<p>I have done a lot of reading on Emory and over time it has become rather apparent that Emory is not extremely intellectual</p>
<p>maybe it's because Emory is pre-professional, but I've heard that most people just want to get out and earn money</p>
<p>So, what do you guys think about this?</p>
<p>To clarify, by intellectual, I don't mean intelligent, but rather an interest in knowledge and learning.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wow … this is an amazingly invalid and dumbfounding conclusion on your part. How you come to this erroneous opinion is a wonder. Truly.</p>
<p>First, I think I understand what you mean by “intellectual”, and if there’s one perception I have of Emory University and Emory students in general, it is that it is a place of great “intellect”. This is a school which does not have a football team (and is a Division III school in athletics), and that alone is a turnoff for a lot of prospective students who seek the atmosphere that big-time athletic programs (especially in football) can provide. The lack of this type of program is, in turn, a draw for a lot of students who are interested in academic focus. The fact that Emory’s tradition is one of maintaining and nurturing the liberal arts tradition should tell you a lot about the values and goals at Emory. </p>
<p>You mention pre-professional, yet your perception of what this represents must surely be distorted. Most pre-professional students actually go on to graduate-level studies (i.e., medical, nursing, law, etc.) Even many of the BBA graduates out of Goizueta will go on to MBA programs, if not immediately (which frankly, I don’t recommend – which is why the average age of students at the best MBA programs is about 25-28 years old). Despite some pressure, Emory has maintained its BBA program as a 2-year program (vs. many 4-year undergraduate business programs elsewhere). The reason is purposeful – to allow students 2 years of developing the discovery of intellectual pursuit, critical thinking skills, and the well-rounded knowledge of the world. This is not just my opinion, but rather the thinking of leaders at Emory. I have personally heard and had conversation with Jim Wagner, Emory University’s President, about this very topic. </p>
<p>During the past 4 years that I have had exposure and visits to Emory, I am simply amazed by not only the opportunities (to truly pursue development of intellect) provided to undergraduates, but also the passion in which many have seized these opportunities. Each year, I make it a point of examining some of the undergraduate research projects done by a variety of students in many, many disciplines… and I am in awe of the work I see done. From a personal anecdotal viewpoint, I see Emory’s advantage as being a strongly viable center of learning, with the purpose of applying the knowledge gained to the world these students will live in. Your “reading” on Emory provides only a perception, perhaps highly filtered… but if you want a better take on reality, visit the school to observe what I have observed. I suppose the most gratifying thing I have observed about Emory students is that they really CARE about so many things in their world.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to Emory’s recent recognition for Community Service: [Emory</a> University | Atlanta, GA | Emory Receives Presidential Award for Community Service](<a href=“http://www.emory.edu/home/news/releases/2009/02/emory-receives-presidential-award-for-community-service.html]Emory”>http://www.emory.edu/home/news/releases/2009/02/emory-receives-presidential-award-for-community-service.html)</p>
<p>I am also reminded of a noble gesture that occurred just 2 years ago, and it is representative of the type of people that is produced from 4 years at Emory – check it out:</p>
<p>[McMullan</a> winner donates $20,000 award to fellow student](<a href=“http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/erarchive/2007/May/May%2029/McmullanAward.htm]McMullan”>McMullan winner donates $20,000 award to fellow student)</p>
<p>I think I got a little bit lazy with how I was defining intellectual. Excuse me if this isn’t the proper use of the word or if there’s a better word.
But I was trying to say that it was an interest in learning and knowledge for the sake of learning in knowledge.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to slam on Emory, it’s most likely where I am going to go next year and I am actually going to visit this wednesday. Which I’m absolutely pumped about =).</p>
<p>The thing is that I’ve read a lot about people being driven to learn a lot more by how the knowledge will help them earn money in the future. This leads to conversations being about money rather than more “pure” topics that lead to real bonds and friendship. And I was saying that perhaps this was because Emory is a pre-professional school.</p>
<p>This “lower intellectual reputation” and the “self-segregation” at Emory are the only two qualms I have about Emory (besides the apparently incredibly high pollen count) and I really want to clear these bad feelings up before I commit to Emory for 4 years. Since I do have other options. </p>
<p>I did really appreciate your part about “but also the passion in which many have seized these opportunities” and the links about community service. However, the part about the BBA and graduate school are not so much related because MBA’s are vital to moving up the business chain. On another note, when Grad schoolers show interest in a topic, it doesn’t necessarily mean they WANT to learn it.</p>
<p>Finally, (I know that I’ve written a lot), I’m hoping that you can respond to my “self-segregation” part. But also, I understand that you really really like Emory, I saw that you almost exclusively post in the Emory forum, but I think that this makes your opinion a little uh… biased or subjective. And as much as I appreciate your post (it made me feel a lot better about Emory), I don’t know if I can trust it too much.</p>
<p>=)</p>
<p>I agree with NorCalDad’s comments and observations. I have been amazed by my D’s experience at Emory. I have become a huge Emory fan. My D has really cultivated her love of learning at Emory. She has had excellent relationhips with every one of her profs and has gone to office hours for every last one of them (she is a junior). She went to Africa with one over winter break to assist him in NGO work he was doing. She had one bring his daughter to her sporting games. Last week, her chem prof sat with her for an hour and a half to help her plot out some ideas for how to accomplish all that she has left to do at Emory during her last two terms. She has had much support from profs she barely knows as she tried to pull together her thesis ideas. I could go on and on and on about all that she has had the good fortune to do…on an intellectual basis. She also regularly goes to lectures, performances, etc. as do many many Emory students. In fact, she could not get in to some because so many students are also interested.</p>
<p>As for segregation, I find Emory to be as diverse as any college or university I have visited and less segregated than most. My D has friends of every ethnicity and religion. She has learned much from them, and I hope they from her. </p>
<p>College is what you make of it. Everything you could possibly ask for is at Emory. If you chose to attend, you will have a good experience if you avail yourself of all that awaits you. </p>
<p>Best of luck, I hope you love it as much as I do. PM me if you want to continue the conversation.</p>
<p>Salesofarev, Isn’t an opinion, by definition, subjective? As far as bias, NorCalDad can only base his opinion on his knowledge of Emory, which is extensive. While you may disagree with his opinion, you have only to read his many posts to see the extent to which he has offered insightful and helpful advice to many, to know that he is trying to help, not mislead. </p>
<p>Emory is no different than any other university when it comes to intellect and self-segregation. You can find examples to support your own opinion, whichever way you choose, anywhere you visit. And that is the key to all of this, visit and see what impression you get. I happen to agree with NorCalDad about Emory, but my bias is that I have 1 daughter currently a student, and 1 graduated. I was on the Emory campus last week, and was impressed all over again with the caliber of students I spoke to and the physical beauty of the surroundings. I hope your visit to Emory is enjoyable and you find the answers you seek from your own experience, and not just from random readings. Good luck wherever you choose.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you are basing your conclusion about Emory on (I hope it’s not from random people on other CC boards). Emory is like most schools in that your experience is dictated by the people you choose to time spend with. If you spend every weekend at fraternities or take only classes you hear are easy then you will not be around people who have an intellectual drive. This has not been my experience at all. The main reason is because I have been involved with the debate team and humanities research groups since early in my Emory career. It seems like you don’t believe what people associated with the school have to say so I guess there’s not much I can convince you of. Good luck with your visit. I hope you enjoy Wonderful Wednesday.</p>
<p>Salesofarev,</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptance! I am happy to know that you are visiting Emory … as I think that’s the best way in which a prospective student can come to acquire a “feel” for the campus and what the potential is for a good “fit” with your preferences for a school.</p>
<p>I have to chuckle, because you’re offering a fallacious proposition when you say, “I’m hoping that you can respond to my “self-segregation” part”, while you then attempt to debunk my response (before I’ve even given it) by suggesting that my opinion might then be “biased or subjective” and therefore that you didn’t know if you “can trust it too much”. 
I’ll ignore this for the moment …</p>
<p>I don’t know what you mean exactly by “self-segregation”, but I do see some groups self-segregate at Emory. The Korean student population in particular does this, and whether it is for reasons of culture or language or both, I do think it exists, based on what I have observed and what my daughter (a junior at Emory) has shared with me. My daughter actually had a Korean roommate last fall, before she (the Korean student) was able to get off the wait list for the single room housing she had requested originally. My daughter has sometimes been the only non-Korean at dinners, etc., but she was comfortable with this (probably because she is bi-racial and comfortable with different races). Otherwise, my daughter has friends of all shapes, races, colors and interests. The ONE interest she does not have is partying on frat row … because she doesn’t drink and has little interest in getting drunk. On the other hand, one of her best friends is in a sorority. She also confessed to me recently an interest in a guy… and mentioned his name, clearly of Indian origin (which she is not). So… I tend to think that getting along with people is one of willingness to open up, to hear what they say, and to engage with interest. Let’s face it, it’s difficult to dislike somebody who shows an interest in you, right?</p>
<p>Last year, my daughter had a roommate who was on the Emory Women’s Volleyball team, and that particular roommate was nice enough, but my daughter hardly saw her – being on different schedules, and the roommate also traveled frequently on weekends (for matches at other schools; to go home to Kentucky; or to see her boyfriend). I guess this can be alienating, but she has a good group of friends now that she’s close with. Two friends from out of state have even visited her during the summer here in California. No doubt, making friends when you head off to school is a big deal, but you won’t be alone in having to make new friends. (My daughter attended pre-school through HS with the same kids, and she has best friends whom she’s known since age 3, so it was a challenge for her to go from CA to the East Coast and make brand new friends.)</p>
<p>What I sense in you – and this is only an intuitive hunch … is that you have a genuine thirst for learning and acquiring knowledge, perhaps sponge-like even, and you want to be around others of a similar perspective. I can assure you (if you choose to believe me!) that you will not be alone at Emory in this regard. I am impressed with the mix of students at Emory and the different ways in which they approach learning, research, collaboration and discourse. I’m in awe with some students I have met – smarter than a lot of adults I know! When you visit, I’d suggest that you seek out students and engage in conversation. They may seem busy, but most are very open and helpful if you open up to them. Ask the questions that you won’t get from the Office of Admission’s Information Session… or from your tour guide (my daughter has been a tour guide in the past). The students can be a bounty of information that can help you make your decision. Talk to professors and department secretaries … who can offer you honest feedback. Also, I like reading the Emory Wheel to keep current on campus events/thoughts: [The</a> Emory Wheel | Emory University’s Student Newspaper](<a href=“http://www.emorywheel.com/]The”>http://www.emorywheel.com/)</p>
<p>On your visit, I’m optimistic that you will get a lot of answers to your questions. As I have said often, your decision is one that may be based on so many factors that have no “right” or “wrong”… just personal preferences for what YOU deem important to your goals. Emory is not the place for everybody, but it’s right for a lot of students, and that’s why the retention rate is high. </p>
<p>Now, regarding my “bias”, if you look through my posts over the past 4 years or so, you’ll see that I am actually very objective in what I say. Yes, I like Emory, but honestly, I’d be happy if my daughter had chosen another school – as a parent, I just want her to be happy and to find her true path. I post primarily in the Emory discussion forum because it’s where I have an interest, and I don’t have a desire to have 10,000 posts and just hear myself talk. If you go back to some of my earliest posts, you’ll find that I began posting only to be of assistance to others. I do not respond to everybody (especially if I detect a frivolousness), and I don’t have time, energy or patience to deal with “chance” threads or addressing the zillion posts on CC. Very often, my posts are intended to inform or to correct perceptions. Peruse my posts, and you’ll see this to be true. I have built up good relationships with Emory officials over the years, and I share my knowledge accordingly. As recently as last week, I had an Emory official send me an e-mail to thank me for my assistance here on CC – and yes, they lurk on occasion but largely do not participate in discussion, so stay anonymous. Incidentally, I actually research quite well (comes from many years of doing it), and again, you can search my earlier posts regarding the University of California system, and you will find that I was equally thorough and predisposed to providing candid and accurate information – purely for the purpose of being helpful. I had one parent who contacted me privately and after a number of e-mail exchanges, awkwardly offer to pay me for what he considered to be highly valuable counseling (I declined politely). I had another student here in the Bay Area who needed a LOT of help applying to the UC system, and I actually helped him to focus and construct his application strategy, his essays, and mapping of a comprehensive college plan – he’s now attending UC Berkeley. I offer these bona fides only to dispel any concerns you may have about my motives and credibility. Honestly, I just enjoy helping. ;-)</p>
<p>First of all, I’ve really gotta say thanks for all of these responses, I really appreciate them. They’ve really helped me out and made me feel very comfortable about going to Emory next year. Honestly, those two bad-feelings that I had about Emory are both pretty much gone.<br>
At the same time, there is most likely too much here for me to respond to, so I’ll probably miss a few points here and there.</p>
<p>I think that I should apologize to NorCalDad, I didn’t mean to slam you as someone involved with Emory. I just wanted to get more than one person involved… because well, I think that that’s understandable. But ya, I’ve read your posts, and understand and VERY much respect what you have been doing on CC. I suppose that I must have thought that you were just one of those parents who just got a little overzealous in their kids education without knowing too much (probably because of my parents and some of my friend’s parents, oh god, but haha, I still love them), but I realize that I was wrong to assume that. All of you seem very well-informed, especially NorCalDad, and I’ll definitely take in all that you’ve said.</p>
<p>To clarify, by “self-segregation”, I meant that over time, ultimately the whites tend to hang out with the whites, the asians with the asians, etc… This is actually REALLY scary to me because it’s not the way I want to end up, I’m chinese-japanese and have grown up in the Bay Area (hey, me too), where I have had very good white, indian, and hispanic friends and find it hard to fathom life with only other asians. </p>
<p>“What I sense in you – and this is only an intuitive hunch … is that you have a genuine thirst for learning and acquiring knowledge, perhaps sponge-like even, and you want to be around others of a similar perspective. I can assure you (if you choose to believe me!) that you will not be alone at Emory in this regard.”
I find that very comforting, and it makes me pretty excited to get in there. By the way, your hunch was pretty accurate =).</p>
<p>A few more things:
To Amadani’s comment: “I’m not sure what you are basing your conclusion about Emory on (I hope it’s not from random people on other CC boards).”
I’m really trying not to, most of my information I have gotten from more official sources like those Yale, Fiske, and some other College guides. I’ve looked a lot at *****. I’ve also been reading CC a lot, so undoubtedly I’ve soaked up some misperceptions here, no matter how cautious I’ve been about believing what everybody has had to say. About the random people, you can see how cautious I’ve been by my behavior in this thread.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m glad that you found my post and took the time to respond (all of you). You can rest, assured that you helped out some previously very lost and confused little Senior struggling to figure out his future. =) </p>
<p>Finally, I think I said this earlier, but I really really do like Emory. The purpose of this thread was to mainly put these final two qualms about the school to sleep, which I think it’s safe to say has pretty much done (not so sure about the self-segregation, if anyone has more to offer on that then please share). Just being cautious</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>amandi - I don’t think it’s accurate for you to portray fraternities, or anyone associated with them, as not intellectual. In fact, you may not know that both the fraternity and sorority GPAs are higher than the all-male and all-female GPAs (which both include the fraternities and sorority members as well). Obviously, both are also higher than the non-greek male and female GPAs, respectively as well. These statistics are available in the Greek Life Office in the DUC, 4th floor.</p>
<p>While I know GPA does not necessarily correlate to intellectual drive, I would also submit that a many Greek members, as well as non-Greeks, complete honors thesis and receive SIRE grants each year. Although I do not have a statistic, I can assure you that they exist. In addition, I know that, in my fraternity, we have several Emory Scholars, which must certainly correlate to intellectual ability. One other good measurement is the number of Bobby Jones Scholars selected from Greek organizations. At least five of the 12 last Scholars have been Greek. Only 1/3 of students are Greek, yet more than 1/3 of the scholars over the last 3 years have won that award, one of the most prestigious at Emory. </p>
<p>It seems to me that each person should investigate the Greek system as a whole, and the chapter that they’re interested in, before deciding whether or not it’s a good place for them. In any case, I certainly don’t think it’s fair to make such a broad statement regarding 1/3 of all students at Emory if you haven’t had any experience with them.</p>
<p>By “hang out at fraternities every weekend” I clearly meant people who party all of the time. This is no way reflects on fraternity/sorority members but those who party in excess (at the expense of school, etc.). Perhaps my original statement was too broad.</p>
<p>I find it ironic that you can’t even spell reputation correctly.</p>
<p>FAIL</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Come on Roberto, let’s take the high road … it’s an obvious typo, which I didn’t even notice until you brought it up … no irony on the OP’s part … he just didn’t catch the typo – and I don’t always catch mine either. Happens, you know …</p>
<p>Salesofarev, no offense was taken, and therefore no apology necessary. I’m glad others have offered their own thoughts on this to help you in your decision.</p>
<p>Also, if you haven’t already been to it, Emory has a channel on YouTube.com that you might find of interest: [YouTube</a> - EmoryUniversity’s Channel](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/EmoryUniversity]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/user/EmoryUniversity)</p>
<p>the people who slam Emory usually have no clue about it, just because it isnt as well known as an ivy doesn’t mean a thing, i’ve said it before, Emory is the Harvard of the south accord to numerous sources (sorry i can’t remember they were things like businessweek, and princeton review). My sister went to Emory, and loved it, got everything she needed, made her best friends whom she still sees regularly, and now im going there. you can’t speculate to the amount of intellect (learned discussions or desire to learn more) until you go there or know someone close who went there.</p>