<p>I just found this little piece of info about Furman on a thread that was listing many colleges and a few things about them that make them unique. The thread was started in 2012.
On Furman it notes that
Furman is a Liberal Arts University in South Carolina. Students can attend a assortment of conferences and lecture series at The Riley Institute at Furman. Furman provides a variety research programs through its Furman Advantage & Hipp Fellowship Programs. Students can major in multi-disciplinary majors including Neuroscience, Sustainability Science, and Asian Studies. According to its Common Data Set, the average merit award for freshman with no financial need was $18,012.</p>
<p>Furman is high on my D´s list right now and is interested in neuroscience. I hadn´t heard of the Riley Institute.
I´d love to hear more about things that make Furman unique.</p>
<p>For more information on the Riley Institute, [The</a> Riley Institute at Furman](<a href=“http://riley.furman.edu/]The”>http://riley.furman.edu/). I think depending on students’ interests, different aspects of Furman might seem unique. My older daughter was a Political Science major, and went to law school. She participated on the mock trial team for 4 years. The teams are fantastic, and they are so good that 1-2 teams make it to nationals every year, and compete against much bigger name schools such as Harvard, Duke. Her junior year my daughter’s team was 5th in the nation. So for her, mock trial at Furman was unique, compared to other schools she looked at. My younger daughter is a Biology major, pre-med. she has been able to participate in a lot of things and hold leadership positions because Furman is small, but one thing she has participated in that is unique is the Heller Service Corps. [Heller</a> Service Corps](<a href=“http://www.hellerservicecorps.org/index.php]Heller”>Best Places to Volunteer Abroad | Michael Heller Services). This campus organization is an umbrella for all kinds of service activities. The story of Max Heller for which it is named is interesting too. [Max</a> Heller Biography](<a href=“http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/southcarolina/heller_biography.htm]Max”>http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/southcarolina/heller_biography.htm)</p>
<p>My younger daughter was able to use Furman Advantage to help fund a research internship at the CDC last summer (the rest was funded by the CDC). Most students my daughters knew that applied for money so they could do research or an internship were able to get it through Furman Advantage.</p>
<p>Quite a variety of speakers and topics that span the political and religious spectrum are available to students. Just look at the Furman website CLP (cultural life program) calendar to see what is offered.</p>
<p>Good luck in your daughter’s college search!</p>
<p>I had the privilege of being at Furman when Max was alive, and knowing him during my work in the Service Corps. Through Service Corps, Furman students leave our stunning campus to work in scores of settings in Greenville from the Shriner’s Hospital to youth organizations and schools. Greenville is a great laboratory outside of campus life.
You can also see the legacy of Max Heller on Main Street in Greenville where they have erected a statue of him. Max had a great deal to do with the almost European charm and walkability of Greenville’s stellar downtown, the envy of many other near vacant downtowns in the south.</p>
<p>I’m currently a sophomore chemistry major at Furman University and I absolutely LOVE it! Furman offers its students so many opportunities to learn and the professors are 100% dedicated to helping the students succeed. It’s extremely easy to get to know your professors one-on-one and they love getting to know their students!
All of Furman’s classes are taught by professors (TA’s do not teach class) so they are active in the learning of the students. They are willing to spend numerous hours outside of class to help you learn and they are fair in their grading.
Furman’s neuroscience program is really well developed and I have some friends who are currently in the program who love it. Just recently, Furman hired a chemistry professor who’s specialty is neurochem and who I will have the pleasure of working with over the course of this coming summer to conduct research.
There are research opportunities available in all of the majors and it is possible to do research as a freshmen, which is unique to Furman.<br>
For someone interested in pre-med, the advisors here are beyond fantastic and they work hard to get their students into shadowing experiences, clinicals, and other programs connected with Greenville Hospital System.
Also, the school requires students to go to cultural life programs (4 a semester), which largely enhance the students’ perspectives of current issues in the world.
Speakers are brought in from all over the US and world to talk to the students and these programs range from the US Ambassador of Nigeria speaking about socio-political and economic changes in Sub-Saharan Africa to a program on international dance to mediated discussions on the Affordable Care Act. These programs are great ways in which students get to interact with the community and understand current issues, cultural backgrounds, and diversity.
Furman is a FANTASTIC school and by applying for the Lay, Duke, Townes, Hollingsworth, and Departmental scholarships, it’s affordable as well. It is possible to pay less than $3,000/year for this school [I’m a prime example of that]. You just have to be willing to look for scholarships both from the school and outside of it, participate in work study or work on campus, and talk to the financial aid department because they are good about working with you.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Furman to anyone and I am loving my time here! I couldn’t imagine being at any other school and it’s definitely the right school for me. If you want fantastic in-depth classes, dedicated professors, awesome peers, and an education that will increase your knowledge about the world as well as about the subject you’re majoring in then I would absolutely come to Furman!</p>
<p>bookworm1794, glad you are getting a wonderful education at Furman in it’s world class chemistry department. My dear friend and classmate was a Furman chem major, valedictorian and went on to University of Chicago and to Stanford. He is now Provost of Swarthmore, one of American’s greatest colleges. I lived in the Cottage near the Bell Tower and let me see…of the 8 women in the house, one went to Harvard Med, all got graduate degrees and three of them ended up teaching in graduate schools. Furman will prepare you for the most challenging of graduate schools if you come ready to engage with your professors. Good luck to you!</p>