Philosophy & Transfer Q's

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
1

Hey all,

A couple questions, first I was wondering if anyone had any insight into the Philosophy department at Emory, and how it stacks up against other LAC’s and universities? The literature and classics dept’s there are exactly what I’m looking for, and assuming the Phil department has a good reputation, I’ll be looking to transfer.

Second, I am a current sophomore at a tech college, but taking two of my classes (one in Latin and one in Philosophy) from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I’m 22, and I have a total of 24 credits completed, and plan on having another 17 credits completed by the time I apply for Emory for the Fall 2019 term. My current college GPA is a 3.7, with hopes to up this to 3.8-3.9 before I apply. In literature and Philosophy classes (my intended majors), I have a 4.0 with two letters of recommendation from well-known UW professors, and one more from the tech college I attend who taught previously at Amherst for when I apply. I also currently volunteer with Trout Unlimited and a leader at a local church youth group (academic tutor and personal development for members 8-18).

My issue comes up when my high school GPA, which was a 1.8. This is literally the worst GPA of any of my friends, as I didn’t plan on every going to college (it hurts to even type it lol). However, I took 2 years off from school, taking time to volunteer and work as a ranger for the Forest Service, as well as taking up creative writing. I came back and went to college and have aspirations to eventually attend a good grad school and become a teacher and entrepreneur.

My safety school is UW Madison, so I’m not too concerned about my future there, but I really do love LAC’s, and Emory specifically has the exact programs and faculty that I feel would be a great fit for myself, and visa-versa, especially on active interests with regards to psychoanalysis and classical literature. I have heard that Emory is either extremely competitive (Business and Physics), or extremely easy to get into, though I am skeptical given the school’s reputation. What would you say my chances of being admitted into Emory are, if I were to declare my interest in Philosophy, despite my high school record? What are some things I can do to help my application stand out if I do have a chance? Should I realistically give up any hopes of attending Emory for an undergrad? I have been in contact with the Emory folks as well as my advisor, so any other insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :slight_smile:

2

@Mythwalker : Philosophy is a good program and the education is excellent, but it damned sure isn’t as visible as any of the programs hosted by the English Department, nor political science or history.

" have heard that Emory is either extremely competitive (Business and Physics), or extremely easy to get into"

That reads like non-sense as Emory does not admit by major except nursing. Everyone else is admitted to ECAS regardless of their intended major. Physics is small so, even if Emory did admit by major, it would have plenty of room. I don’t like to chance, but use common sense and note that most schools primarily only regard the college performance. Emory’s overall admit rate for transfers is now like 25-26% so I guess it is decently tough (they used to accept a higher %, like in the 40% range maybe as little as 5 years ago, but I guess the increased size of freshman classes at Oxford and ECAS may have reduced room for transfers, and then there may also be increased volume) and there are apparently like 1000 applicants as cited by the CDS: http://opb.emory.edu/documents/data/Emory-Common-Data-Set-2017-2018.pdf

I digress, you should have hope, but remember that private schools are weird with transfer credits and the credit equivalencies can be harsh, especially at highly selective privates like Emory.