~Stuff To Do @ Emory~

<p>I know theres no football team, so what is there to do on-campus during the day at emory.. say a saturday afternoon?</p>

<p>hilary-- i';m looking at emory and utexas @ austin too! those were the 2 schools i came here to ask abouat! i wanted to know about the social likfe at emory... anyoen wnat to respond?</p>

<p>im a freshman and im actually somewhat dissapointed with weekend day life. while the nights are still fun, the day isn't as great i meanlots of ppl do hw then so i guess its good so ur not distracted. ive been to a soccer game and that is also kinda fun but it seems like in general the campus is much emptier than on the week. people are in their dorms a lot but also sometimes we might have some dorm sports game specifically football for example. lastly on sundays a lot of people go in the duc(the main eating place) and watch football if thats for you. remember that this is just my opion also this is one of the few drawbacks in my opionion otherwise the schools been great so far</p>

<p>I spend most Saturday just hanging out with my friends during the day. Watching movies, playing video games, going to the mall. We have a blast.</p>

<p>is there any fun stuff to do in atlanta during the day? or is it more of a nightlife city? also, please share any other opinions about it, you guys who are freshmen this year! (emphasis on the positive comments:))</p>

<p>Hi Hilary! I'm glad you are still interested in Emory--my son loves it there!</p>

<p>Just think of a weekend on a college campus the same as you would a weekend off from a job in the real world--it's sort of a chance to kick back, relax and catch up. Most kids sleep late, have a leisurely lunch with their friends, either on campus or off, go to the mall/run errands, do laundry, go to games/practices/club meetings, catch up on work or do research for big papers or projects that benefit from having large, uninterrupted blocks of time, nap, and then go out in the evening. Most people would collapse if they kept up the nonstop, frenetic pace that they imagine to be real college life!</p>

<p>As far as doing stuff in Atlanta, it depends on what you like to do--my son has gone to various sporting events, there is some great shopping, there are museums (there's a new aquarium opening, largest in the U.S.), theater, concerts, clubs, lots of volunteering opportunities,there are some amusement parks, out door activites, etc. </p>

<p>What kind of things are most interesting to you?</p>

<p>hey boyx3! yeah i'm applying there ED! </p>

<p>shopping and concerts are always good, i also like outdoor stuff, sporting events, you name it! </p>

<p>i just wanted to make sure the atmosphere was not like people being bored and sitting around. and its also good to have stuff to do in the city. im sure ill end up just sleeping in til 12 on lots of days, but i just want to know that there ARE things going on if i want them. has your son said anything about a vibrant campus scene? </p>

<p>any other info/reactions from your son about his time there? what year is he?</p>

<p>Hi Hilary--</p>

<p>My son is a junior--he also applied ED. He's been so happy there, although he is the kind of person who can be happy any where, he is the kind of kid who makes his own happiness.</p>

<p>Don't worry about being bored--you won't find many people just "sitting around." The workload can be very heavy/intense as most kids really stretch themselves academically. There might be some who don't but my son certrainly doesn't know them. So you will always have work to occupy your time if you are not doing something else! You won't be just sitting on your bed, wishing you had something to do or some where to go or someone to be with! That said, you'll be doing a lot other than hitting the books. The scene on campus is one of more laid back continual activity, it just doesn't have the rah-rah feel of a Big 10 campus where on a Saturday everyone is all excited as the huge crowd heads to the stadium for the big game--of course, you already know that if you are interested in Emory.</p>

<p>I asked my son to give me the run down of what he actually did last weekend. On Saturday, my son slept till 11, had lunch in Emory Village with some friends he hadn't seen in a while, went to the library where some people in the audio visual department helped him with some stuff he needed to do to put together his presentation for his Arabic class on Thursday.Went to the mall with his girlfriend she shoppped, he got a haircut and a birthday present for a friend. Back to campus. Stuck in laundry at his apartment, went for a run at Lullwater, ended up playing frisbee instead, they all ended up playing in the water there and he thinks he ruined his new running shoes. Back to his apartment. Went to play sand volleyball/barbecue with the freshman FAME group he is mentoring. Went to girlfriend's apartment, went to Lennox for dinner and a movie with a group of her friends. Later,that group meets up with another group to go to a sushi bar to celebrate 21st birthday of a friend with some drink where you drop a shot of sake in a beer ( he tried to explain it to me but it sounds gross), I think it's called sake bombing? He doesn't like beer or sake, doesn't drink, but had a lot of fun anyway. He's generally the driver because he just doesn't like the taste of alcohol--he only likes the "girly" drinks, and not very much at that--
then back to campus with everyone and I guess a birthday party.</p>

<p>Up early on Sunday morning because he substitute teaches Hebrew at a local Sunday school. Back to campus, brunch with friends, study for a while, club meeting, study some more, a capella practice followed by dinner with group, study some more, meet up with study group because of exam later in week, study some more, go for coffee with apartment mates,study and then crash.</p>

<p>I don't know if this qualifies as a vibrant campus scene, but if not he seems too busy to miss it. It is probably fairly typical for most college kids, especially those beyond their freshman year, I remember him doing a lot of things with a herd of kids from his floor (very small dorm, about 80 kids in all) He's still very good friends with kids from his freshman dorm.There was always some one hanging in the floor lounge,always someone for doing something with or going somewhere . Don't worry about being bored--you won't be unless you choose to be!</p>

<p>thank you boysx3!! that was very informative! it sounds like theres plenty to do!! </p>

<p>one question-- what is a freshmen FAME group?</p>

<p>Hilary,</p>

<p>FAME is a one hour freshman advising group that meets weekly, but an Emory student or parent with more info than I have will need to give you more information on what they do. I understand, but I may be wrong, that it is fairly small, and that it is for 1st semester only, and that in the 2nd semester it is replaced by a freshman semanar, also 1 hr. My son is scheduled to take a psych class, something he picked because it is completely out of his area of expertise. I believe these are opportunities for freshmen to work with professors fairly expert in their fields, as a means to explore different fields and have contact with those that teach the upper level classes.</p>

<p>My son is also very, very happy at Emory. It is fall break, but he says that he has many friends staying on campus, so he will too. He has not come home for a weekend yet. Tonight he said he was going to a concert on campus. I know he considered an Outdoor Emory trip for this fall break weekend; I think he said there was a water skiing trip and I think a skydiving trip planned- we really encourage these because they are heavily subsidized by the university and fairly inexpensive trips, but he has friends in town visiting at Emory this weekend. He is not one to give tons of details, but I gather that he has a lot of new friends and a lot of things to do on the weekends. He initially visited Emory pretty neutral, but it was a Sunday afternoon, and he was impressed with the number of students on campus and the activity going on. After 2 years of IB in high school, he wanted to make sure he had a fun social life as well as exciting academics in college. I get the feeling that he is very pleased with himself for deciding on Emory.</p>

<p>Jax has the essentials of FAME described pretty well. It stands for Freshman Advising and Mentoring at Emory. Basically students are put into small groups of about 15, with 4 advisors--2 upperclass students and 2 professors and / or a professor and a professional advisor type person. The group meets several times during orientation week and then weekly for a couple of months after that--students do various social things as well as community service and academic activites,as well as get advice on scheduling classes, how to use the library, (the library is wonderful) etc. A lot of students make really good friends from the FAME groups and its nice to make friends off one's floor/dorm too.</p>

<p>Jax, it sounds like your son has had a great start! My son has been really happy with the balance of social and academic life-- academics certainly come first, and everyone studies--a lot- but it seems there is always a lot to do when he needs a break as well.</p>