<p>I am currently a freshman at Case Western Reserve University, and am reviewing my options for transfer. I came up with a list of eight schools to apply to as a rising sophomore, realizing that most of them are reaches. However, I am not seeking to be chanced, as I too can read statistics and come up with the same conclusions. Instead, I have some questions, the type not normally covered in promotional materials or the schools website. I am hoping that any current or former students can help shed some light on these matters:
Is there an interdisciplinary approach taken to the social sciences? In other words, do they make an effort to connect economics, political science, sociology, and other such disciplines?
Are the social sciences marginalized in favor of the business and engineering programs?
How flexible is Emory with transfer credits? I assume all will transfer, but mostly as blank. Is there a limit on how many of them can count towards the major or to general education requirements?
How frequently is the school paper published? Is it easy to become involved as a regular columnist? What is the general quality of it?
Should there be a need, how extensive are student support (academic) resources available?
How do the libraries rate as far as quality, volume, and diversity of collection? Is there 24/7 access during the school year? Is there anything else important about the libraries to note?
How ubiquitous is wifi access? What is the quality/stability of the wired network in dorms and around campus?
How easy is it to create a new club and receive funding? Are there any non-obvious restrictions that one should be abreast of?
What is the quality of speakers brought to campus? Is there a general political balance, or is selection skewed to one side? How are speakers chosen, and who brings them in?
As far as television goes, I assume the rooms have basic cable. Is it possible to purchase an upgrade?
I know that Emory has a large Jewish community on paper, but I am still curious as to how active is the campus Jewish community. If one looks, can they easily find other Jews?
How does the social scene rate? I realize that Emory is not a party school, but is it fair to say that there are at least one or two most weekends? How crucial a role do fraternities/sororities play in this?
What else is there to do on campus? Off campus?
How friendly is the school to transfer students? Is the transition fairly painless?
How helpful is the school with aiding in the location of summer internships? Is there research in the social sciences available during the year? If so, how easy is it to become involved with it?
Is partial sub-matriculation to the law school possible at some point during undergraduate studies?
Is the heat oppressive? Are buildings air conditioned well enough to address the temperate issue?
Are there any other small or obscure perks that your school offers which may not be widely known? (ex: Case Western students can access the entire OReilly catalogue online, and the school supposedly offers free massages to students sometime just before finals.)
Is there anything else a potential transfer student should know before either applying or coming here?</p>
<ol>
<li>Yes - emory offers many cross-listed courses between departments. the interdisciplinary approach is embraced here.</li>
<li>I don't think the social sciences are not marginalized to the bschool (because they do their own thing) or engineering (because we don't have that department).</li>
<li>I don't know about transfer credit.</li>
<li>I think the paper is published twice a week but I could be wrong. I can't comment on the ability to write for it, however.</li>
<li>There is a massive amount of academic support available to students should the need it - Free tutors, SI sections for math and sciences classes, the writing center that helps with papers, etc. </li>
<li>Our library is simply amazing (ten stories). If there is anything lacking they will find a way to gain access to it. There are parts of the library open 24 hours (more during finals). I think the library closes earlier on the weekends to give students a break.</li>
<li>I've never had trouble gaining access to the wireless network on campus (classrooms, buildings, quad, etc.). the dorms have both wireless and wired access that seems reliable since I haven't encountered any problems with it.</li>
<li>Starting a new club is fairly easy. if you can demonstrate a reason why the university needs it, they will give you the funding to start it.</li>
<li>I can't say very much about Jewish life but there was a manora display in front of the library today with a moderate size crowed participating in the activity. i doubt you will have trouble finding jews on campus.</li>
<li>Yes you can assume that there will be parties at the frats most weekends. There are of course other parties but they are mainly in the apartments. the school also hosts activities every friday at 10 so i don't think that the frats dictate social life.</li>
<li>Highlands, buckhead, and little five all offer clubs and bars within a few minutes from campus if that is what you are looking for. Downtown atlanta is also only about 15 minutes from campus so there is alot to do there (the high museum of art, the georgia aquarium, sporting events, etc.)There is plenty to do on campus including the Carlos museum on the quad and various student run activities.</li>
<li>I can't speak to transfer ease.</li>
<li>Emory is great with internships and research opportunities. the SIRE program (scholarly inquiry and research at emory) for example connects students with professors to assist in their research projects. there are many programs like this to get students more involved in research/internships. </li>
<li>I don't think sub-matriculation is possible with the law school.</li>
<li>the good thing about the south is that, while it is hot, the air conditioners are great. students are also not in town during the bad part of the summer so the temperature won't be unbearable at any time.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for all that useful information. Does anybody else feel that there is anything else that ought to be added to the above?</p>
<p>The only two questions that amandi didn't answer were about the newspaper and transfer credit. </p>
<p>The Wheel (student newspaper) is published on Tuesdays and Fridays. It wins awards every year, but some people think it's biased and has bad reporting. It's definitely liberally biased politically and the editorials sometimes contradict themselves over the course of the semester. The Wheel doesn't cover national or local news for the most part. It usually focuses on campus events and news. It's very easy to write articles, but I don't know how easy it is to be on staff for the paper. I'd imagine easy enough.</p>
<p>There are a lot of small and obscure perks, but you'd have to be more specific.<br>
Emory is notorious for being stingy with transfer credit. Make sure you have all your course syllabi for anything you want credit for. It pretty much has to match the exact course description in the catalog to get automatic credit, but it's possible to petition the deans, registrar, and academic department to get some transfer credit. You can get at most 64 hours, I think. We're on a 4 credit-hour system too, which messes things up for a lot of people. You need 128 to graduate.</p>
<p>I wasn't aware of the 4 credit-hour bit, so that is good to know. I'll make sure to retain my syllabi for everything, especially since some of the courses I'll be taking have somewhat obscure names and descriptions (ex: American Intellectual Theory). Thanks for the info.</p>