<p>Headed to Furman in the Fall</p>
<p>To NewEnaglandNicole
Our son attends a New England Prep School. He will be attending Furman this fall. We are all very excited. He had no interest to attend Furman. Applied because I asked him to appy. He visited the school during spring break and loved everything about the school.</p>
<p>We had to push him to visit Furman. He is very excited, but dissapointed many of his friends from his prep school have heard of Furman</p>
<p>Our son is also weighing out the pros and cons of Furman and Wofford. He has been accepted to both, with scholarship money offered from both; but Wofford has offered more.</p>
<p>Please tell me what your son decided, and if there is any new information / opinions regarding the two schools. Our son would like to be involved in theater productions (possibly as a minor), while majoring in a pre-law type program. He requested a psychology/economics major with Furman.</p>
<p>Thank you for any insight.</p>
<p>Furman has one of the best undergraduate Psychology programs in the country. My D chose Furman based upon the strength and recognition of that program. It is one of their toughest majors. If pre-law was a consideration, Furman also has a nationally recognized Mock Debate team. It sounds like a great fit.</p>
<p>I canāt comment on Wofford, I donāt enough about them to comment. Good luck to you</p>
<p>Why donāt you see if you can compare acceptances to law schools of interest? Furman also has a very active program in Washington DC for internships and studies. My Furman contemporaries in my class 30 years ago went to Harvard Law, Vanderbilt Law, University of VA Law, Univ of South Carolina Law and Georgia Law. You also might ask about the average LSAT score for those taking it which is a crucial outcome from a four year education. Getting a high GPA at Furman is very challenging but doable if you apply yourself fully. Grades and GPA and ECs matter a lot in law school apps but the LSAT is the dealbreaker in where you end up and what if any aid you get. Law school is a very expensive enterprise with a shaky outcome in the job market so the best law school is your aim. If the finances are not a huge difference, I would definitely choose Furmanā¦and yes, I am a grad and not impartial, but Furman is rigorous. My husband graduated near the top of his class at Furman but he and his Furman classmate roomed together at Vandy Law and felt for months that they were going to flunk out. Of course they both made it through but my point is very strong study habits and rigor in undergrad school is very crucial to survival in law school.
Also, psychology at Furman is taught as a lab science and is very very demanding. Those who stick it out are welcomed into graduate schools of various types of psychology where actual research is done and published. Perfectly legit major for a prelaw student. But just saying Psych has a national reputation and is not taught as a social scienceā¦you will be trained to research, research, write and publish in lab work in that department.</p>
<p>My older D went to Furman and my younger D is there now. My father-in-law and brother in law both graduated from Wofford. They are both great schools, and do a good job with pre-professional preparation. But if you are interested in law, and Mock Trial is your thing, or you may like to try it, you will get an incomparable experience at Furman. They have sent at least one team to nationals for I think the past ten years. My older D, who is now in law school, loved the experience. Her junior year, her team made it to nationals and was 5th in the nation. They regularly beat teams from ivy league schools. Dr. Glen Halva-Neubauer, the professor who is in charge of Mock Trial at Furman, is on the board of directors for the American Mock Trial Assiciation. They typically field 4-5 teams, so students with little or no experience can still usually make a team - not the case at some more elite schools. Students get to travel, usually to at least 3 competitions a year. My D found her experiences to be a big help in law school. She is still competing there, and even directed a tournament.</p>
<p>I wonder if your daughter coached our son at Vandyā¦he had a Furman graduate for a coach there when he was active on their debate team.</p>
<p>Well, the letter from Furman came, saying he didnāt get the Hollingsworth scholarship. :-(. So, back to the drawing board. Weāll have to find something less expensive.</p>
<p>growinggood- please do not give up the idea of Furman quite yet. If your son interviewed but did not get the Hollingsworth, there is still other merit aid. Also, have your son call his adcom and ask if he is on the alternate list. There is an alternate list, in case some of the students offered the Hollingsworth do not accept. I know of one Hollingsworth scholar who was in fact an alternate last year, then was offered the scholarship after another student passed it up. It does happen!!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you. I appreciate the advice.</p>
<p>No, my daughter is at Washington College of Law at American U in DC. She loves it there!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the wonderfully helpful comments! We are still trying to work on this. Furman has offered $11,000, and it looks as if my son may be a condidate for the Palmetto Fellows scholarship. We still need more helpā¦and are looking at a couple more scholarship opportunities.</p>