I would suggest that if you haven’t even attended Emory yet, do not go in with the mindset that you will be transferring. It will distract you from truly maximizing on the best experience possible. You need to truly give Emory a chance. Transferring has its difficulties, applying all over again, fishing for recommendations, etc. Emory is an amazing institution regionally, nationally, and globally. However, if nothing works out with Emory and you end actually truly disliking it, have you considered transferring to Vanderbilt. They have an amazing CS program. They are located in the beautiful, urban part of Nashville. They are extremely transfer friendly, it’s an amazing, reputable institution and it also is devoted to meeting full financial need for its students. Lastly, the students are truly happy to attend and also a great school spirit and sports presence there balanced with academics. Give it a shot, if worst comes to worst. It seems like it would potentially be a great fit for you and I know many that have transferred from Emory to Vanderbilt and loved it. However, as I said you need to give Emory a shot and go in with an open mind, don’t go in already defeating and disqualifying the potential to have an amazing experience in Atlanta.
You don’t want to leave home? Do you? Emory is a gift. Accept the gift.
The area immediately around the Emory campus is safer than the areas around Northwestern and USC. If you look at the campus demographics, Emory has a larger percentage of minorities, international students and women than either NW or USC. Metropolitan Atlanta has the second largest black population of any metro area in the country with the exception of New York, and Atlanta has a substantially larger percentage of blacks than NY. There are more blacks in Atlanta than there are in Chicago or Los Angeles. Atlanta has the 3rd highest percentage of gay residents of any major city in the country, surpassed only by San Francisco and Seattle. Don’t take my word for any of this - Google is your friend.
The OP decided that Emory is politically apathetic after talking to only TWO students out of thousands at the university - LOL! The OP declares that “USC just seems to create more well-rounded and passionate students for some reason.” - but the question that needs to be asked is exactly how many students at both universities does the OP know well enough personally to make such a statement? Is the OP aware that Emory has students from all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and 70 foreign countries? Bottom line - Diversity is alive and well at Emory.
Ah, just went back and re-read the original post and realized they haven’t even attended yet!
Yeah, go for a year. You have no idea.
Maybe OP should think about a gap year and apply to schools that might be a better fit. This has the added advantage of allowing for time for OP to mature a bit, which, given how the entire admissions and post-admissions process have played out, might not be a bad idea.
^^I think it’s just cold feet. They’ll be fine when they get there, and they’ll either figure out that Emory works for them or they’ll transfer out and go somewhere else. I don’t think it’s necessary to step off the train over cold feet-I think gap years make sense for bigger issues, but gap years aren’t a magic bullet for fear.
If money is not an issue, the “try Emory for a year” plan works fine. If money is (or could become) an issue, then a gap year is a better plan. It isn’t likely that the OP could get good aid as a transfer.
@MotherOfDragons - I was trying to give the OP some positive advice- did my choice of the word ‘vibrant’ to describe Atlanta bother you so much that you had to single it out from all the other posts? Somehow doubt I’m the first person to use that word when describing a city…
@myjanda you’ve never lived here! Your statement “Atlanta is supposed to be a very vibrant place to live” means “I really have no idea, so I’m going to use some vague word to describe a place.”
I think it is a good thing that the OP was spared the unpleasantness of attending Northwestern, given that it is in an area of old white people homes. I agree that there is buyers remorse here. How does the OP know that CS is weak at Emory or that the first two people he or she would meet at USC would be more interested in politics?
@MotherOfDragons - To me, it didn’t sound like fear as much as a possible lack of maturity. OP was rejected from a “dream school” and “frantically applied” to Emory sight unseen and now has buyers remorse and is looking at greener grass elsewhere. This does not sound like someone that is ready for college – at USC or at Emory or anywhere. (No offense, intended, OP). I don’t automatically recommend gap years (in fact, I rarely do), but this may be one of the times that it is appropriate.
A key fact is whether or not financial/merit aid is involved. If OP is full pay, then transferring is an easier option.
If OP can not afford to attend college without scolarships, then transferring is more difficult. In that case, a gap year might help by preserving freshman status.