes just navigating the shuttle system. We can push the expense of buying another car down the road a bit.
Also someone up thread mentioned as a downside to Oxford not getting to meet upperclassmen because they will have moved off campus. That was asked in our Emory student panel and rebuffed. Many third year students choose to live on the Clairmont residential campus - apartment style living but university housing, about a 15-20 minute walk or 5-10 minute shuttle ride. Itās not guaranteed but you can apply.
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I have a PhD in clinical psych from Emory and my S considered the Oxford/Emory option when he was making decisions. It seems like a good fit for your daughter and I like the benefits of both the small LAC and the university closer to Atlanta. I donāt think itās terrible for your D to have prestige in mind, but obviously it shouldnāt be the driving force. As long as the fit is there and it is affordable, itās understandable that she is somewhat influenced by prestige. The problems seem to arise more when one is choosing a much more expensive and sometimes unaffordable option based on prestige alone. However, you are visiting and asking a lot of great questions. My S was definitely influenced by prestige, but he was convinced heād be happy at any college and budget was also a big factor for us.
Yes, keep an open mind about the future and what might capture her interests. The PhD programs are funded, but it it still very competitive getting in and you end up spending most of your twenties in school and not earning. She might like some of the other options already suggested, or go in another direction. Best of luck to your daughter!
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Thanks for the recommendations - do you think you guys are set on Oxford/Emory after visiting?
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Thank you so much! Do you feel that being at Emory gave you any kind of advantage along the way in terms of opportunities and career pathways? If you donāt mind my asking, did you take the academic route or end up practicing clinically? Do you feel that studying at Emory specifically as a University gave you any kind of advantage or access to opportunities that may not have been available elsewhere? Were you at Emory for undergrad?
Just a few couple more points about Richmond that my son made. He said it was cliquey but that everyone is pretty friendly, and itās not like there are cool kids and not cool kids. That even though there are cliques, itās not hard to find " your people.", his words.
We thought Greek life would be less significant because the houses were off campus. However, he found rushing a big deal and that the only difference in having Frat houses off campus was that you had to get in a car to go to parties.
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Thanks for your input on Richmond. I hope he is happier where he transferred to!
Sorry for the delay in responding. Iāll send you a PM. @Durham1972
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He is strongly considering itā¦