midwestern girl fit in at Furman?

<p>I’m considering going to Furman, but there are still some things I’m not sure about. If anyone can help that would be great! Does the school still have a collegiate feel to it? Do most of the students go to the football and/or basketball games? Is the workload manageable or does it take over your life? And, do people go to downtown Greenville a lot? I hope someone can help!</p>

<p>asteel: Let me try to help answer your questions.</p>

<p>As for the collegiate atmosphere here, I think that it’s much greater than you’ll find at most state schools and a significant number, if not a majority, of private colleges, as well. Students here are passionate about learning, and professors have an incredible love for teaching–and not just research. The campus itself has a very collegial feel. If you haven’t visited yet, then my words will do the beauty of the campus no justice. To put it plainly, every single time I walk out of my dorm I’m awed by the gorgeousness of the landscape here.</p>

<p>For football games, each fraternity, and many clubs/organizations, have tailgating for up to four or five hours before kickoff. Traditionally, the dress for games is “snappy casual,” which is sundresses for girls, and button downs and slacks for guys. A lot of students, however, wear FU t-shirts or body paint or the like. The team hasn’t been all that great in years past, and most students aren’t incredibly concerned about the score. School spirit, is very high, and you’ll see a huge number of students wearing Furman apparel all through the week. Games, are really a ton of fun. It’s not BCS football, and there aren’t 100,000 people at every game, but the team is still respectable, and the school still, for the most part, comes out to support it.</p>

<p>The workload here, as with at any school, really depends on your classes. You’ll be expected to do a lot of reading/studying and a significant amount of contributing in any class you have. Math classes here, once you get past the intro level, are notoriously tough, and the foreign language department is very intensive. Our new science center has already generated plenty of jokes for swallowing up students, and then spitting them out at the end of the term. It’s very difficult to simply skate by in a class of 15-20, and since almost every class here has fewer than 25, you’ll be required to be prepared for class. Attendance is not optional. Most teachers take roll every class, and take points off for absences. Still, the workload is incredibly managable. Keep in mind that you’ll only be in class an average of ten or so hours a week. That will leave you plenty of time to do all of your work, if you can manage time well.</p>

<p>As for people going downtown, the answer is yes. Some folks go down more days than not, and some folks go once a week or two. The downtown has amazing restaurants and parks and places to hang out, but as a freshman, you’ll probably be eating 95% of your meals in the dining hall. The upperclassmen all go down more, but us freshmen probably go about once a week on average. If you have a car, you might go more often, if you want to and have the money to.</p>

<p>woody 2013, thank you so much for answering my questions! I’ve been wanting to get a student’s opinion for a long time!</p>

<p>Thanks all for your positive posts. For sheer happiness this sounds like the place to be. Woody 2013 I appreciate you take time for your new exciting college career to answer questions for prospects and their parents. That says a boat load. I know that Furman has been known for their excellent academics for years and personally I love their “green” policies that they are working on. My daugher is so looking forward to visiting her grandparents in Clemson (can you believe it) and making the trek over to Greenville. Her dad went to Emory and he is thrilled that she is looking at Furman. Loking forward to how everyone’s year progresses. Both the ups and downs. I have been sold now I hope my daughter will be. :)</p>

<p>I’ve been reading this question with interest as Furman looks really good but we too have been a bit apprehensive–for different reasons. My D is from NJ, is Jewish, and is used to a great deal of ethnic/racial diversity. Her high school includes about 10 percent AFrican Americans, 8% Latino, 10% Asian/Pacific Islanders, as well as Indian, African, Arab, Jewish, and white, mostly Irish and Italian Catholic. When we looked at photos of Furman (including their own promotional photos) we were really struck by how ‘white’ it looks. What is the ethnic/racial diversity in this school? In addition, would a Jewish girl from the northeast fit in? I’d appreciate honesty–I’m not trying to ‘bash’ a homogenous school! It’s mostly that I had a difficult experience myself in my mostly-white, mostly-Protestant Midwestern school–multiple ‘conversion’ attempts, street preachers at the corners, etc. At the time, the students’ idea of ‘ethnicity’ was Taco Bell (seriously). My roommate had never met a Jew before and, though she was a sweet person, spent several weeks trying to ‘save’ me. No one really meant harm, and she and I eventually reached a truce (she left me alone), but I felt very much the outsider the whole time I was there. It didn’t occur to me at the time to transfer. I don’t want my daughter to have this same experience. And maybe at Furman she wouldn’t. I’m only trying to assess whether my D would fit in Furman, which seems wonderful academically. I do hope you all understand I’m not trying to bash the school or the south (or Midwest!)–hard to convey this on email. It’s just that some schools are far more diverse than others, and some schools, even though they mean well and are very liberal, have been exposed to very little actual diversity and ethnicities outside their own. This could be fine, and a great learning experience, but with all the pressures my D will have at school, I don’t feel she needs the extra pressure of starting out as an outsider.</p>

<p>hoveringmom–</p>

<p>That really is a great (set of) question(s). I’m from the DC area, and thus had many of the same worries before coming to Furman. My high school was about a third Asian, probably 15-20% Jewish, and had a number of African American and Hispanic students, as well. Through high school, I can’t think of a single friend whom I would consider to be an evangelical Christian. Not a single friend of mine attended church regularly. </p>

<p>To me, the concept of diversity is much more complex than simply looking at the number of minority students at a school. For a person like me, it was very important that I experience something entirely new in college. Being from an incredibly racially diverse area, and having that secular, northerner mind-set, I felt like I should try to go somewhere as much of a polar opposite from home as possible. Furman is certainly not the most racially diverse school, and most of the students here are from the southeast. But for me, I have friends back who are Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Canadian, Nigerian, Sri Lankan, Columbian, Salvadorian, etc, etc. I have friends who are Bahai, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and Catholic. I did not have any friends who were evangelical Christians. If I had gone to UMD, it would have certainly been more racially diverse, but it would have been the exact same atmosphere as high school. At such a school, there is also racial self-segregation to the point where the overall diversity of the school is not entirely relevant. Furman, for me at least, has opened me up to more different cultures than most other schools would. On my hall, I’m friends with a Ghanian, Pakistani, and African-American. Most of the students are Protestants, and attend services with some frequency. I have attended church, which I rarely did back home, and have been exposed to many different opinions than those back home.</p>

<p>With all that said, it’s still a very Protestant student body. There aren’t many Jewish students here. I think I’ve run into maybe one or two. That’s among the hundreds of people I’ve met so far. If your D finds it important to have a strong community of Jewish students, it may be difficult for her here. If she wants to expose herself to an entirely different social atmosphere than that which she is used to, Furman could be very good for her. I have never been proselytized or pressured into going to church, although I am invited daily to attend Bible study and other religious events. There is no pressure here, and the student body is surprisingly accepting. Students here probably do not know many Jewish people, so your D may have to be prepared to deal with some ignorance of her religion, but as for overt prejudice, I think that that is less than I ever expected. As long as your D can keep a positive attitude and be willing to be assertive and willing to dispel any wrong notions students may have as a result of their lack of experience with Jewish people, she will get along fine here. </p>

<p>As a northerner and a much less religious person I feel like I am somewhat out of place here, but that’s what I came in expecting, and that’s what I got. I like to have fun with it. I make fun of the north tons, and I make fun of the fact that people here say “y’all” in almost every conversation they have. I explain that I’m not particularly religious, and that I don’t want to spend my nights doing Bible study. I haven’t received any negative feedback as a result of that. </p>

<p>I apologize for bloviating, but here’s my final point: college is a place to be forced to act outside your comfort zone, and a place to learn about people and cultures that you won’t interact with back home. Is Furman homogeneous? In many ways, yes. A simple look around campus will grant you that. While the school has made enormous strides in recent years to increase racial diversity, it’s still low. It’s not non-existent, but it is less than that on most New England campuses. It would be easy in many ways to attend a college with a similar student body than the high school. Your D will encounter many people over the course of her life that are from racially homogeneous areas–who may or may not have any prior knowledge of her religion. To come to Furman will be to expose her to a fully different part of the U.S. population than she is accustomed to. Depending on how she adjusts to the very different culture here, it will suit her incredibly well to have the experience that she will gain.</p>

<p>Sorry for the length, but I hope I was able to address some of your questions. If you have any other, feel free to post them or PM me.</p>

<p>I haven’t checked this site in forever, because I feel like I’m so busy here and am definitely on the computer much less than before (at least for non-work stuff). I do want to at least respond to “I have never been proselytized or pressured into going to church, although I am invited daily to attend Bible study and other religious events.”</p>

<p>I definitely don’t think that the second half of this sentence reflects my experience. At all. So far this year I have yet to be invited to attend Bible study and/or any other religious events. Also, I am not religious.</p>

<p>Fair enough. I tend to be a mildly religious person, and I hate to say no to every invitation I get, so I am probably thought of as a much more likely person to attend religious events than a person who is known as being non-religious. I don’t mind being invited to Bible study–my point was more that these events do take place nightly than that there is pressure to attend. I’ve never felt uncomfortable declining an invitation, although I do so with some frequency.</p>

<p>If you want to be active religiously, you have ample opportunity to do so here. If you don’t, there is no overt pressure to do so.</p>

<p>FYI I would also say that I haven’t by any means made it clear to most people that I’m not religious. As in, that hasn’t accounted (if you will) for a lack of such invitations.</p>

<p>I do agree that there is no overt pressure.</p>

<p>I am not religious and while the majority of people on campus are, there’s no pressure to go to church or join any religious groups.
I’ve been invited to check out a religious event about once, and I just kindly let the person know that wasn’t really my thing. They weren’t offended, but just told me I was welcome anytime.</p>

<p>There are a few religious zealots here, but I would say the majority of students are moderately religious. There is an organization here called the Society for Free Inquiry that is primarily a group for non-religious people.</p>

<p>Just got back from graduation. My daughter is from the Pacific Northwest and adjusted well. Just tell her to be herself and she will be fine.</p>