Emerson is one of the schools I’m applying to and one of the only colleges I’ve visited thus far. I loved the campus and the city a lot, and they have a strong program for my major.
However, online reviews are getting to my head. Over and over again people warn of the lack of a social scene and the dwindling academic quality.
Is this accurate? Should I stay away?
Any advice would be great!
I know 3 kids there who are really talented and really happy. Probably too happy to be writing reviews! They are all very involved in their programs.
If you can pinpoint something that concerns you in the reviews that you can ask about in person, do it. You’ll be better informed about your choice and more confident.
I don’t think that everyone should depend on the review, maybe people said that because it’s not the best school for the course that they want.
As I type this online let me say…don’t trust everything you read online!
Our daughter is at Emerson now. She is in the Business of Creative Enterprises program and will be graduating next December, a semester early. From an academic standpoint she (and we) couldn’t be happier. The business/marketing education she is getting is top notch. The relationships with, and support she gets from, her professors is great. Her advisors have always been extremely helpful. She’s had an internship since her second semester. She’s studied in Europe (Kasteel Well), and with a little luck she will study in Los Angeles next fall. She’s been asked to mentor students in her major. She’s on the student E3 (entrprenuership) team working on marketing campaigns for local Boston businesses. So, from an academic standpoint she (and we) couldn’t ask for more.
On the social front…of course all of the things above that she is doing have led to social engagements. For the two years she was in the dorms she had plenty of social interaction. She is into tap and is part of the Emerson Urban Dance Theatre. Given all the film and other fine arts at Emerson there has not been a semester that she hasn’t been part of a student film production. She even was a cast member last year on Emerson’s Survivor Boston. Point being, if you are willing to put in any effort at all there is a ton of stuff to be involved with at Emerson, and the social life can be vibrant. That, and you are in Boston. Heck, she was even filming as an extra for the current Little Women production this fall!
As a parent I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Emerson, even though it’s very expensive.
Online forums, especially those that are not moderated like reddit, tend to attract bitter students or would be students who were denied admission. A couple of years ago there was someone posting here on CC warning people not to attend a certain school because it was so bad. Checking the posting history that school was their dream school right up until the day they were denied admission.