Emerson College Top Questions

Emerson really allows you to be yourself and independent. The environment is so welcoming. It's a great fit for a lot of people. There is school pride. The biggest controversy was when the administration left out student rights when the student handbook was published. I have awesome professors and friends here.

The best thing about Emerson is definitely the enthusiasm by the students; not to sound cliche but there's literally a place for everyone, you can always find some sort of extracurricular to get involved in no matter what your interests are, as long as you give some effort you can definitely find some activities to keep you busy/ bulk up your resume. One things I'd change is the prices of everything, the school is VERY expensive and it doesn't get you a lot, for example, you still have to pay to print at the school printers (I know schools that give you 20 free pages a day at their printers) and they only give you enough money to print like 100 pages for free before you need to start paying, and when you're a writing, lit & publishing major that's NOTHING. It's also 100 dollars just to set up your groundline phone not to mention you can only get incoming calls! Plus the prices at the c-store are SO expensive your 650 baord bucks goes quick!! Emerson is pretty small, but it's kind of comforting to be in this community in a big city, where everyone knows everyone. When I tell people where I go, they either have never heard about it or ask if I'm majoring in musical theater (which I'm not!) because that was Emerson is really famous for. When I'm on campus I'm usually hanging out in my room or in someone else's room, seeing a show @ the Cabaret or one of the theaters, or at the dining hall! I could spend so long there at the all-you-can-eat buffet. MM-mmm. It's DEFINITELY a college town, I've heard some statistic like 1/4 of Boston residents are college students or something ridiculous like that. But everyone you meet literaly goes to Suffolk, Northeastern, BU, etc. The only thing I hate about Boston is that most places close early if you're not 21 which is so frustrating to freshman!!! Emerson's administration has been really helpful to me thus far, although I haven't had a whole lot of contact with them, the only problem I've had is with getting an on-campus job, because they always go to work-study students first. The biggest recent controversy on campus was probably the fact that the SGA granted an appeal for $30,000 to an event known as "Hand Me Down Night," in which students who are in organizatons are recognized or something like that. Why it needed to be so expensive, I have NO idea, but apparently it was a big scandal and some SGA members walked out of the meeting, etc. It's frustrating that our money is being spent so frivolously sometimes. There's DEFINITELY a lot of school pride, everyone who sees tours going by says like, "come to Emerson!" or something equally cheesy, and there's a lot of people who find they don't belong here and transfer, but the people who do really thrive. Emerson is unusual in that we don't really have a campus, the closest thing we have is the Boston Common as far as a "campus green" goes and all our buildings are contained in a few city blocks. It's not really an experience I'll remember, but a class; my theater class last semester was so awesome, and our professor was really personable and got to know everyone. The most frequent student complaints is probably about the hour of the dining establishments on campus, which all close pretty early and even earlier on the weekends (which makes NO sense to me).

Emerson has a very focused education so it caters mainly for those who are very determined and career focused, and who have known what their passions are for a very, very long time. I chose Emerson because of its defined majors. Their Writing, Literature and Publishing major will help prepare me for the careers I want to pursue much more than a broad, literature based English degree would. Because of this Emerson draws a lot of passionate students. Everyone is interesting and has something exciting to offer. This is not a school where you can learn a little bit about everything just for fun, but one where you dive deeply into an area of interest and graduate with a level of expertise I believe would be unmatched even by schools with a more famous name. Also the strong focus on networking guarantees a step up in the search for a career after graduation. Even from freshman year you will be gaining valuable experience in the classroom and especially in the extracurricular activities you pursue. Speaking of, the extracurriculars are a must. Almost everyone is involved with at least one club or activity and the experience is priceless. Another fantastic thing about Emerson is that it is right in downtown Boston. Sure our "campus" really just consists of a few buildings scattered in a few blocks but I definitely do not miss a quad when I can be in the heart of a city like Boston. Everything of importance is either in walking distance (and you will learn that a great amount of places are in walking distance) or a short T ride away. Not being sheltered in a campus makes me feel more independent and the access to the city always provides for fun adventures and supplements to my education.

The best thing about Emerson is that the entire student body is supportive, passionate and creative. As a specialized communications and fine arts school, we are all interested in the same arenas and outside activities. Film majors can star in the fall musical while writing majors direct our awards show. There are amazing opportunities in all of our fields available to us, and our students are motivated enough to take advantage of them. The school is the perfect size to make friends, see them on campus, and have small enough classes to really get to know your professors. No hundred-person lectures here - the largest classes are generally 30-40 students. The campus is located in the middle of the biggest and best college town in the nation - Boston, MA. Our location is perfect - right outside the beautiful Boston Common, minutes away from the best upscale shopping and dining in the city.

If I were to tell someone outside of the industry that I went to Emerson, there is a good chance that they will think that I study theater. However, Emerson is a well known institute among the professionals of our respective fields, which I guess is the point of attending the school. Sometimes I wish that Emerson had more of a campus, but any die-hard member of the college will tell you that Boston is our campus.

Size of emerson is perfect. I came from high school comprised of 50 students (in the ENTIRE high school) and graduated with 12. Emerson turned out to be the perfect fit for me, it is definitely bigger than I am used to (EVERY school would be), but its small enough for me to feel like I belong to a real community. My favorite part of emerson is definitely the people. everyone is so cool and easy to hang out with. I spend most of my time in my dorm room. because we dont have a campus proper, theres not many places to just hang out, especially in the winter. When summer comes around we will usually hang out in the Common.

Emerson is an incredible school for those who know what they want to go into- whether it's film or theater or communications. The courses and extracurriculars here allow students to jump straight into their majors, regardless of how much experience you might have. I'm a screenwriting major and I was able to start writing for a show broadcasted on the Emerson network during my first semester as a freshman. On the negative side, Emerson is a school for those who know exactly what they want to go into. The curriculums here are very specialized and double majoring is extremely difficult, if they allow it. In the film department, for example, you have to choose from a wide variety of concentrations from cinematography to audio design, which is difficult if you aren't sure of what field you want to commit to. If you are certain, however, this can be a positive thing since the courses are designed to cover everything you need to know about your specific area. I find that when I tell people I go to Emerson, most think that it's an artsy school full of indie kids in tight pants. They aren't entirely wrong. Most of the students here are very creative and open minded, but a number of students also shop at Abercrombie and so it's difficult to lope everyone into the same categories. The fact that students are currently organizing a nude photoshoot for our school magazine and the administration is thinking of allowing coed dorms should give you an idea of what sort of things go on here. Emerson's location couldn't be more ideal. It's directly across from the Boston Commons and the public gardens, and at the same time we're in the heart of the city of Boston. Even though the T Stations are close, just about everything you need is in walking distance. Also, since there are so many colleges in Boston there's never a lack of college age students to hang out with if you find you aren't fitting into Emerson's social lifestyle. There are obvious downsides to not having a campus, and many students here are wrapped up in city living, but Boston is a fantastic place to go to college regardless. Emerson students take great pride in their school, and yes, they can be a pit pretentious about it. While most schools might take pride in their sports teams, we take pride in our television shows, film programs, theater productions, and so on. Every student here is very passionate about their work and it shows. It will be hard to forget my experience of living in a hotel for my first year at college. Emerson accidentally accepted too many students into the class of 2011, and as a result some of us were put into hotels to live in. You wouldn't believe the reactions I get when I tell them I'm living in the Marriott with my own bathroom and maid service. Even though I am missing out on the typical dorm experiences, the 40 or so of us in the Marriott have bonded over our situation and we've formed relationships with the staff. I do believe I'll miss the hotel life next year. One of the most frequent student complaints is related to our inability to double major. Certain departments, such as journalism and marketing, allow you to double major. Film and theater departments, however, do not. It's frustrating when your interests lie in more than one area but you can only pursue one of them as a minor. Financial aid at Emerson is a also very flawed system and doesn't relieve much of the gigantic costs of attending.

when i tell people i go to emerson they say, "oh that's a good school!" younger people assume that you're artsy. emerson is good for meeting people and networking. everyone assumes they'll be the next big thing and some of them actually will be. if i could change one thing i would change the curriculum. or at least the way it's portrayed. before i came here everyone made it sound like my liberal arts requirements would really get to blend in with my major but it's not like that at all. they're irrelevant and boring. the majority of the liberal arts classes are not challenging at all. also they have a new attendance policy which sucks. and you can't switch into film/audio from another major. a lot of the security seems really unnecessary. the resources for film/audio/etc. are only available to upper level students. the dining hall is mediocre and the cafe and max (other cafe) are overpriced and disgusting.

Emerson is great for the people who know what they want to do in life. I wish there were more majors to choose from. It is a good size but there is obviously not enough housing for everyone. Most people don't know what Emerson is, other than its location in Boston. Emerson is totally unusual, mostly because there are so many actors and filmmakers and singers, most schools just don't have that.

Emerson can sometimes feel too small. I am familiar with most of my grade already. I love to meet new people, and this can be slightly difficult on our small, cramped campus. People react well to Emerson, often because they haven't heard of it. If they have they don't know much about it, except that it's a "good" school. The best thing about Emerson is that it's in the middle of Boston. The theater district is amazing! Don't knock Chinatown until you've tried it! It's beautiful at night, there are endless restaurants, and everything is pretty much affordable. In the other direction is Newbury street, which can also be fun. We're only a couple blocks down from the Orphium, so it's easy to catch a show, and we're even closer to the AMC theater (perfect for all the film majors). Sometimes the AMC has premiers (which is cool, I got to meet Ben Afleck and Matt Daemon). There are great restaurants in Cambridge. There's a 24-Diner near South Station. The Boston Public Gardens are maybe two minutes away, and it is beautiful there when it's warm. The T takes you anywhere you need to go that you can't walk to.