<p>heyyy, so I was wondering what the atmosphere of Emory is like.
I’ve heard it’s kinda snobby and I’m a down-to-earth kind of person.
Is it full of rich kids? lol, just wondering</p>
<p>Hey momo1029,</p>
<p>This has certainly not been my experience at Emory. In fact, compared to other top ranked private schools, I think Emory has a lot more down-to-earth atmosphere. I think this is true for two reasons. First, Emory has a very diverse student body. Second, the types of students that enroll at Emory tend to care less about prestige and more about academics, the campus, and the experience. Don’t take that to mean that Emory is not prestigious being a top 20 school, Emory is of course very prestigious. What I mean to say is that prestige is not the main reason students choose come to Emory.</p>
<p>coolpg: I may have lied about the weather. Atlanta is being weird now, almost as if it’s trying to go back and forth between fall and spring. It’s really strange. I wouldn’t wear shorts when you come, and perhaps have a hoody or umbrella because rain has become common.</p>
<p>Aww thanks Berns 
Actually I was in Atlanta the other day for Beta Convention and it was raining a bit! It was also a bit chilly! But the same is happening here as well. Last week it was nice and sunny and now it’s cold and rainy! GA weather stinks :/</p>
<p>Yeah, the spring transition weather is a beast in these parts of Ga. (I’m from Savannah, so we don’t really deal with this mess). However, during the summer, it’s at least consistent (sunny, hot, and humid, and luckily, there are enough trees for shade, even in large cities like Atlanta). I used to go to Florida (but Tampa Bay) every summer, and it always rained (literally nearly everyday + it was hot and humid w/o trees). I began to wonder why Florida was called the sunshine state. Miami does not=all of Fl.</p>
<p>Hey berns and CC!</p>
<p>When I went to Emory this past Wednesday, it was pretty windy but the sun was also out…so there was a weird mix of warm weather and cooler weather! Weird! Hahaha. </p>
<p>Anyway, here is my report from what I’ve witnessed on my visit:</p>
<p>1) The school definitely has a social scene. While I was there I saw several people smoking and a lot of people nonchalantly throw their cigarette buds on the ground. I even saw a shattered beer bottle on the ground! I also visited on Wonderful Wednesday (I think that’s the name?) but by the time the tour ended the event was over. </p>
<p>So I guess the school isn’t as “pure”…or as nerdy as I thought it was. This is a good thing, for me.</p>
<p>2) I saw a lot of high school-ish students! By this I mean that I saw some cliques, which I didn’t like. The attitude of some of the students appeared to resemble the attitudes of some people in my high school. Although I’m sure there are students who don’t belong to a clique, the ones that did definitely caught my attention more.</p>
<p>3) The campus is beautiful. The buildings were nice and the shrubbery was pleasant.</p>
<p>4) It took forever for us to get from Emory to downtown Atlanta! I was surprised that it took us around 20-30 minutes to get there when you can see a bit of the skyline when you leave the campus. I think it took a while because we left around 6:00 so a lot of people were getting off work and what not. There was A LOT of traffic. This isn’t really a complaint about the school. </p>
<p>Freshmen also aren’t allowed to have cars on campus!..Wow. While I guess it’s a good thing that I’ll be saving gas money (and probably end up helping the environment by not driving) I think the no car rule also detaches the freshmen from the awesome communities of Atlanta.</p>
<p>5) Surprisingly, when I was there I had to ask myself are these students seriously that smart??! That atmosphere was pretty laid back! It wasn’t nerd central at all. I actually wonder how hard the school is now…especially after looking at the student body! Although I’ve heard it was really hard.</p>
<p>6) I saw a lot of ethnic groups (a lot were Asian and Indian).</p>
<p>7) The ethnic groups didn’t seem to interact with one another! I saw three or four instances in which different races interacted with one another but for the most part I think most people chose to stick with their own ethnic group! :(</p>
<p>8) The school was pretty liberal! It also appeared to be gay-friendly. While I was there I saw some posters that promoted a few LGBT clubs and stuff.</p>
<p>As a whole, I think Emory is a pretty good school. I like the fact that it’s students were smart but didn’t come off as being arrogant (due to their intelligence) or nerdy. However, I did notice that some students (mainly the girls) did appear to be arrogant. Idk why though…maybe they thought they were all that or something? I’m a bit confused about Emory, actually. It seems like a cool school, but after visiting there are some aspects about it that I’m not too fond about. I also had more fun visiting UGA than Emory (I understand that one reason for this are the tour guides and not the actual schools). I don’t know why but I can see myself at UGA more than at Emory. While I was at Emory I got the feel of a country club. And the fact that there wasn’t a lot of racial interaction (despite the large number of minorities) was a huge negative.</p>
<p>I’m still questioning whether or not I should attend Emory. Although I still like the school, it seems less spectacular now that I’ve actually visited. If I can pay for Emory, I will most likely attend it over UGA but I don’t think I’d regret not going either.</p>
<p>unless you got full scholarship to uga, emory will be a much better choice. the whole interacting thing, it happens in uga too (a lot more). as for the cliques, haha, uga has way more cliques than emory. it’s way more like high school than emory. if you do go to uga, it limits you because outside of ga, uga is known as a party school with little academic reputation. also, from what I heard from a friend who went to emory last year, most people become more interacting on weekends (academics is hard so weekdays, lots of people study). you have to remember that emory is 30% greek and it tend to be that those people are the ones that would fit into the “country club” stereotype. </p>
<p>any top 20 school would pretty much be like that though. uga would not be a good choice if you are not into hard core partying/drinking. uga is much more like the movie mean girls than emory is. they also have a football team that actually some people like so the seperation between groups are even larger.</p>
<p>Hey ilikepizza,</p>
<p>Haha yeah I understand that UGA may also have some cliques and you’re right they probably do have more cliques than Emory, but their student body is also larger so the cliques aren’t as noticeable.</p>
<p>What you said about Emory’s academics in comparison to those of UGAs is my main reason for still considering Emory! While Emory’s campus is beautiful and the students are much more diverse than those at UGA, I just didn’t get a “feel” for the university when I visited. While UGA isn’t my ideal choice either, I liked the atmosphere there a bit more. Mainly because there was a lot of things to do on campus. </p>
<p>I think both schools have their pros and cons. Emory excels academically and UGA, socially. Emory’s student body also seems to be more open minded and accepting.</p>
<p>Again, if the financial package is decent, I will most likely be attending Emory over UGA. The package will have to be extremely good though, especially with my annoying father in the picture. </p>
<p>I’ll remain open for whatever happens. Regardless of which school I choose, I don’t think I’d regret my decision.</p>
<p>For those who attend Emory,</p>
<p>What exactly is there to do ON campus??
I’m not going to lie, when I was on the campus I wasn’t really paying attention to the tour guide (mainly because it was pretty boring). I found it more interesting observing my surroundings and the student body. Soo I might have missed out on anything concerning campus activities.</p>
<p>Anyway, what do the students do there? I’d hate to be locked up inside my dorm until the weekend! Are there any activities? Do kids play sports just for fun on the quad?</p>
<p>I guess you can say that I’m more concerned about Emory’s social aspects the most.</p>
<p>the cliques in uga are very noticeable, and it’s just another 4 years of high schools. there are also more animosity between “geeks” vs. “jocks”, and people (like high school) are more concerned about being “popular”. the racial groups also tend to stick together. as for you comment about the asians in emory sticking together, well you see, emory is about 12% internationals (majority from asia aka china, korea, india) and they tend to stick together (this is true especially among the koreans). so the ones that you saw, might belong into that group.</p>
<p>@coolpg, over 75% of student participate in some sort of organized sport. Inter mural sports are big, and leagues are usually packed. Basketball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, etc. I think Emory does an excellent job encouraging students to have an healthy lifestyle. I also read that during some hours on weekends the liberrys are closed, to keep students from studying all day…</p>
<p>ilikepizza,
From what I saw at UGA, there wasn’t really a divide between the geeks and jocks and there wasn’t a lot of racial interaction (mainly because everyone was white). I also didn’t notice too many cliques there. At Emory, however, I did see people hanging out together. This may be why I was able to see the cliques more clearly. While I was at UGA most people were alone or hanging out with one friend max.</p>
<p>begoodperson,
I think you’re right! While I was at Emory I saw that a lot of kids were physically active and on their way to the gym. Most of the kids were also in shape. Maybe the PE requirements have something to do with it. At first I wasn’t too fond of the PE requirement, but Emory offers a lot of unique classes…so maybe it won’t be all that bad!</p>
<p>If they actually shut down the libraries…I would be speechless! That’s amazing!</p>
<p>UGA is naturally more fun (and of course UGA puts a lot more emphasis into showing this “rah rah” aspect on the tours). However, it’s less diverse, so there simply won’t be true oppurtunities for self-segregation at UGA. Emory has lots of internationals which contributes.<br>
Also, yes on Friday-Saturday, the library breaks 24/7 cycle, it closes at 8pm on these (until finals approaches, the it goes 24/7 the whole week). You’re kind of right about some of the girls (or people in general). The country club aspect you mention is why I actually prefer Tech and UGA campus in many ways. Those schools are actual “campuses” while Emory is more like a park w/academic buildings. Do I think it is far more beautiful? Yes, but it doesn’t really give off the “college environment/social scene” vibe. Like for example, we don’t have the row of dorms like many campuses and some spaces /walkways seem almost planned too perfectly (which is really interesting from an “eye-candy”/architectural standpoint, but gives the feeling that the campus is a) contrived or b) pretentious. I think it’s a little of both).<br>
Difficulty: Also, while Emory is generally more laid back in Tech, it is still harder than UGA and in some depts, harder than Tech, but again Emory is just less stressful b/c it isn’t an engineering school and many/approaching 40-50% students here attended top public/private schools, so they’ll make it look easier than many of us Ga. residents would. Emory will make some depts. unexpectedly hard, but they are nonetheless doable if you put in the effort and at least keep up w/your peers This is the hard part as even in really tough classes, Emory students pull through. It’s rare to see 30-40 or even 50 averages on exams like at Tech for various reasons. I notice lots of Tech students going into traditionally hard classes w/a defeatist mentality from the get-go. While Emory students are afraid of tough classes like they are, most still strive to get an A (as opposed to saying: “I’ve heard this class is hard so I’m just trying to pass”. I hear/see lots of this at Tech). Also, the profs. in harder classes/sections are way more supportive and go out of their way to try new teaching methods (some use PBL, some use socratic method in even large lecture halls, it’s really nice to have a level of engagement that “creates a community of scholars” moreso than a weedout environment) or introduce resources (additional problems, handouts, sometimes videos, pre-lectures, or flexible office hours/staying a while after/before the class) that provide a richer experience and pave the way for success. This is why people in traditionally hard sections of biology/chem/organic chem/ and even NBB 301 do relatively well. The combination of driven students plus prof. involvement results in impressive performance on exams before the curve even happens. In fact some hard classes have a high enough average that the class doesn’t need to be curved. When students and teachers meet half way, there will be more success. It is mainly the smaller class sizes that allow for this. Basically just know that when we are not hanging out outside, most of us are working hard (and even outside, you’ll observe many at least attempting to do work) so don’t let the laid back feel/look fool you. Just know that Emory is hard, but doable because the elements described above and a grade inflation Again, to benefit from the inflation/upcurve, you still need to at least keep up with your peers (The average is normally set at a certain point in, say, science courses, generally B-/B). It is often best to form a study-group in hard classes (w/other motivated people of course, ideally not your traditional group of friends b/c studying becomes playtime w/them). This enhances your chances of doing well or at least keeping up. In more arbitrarily grading classes like the social sciences and humanities, it allows you to bounce off ideas and perhaps critique writing (often some of these classes are graded on some sort of curve). </p>
<p>PE Requirements: My apartment (I chose 3 from my large array of interacting cliques lol) will be attempting to sign for intro. to backpacking in the fall. We just thought it would be fun.<br>
Cliques: Most are much more flexible than they appear, trust me. Often, the ethnic boundaries can even be broken far easier than expected.</p>
<p>Social scene II: Know that you will be missing a whiff of Dooley’s week next week. It should be interesting (even though many classes have exams, it will still be festive).</p>
<p>Haha okay berns!</p>
<p>I’ll trust you with the cliques part 
It’s not that I really have a problem with cliques though. It’s just that I’d like to become friends with people with a variety of backgrounds! I don’t want to stick with the same homogeneous group of people for my entire freshman year. I did a lot of that during my earlier years of high school and it wasn’t that great, really.</p>
<p>If anything, while I’m at Emory, I can honestly say that I’ll be partying…A LOT (only over the weekends of course :)). There’s no question that Emory trumps UGA in academics. But I came from a very competitive high school and I’m just sick of working my arse off! I’d like for my freshman year in college to be a bit of a break. That’s why I find UGA to be very appealing. I understand that Emory is pretty hard academically, so if I do decide to go there, I’ll have to hold off on letting loose! Hahaha.</p>
<p>BTW, I agree Emory did resemble a park!!! It was very beautiful though! The architecture was much cooler than UGA’s.</p>
<p>From what you’ve said about the teachers and the courses, I can definitely see myself keeping up with the classes. I should be able to gauge where I am in comparison to the rest of the class and adjust my studying habits accordingly. I just hope that it doesn’t require too much work!</p>
<p>Yeah, I know that I sound like a lazy sloth right now, but I’m sick and tired of school work!</p>
<p>But whatever. If I end up getting accepted (I think I have the stats to be accepted but my confidence isn’t as high as it used to be) I will most likely go to Emory (assuming they offer enough money). My other option is UGA. If they accept me into the Honors Program and award me the CURO Scholarship I might end up going there.</p>
<p>Sigh…I don’t know anymore!!! 
Hahaha</p>
<p>P.S. I didn’t apply for Tech because I heard it was so hard and that they don’t have social lives. Umm so yeah. That was a HUGE turn off for me ;)</p>
<p>They have social lives, it’s just that the academic environment will be harder. Not necessarily all of the courses are harder content-wise. They are simply larger and many teachers care less. To have a relatively tough course content/exam wise and a bad/mediocre teacher is not uncommon Tech. I think that’s what makes Tech hard (plus the out of class workload). Also, most freshmen here spend their time partying (way more so than upperclassmen) because freshmen courses are somewhat weedout, but are generally much easier content wise. Emory is weird in that most students get their a**es kicked sophomore year (I did and a large amount of my friends are currently getting theirs kicked). Proof of the partying among freshmen is how you see the Taxis just lined up in front of Longstreet/Turman, Fevans, and often Harris’s little semi-circle. Freshmen courses are generally doable enough to party and do relatively well. Either the combo. of courses or the mere toughness of courses that most Emory science majors do sophomore is much harder. Also, don’t worry about Emory being as “rigorous” pers</p>