<p>Excuse the stupid Hamlet pun; I've got some severe jet lag going on here.
Okay, so I know I've posted in the Emory thread roughly eight billion times, but finally, I have been accepted as a transfer student and given a financial aid package that really surprised me with how much money they were offering me (it was around $45,000 out of the estimated $60,000). Granted, some of that money will be loan money, and there's still that $15,000 difference (which may end up being less than $15,000 anyways), but...now I'm not so sure if I want to transfer.
This past semester, I swore that I was absolutely going to leave my college, no matter where I went instead, but I think that had something to with my life being taken over by Hamlet rehearsals, when college theatre is clearly not my niche. But back to the jet lag: I just got home from a research trip in Ireland where a few students from my college's honors program started groundwork for an extensive research project that covers immigration from Southeastern Ireland to Savannah, GA, which should eventually culminate in an exhibit at the JFK center in New Ross, Ireland. I was chosen to present our research in front a crowd of pretty important people, including Rory Kennedy. I'm only a freshman (well, a sophomore now), and I was given the chance to do primary research at the Dublin National Archives, as well as other archives and libraries. I got to open letters that haven't been read since the 1850s! Not only that, but if I stay at my college, I'll probably be able to go to Ireland again next summer to continue working on this project. If I stay, I'll also be assistant editor of our honors magazines (and editor for the next two years!), and my professors all really like me and seem eager to work with me, and I'm just wondering--is Emory worth me leaving behind all that I've accomplished this past year? Don't get me wrong--Emory is my dream school. I tend to get slightly depressed every time I pass the exit when I'm going through Atlanta. I feel like Emory would be able to offer me the same opportunities, but I can't help but wonder if I'll stand out as a student as much there, whereas at my school now, I'm sort of at the top of the bunch. I know having close relationships with professors can be vital to success in getting internships, doing research, and all sorts of other things, but I'm worried that if I go to Emory, I won't receive the same attention that I get at my school now. But then again, going to Emory might make me more hire-able. Maybe I'll learn more because the quality of the classes are better. I think I'd like the environment A LOT better than my school's, where I really only feel comfortable with the honors and writing kids...but I don't know. There are so many pros and cons to consider. Emory's also way closer to home for me, but I could always just go for grad school...I'm so conflicted! I haven't had a chance to extensively discuss this with my parents (because I literally just got off an eight hour plane ride a few hours ago and am not going home until tomorrow), but I would like to hear input from other people, so...any advice would be greatly appreciated! </p>
<p>Separate into paragraphs. That looks like a @bernie12 block of text. My poor eyes can’t handle that.</p>
<p>I think you’re going to be successful no matter where you go. That’s just how you come across. </p>
<p>Is this project not something you can continue to be involved in from Emory? You go to school in GA, so the professors between the two schools should be familiar with each other. It seems like the choice is a no-brainer if you are able to work from Emory. And if you cannot, then it’s something you should decide on your own. I personally think you belong here.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the $15k out of pocket a year. I don’t think it will be that much anyway. You can save a lot by cooking your own food, living off campus, not partying excessively, etc.</p>
<p>In the grand scheme of things, I think <<45k is a small price to pay in order to fulfill your dreams. And 40k in student loans today isn’t extremely bad. It comes out to monthly payments of $401 for 10 years (at 3.8%).</p>
<p>I would stay if you cannot replicate or come close to what you’re doing at the honors college. However, I will say this…you don’t need to actually stand out at many elite schools to benefit from the resources so please stop worrying about that. Awesome opps. are available to those who simply pursue them. While even more opps. may open up from you standing out in a class (and thus a professor recognizing your talent), the baseline opps are quite solid such that you can create an awesome experience/set of experiences that enhance you professionally and intellectual without being at the “top of the bunch”. As for learning, if you choose the wrong courses, you will not learn more, trust me. At least creative writing and English is amazing here though. I suppose you would meet a much larger group of inspiring students here (especially in the social sciences and humanities), but don’t over-rate Emory. I am not very sure if starting from scratch at Emory and paying lots of money is worth it. If you truly want to entertain this, start finding out what you can get involved in at Emory that would give you just as much satisfaction as your current experience (and maybe contact people presiding over the experience). Maybe you can get involved with the Wheel (it seems easy to gain access to it) and other departmental magazines/ undergraduate run journals, I don’t know. But you need to think about these things.<br>
One thing I’ll say academically/intellectually is that because of Emory’s creative writing program and Rare Book collections, the amount of activities, seminars, and talks (by well known writers of all types) associated with writing and literature are outstanding. I think this is the main reason we’re known to be a top place for aspiring writers (and because some of the well-known writers and poets are actually teaching here. Tretheway even chooses to teach a freshman seminar which is ridiculous given her status). All things writing and literary are pretty well-celebrated here. Emory is a good place for the more intellectual humanities oriented person (cannot exactly say the same for a more intellectual science major. While there are many classes for such people, the UG intellectual community in the sciences is nowhere near as activated or inclined to attend science seminars and talks at random to such a large degree). Somehow the humanities and many social sciences have done a good job making a HUGE share of students actually care about their disciplines beyond the classroom or traditional research setting. I think I know how such differences arise, but that’s a discussion for another day .</p>
<p>But anyway, Emory is a great place, but you just really need to plan to hit the ground running to get anything comparable to what you have now. I would indeed reconsider transferring if you think that it would be too hard to do this. However, I would say that many Oxford students provide a great example of how to maximize Emory as a transfer/anyone who did not start on Emory’s Atlanta campus as a freshman. It seems easy to make things at Emory work in your favor especially if you were already great at the previous place. Perhaps aig could shed some light</p>
<p>@aluminum_boat : You are just trying to pull a quality student to Emory lol. </p>
<p>God forbid I want good students to come here haha.</p>
<p>@aluminum_boat The admissions office will kill you for ever even suggesting such a thing. Let’s just stick to admitting the pre-med with the 1400 SATs who come in and forfeit all their AP credits for A’s (oh wait, even after getting a 5, many still can’t get an A grade in the same course with the easiest instructor and then whine about how hard it’s being made for them and how the instructor is out to get them). We can use some more of those. They’re fun and their presence ensures that Emory College will churn out the future scientists and leading doctors of America. </p>
<p>I personally vote to rescind that transfer admit who is a humanities major seriously passionate about their research (as most of them who engage in it are which is more than I can say for many people in my discipline) lol 
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<p>Sorry about the text block…I have been awake for…lots of hours. What you guys said was really helpful, though! I suppose after I sleep for two million hours and talk about this with my parents, I can come up with a pros and cons list. I will add, just for now, that I think I’d probably handle transferring pretty well. I know high school is completely different from college, but I had to move right before eleventh grade, and I ended up being way more involved in my second high school than my first! I don’t know if that helps anything, though.</p>
<p>Another thing I guess I should consider are the credits I have now. So far, I’ve got 51 credit hours, so I guess if I end up somehow losing a few that don’t transfer I should be okay…but I swear if I have to take another math class I just might die. I heard somewhere that Emory won’t count math modeling for a math credit, and that’s what I took…also, I made a 3 on the AP bio exam, and while that gets me credit now, I don’t think that would transfer over to Emory, so I’d have to take bio. Not that that’s a problem, it’s just annoying.</p>
<p>And one more very important question: Is it a requirement at Emory to write an undergraduate thesis? I have to write one for the honors program, and I’m just asking because I really want to do one…or maybe two…I’m a double major in writing and linguistics (that’s one major) and English here, so technically I can do a capstone project and a thesis if I write a short story collection and then do research that pertains to English (which I’ve already sort of planned and gotten approved by one of my English professors and our honors program director), </p>
<p>I just feel like I really established myself this year, and especially this summer. But I guess if I can make a name for myself during a five week summer semester, I can do it again in a year. </p>
<p>OH and also I do know for a fact that our Irish studies departments are in some sort of contact with each other, because I know quite a few Irish studies students who did a lot of their research at Emory. </p>
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<p>There’s your answer. Go with the transfer.</p>
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Damn straight.</p>
<p>Every department has its own requirements for thesis eligibility. I don’t know the English branch, but you can easily find what you need online.
And, like I said, 40k of debt is nothing for your goals. If you were paying sticker price, that’s a different story. You’d be in debt your entire life. But 40k is <10 years.</p>
<p>@aleyna22 : Most Emory depts don’t require a senior project/thesis but of course strongly encourage it as it puts their departments students and faculty on showcase. Most departments at Emory require a grad. level or 2 (or a special seminar) and then the thesis for honors. You typically just need over a 3.5 to qualify. However, I like evidence, so here you go for the English department if that is what you want to do: <a href=“English Honors Program”>http://english.emory.edu/undergraduate/academic_opportunities/honors.html</a> For creative writing: <a href=“Error 404 | Emory University | Atlanta GA”>Error 404 | Emory University | Atlanta GA; (only tells the application process).</p>
<p>Also, note how much programs and support they give to UG’s pursuing studies. Also note the honors process. Seems pretty serious, especially in comparison to similarly ranked schools Vanderbilt (I love picking on them lol) has an excellent English program I think, at the grad. level at least, and yet doesn’t require students to write proposals when applying to honors. These 2 departments at Emory are pretty serious when it comes to UG’s and intellectual engagement. </p>
<p>Thanks for posting those links! I’m actually going to visit Emory today to look at around the campus and at the Seamus Heaney exhibit since I’m in Atlanta for the afternoon, so uh, if you guys are on campus and see a girl walking around with a bandaged ankle, that would be me lol </p>