<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>I just shadowed a student for a day and had an overnight. I met a many students that offered to be completely honest about everything Furman, so I learned a lot. I got the inside scoop on classes, housing, food, professors, social life, greek life, etc. If anyone has questions, ask away.</p>
<p>-DrDimz</p>
<p>Dr, did you ask about (rumored) grade deflation, rigor of classes, and/or balance for students between work and social life? Also, the high admit rate is curious to me. Did you ask how many students actually had Furman as a first choice and are really happy to be there, vs. those who had other schools as a first choice and may be less satisfied? Looking forward to your impressions.</p>
<p>I am going to answer each question at a time.</p>
<p>rigor of classes: I was told by several students that the workload isn’t as bad as the hype. Once you settle in its really managable. That being said, a few students did tell me that if one doesnt manage there time wisely and stay up to date with readings and hw the classes get seriously hard. The professors are awesome and will do everything and anything for their students! The premed kids did say that their course load was pretty rigorous considering that they have to take the premed program classes as well as their major.</p>
<p>grade deflation: while students’ gpa’s tend to be lower than high school the grade deflation rumor is hogwash. Several of the kids I spoke to had 3.7-3.9 GPAs and most were not affiliated with the admissions office.</p>
<p>social life: i learned the most about the social life at furman. Parties are few but can be found. All are off campus at the fraternity houses so if you can’t get a ride you are out of luck. The campus is half dry. The north village housing which is for upperclassmen, who are almost all 21 isnt dry but the underclassmen freshman and sophomore dorms arent. I was told by a lot of students that on friday and saturday nights a good portion of the campus is studying… That doesnt necessarily bother me because I am going to school for an education but it might bother others. All that being said, you can find whatever type of social life you want at furman. A related side note. The girls are extremely conservative and almost all the southern girls tend to be abstinent…</p>
<p>high admit rate: from what i can see from hearing both from admissions and students is that the rate is high for a reason. Furman is a place that is mostly about learning and draws the certain type of student. Admissions seems to be up front with exactly what they want. Because of both of those two factors contribute to the high rate. What I am trying to say is that admission tells propesctive students straight up what they want and so only the kids who fit that tend to apply, leaving admissions with an easy job. Thats my personal opinion and is totally up for debate</p>
<p>furman vs. other schools: I didnt really get a lot of that but almost everyone that i talked to was happy with their choice to attend furman. Everyone at Furman loves Furman.</p>
<p>I hope this helped. Any other questions let me know.</p>
<p>Dr, Thank you so much for the quick and detailed response! Evidence again that overnights provide critical information and perspective to applicants that can’t be obtained from brief visits alone.</p>
<p>One additional request - could you please list the predominant characteristics of Furman students as you see them - boys in particular? Student body “fit” is a critical factor for my son. What I’ve taken from your posts so far is that you would characterize the students as academically oriented, not especially focused on partying (but not teetotalers either), and relatively socially conservative. To what extent do they also seem to be “go-getters” (I sorta define this as kids you could easily see becoming future leaders in industry, politics, social endeavors), equally interested in co-curricular activities as academics, friendly and welcoming vs. cliquish, competitive vs. cooperative learners, athletic, artsy, or politically right/left/uninvolved? Also, if it is evident, how do you think a “Southern influence” could impact a kid from the northeast? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>