Emerson College Top Questions

I wish the area in front of the Little Building that's supposed to be non-smoking actually was, and that the security people enforced it. It's hard to breathe all along the block between the dorm and classes due to all the smokers blocking the entryways. The food could be improved; for all that they try to give us variety and considerate meal plans, they fall into a rut and are very repetitive; not to mention that the vegetarian options at the grill are cooked on the same surface as the meat and no one changes their gloves in between orders at the deli station, either. The hours of operation are also too short, especially on weekends.

Emerson's not your typical 'college'. You're not going to get that "football game/ frisbee on the quad/ frat house parties" college experience. I can't say much about the campus life because I am a transfer student and transfers don't get housing, I like in an apartment in Brookline. It was hard at first making friends because I wasn't on campus and I wasn't a freshman. But most people find their niche at Emerson.

It's a small school. You'll typically run into someone you know everywhere on campus. Speaking of which...there isn't much of a campus. It's mostly just buildings for classes, some computer labs and a small cafeteria. It'd be nice if there was some sort of student union. However, the upside is that you're right in the middle of Boston and many of the classrooms look out over the Boston Common. That's not too shabby.

We are a very small school, but it works to our advantage. Being in downtown Boston we are able to use a lot of outside resources in our studies and the opportunities for internships are everywhere. The disadvantage is that our facilities suffer. Our library is way to small and our housing, while you might have an awesome city view, you may not get it. As a transfer, I was unable to get housing which forced me to get a job to pay for an apartment and miss out on some extracurricular activities. School pride runs as deep as film stock. There are very few supporters at athletic events, which has slowly been changing, but for the most part, the school relies on its communications and film studies reputation, rather than that of other activities on campus. You can't beat living in downtown Boston, it is the number one college town in the United States and has added immensely to the atmosphere surrounding Emerson.

There are three best things at Emerson. First, despite all the stereotypes, your fellow students are the best part of Emerson. While there are a handful of rich trust-fund-ers with an ego that could maim at fifteen paces, the vast majority of students are down-to-earth, a lot of fun, and a hell of a lot more interesting than most of anyone you'd meet at a traditional college. If you come into the school with an open mind and the ability to not commit to one group of friends, you'll be in for a lot of success. Second, the opportunities that the college presents you with are second to none. You are in Boston, with a school willing to pay the insurance on most of your projects. Take advantage of it. New organizations sprout daily. Experimental theater and comedy shows happen every night at the Cabaret. Students start up their own non-profits for kicks, for crying out loud, just be willing to spend the time and effort with your classmates to make it happen. Third, the city of Boston rocks. Rocks rocks rocks. The food is terrific, the music venues are some of the best on this coast, culture is everywhere, and you're living in the theater district. You can reach any of the five MBTA lines within two stops of station across the street. You're within spitting distance of the ocean, within walking distance of MIT, and biking distance of the entire city. In short, this city is made of win. There's a lot of pride and status that goes along with going to Emerson. We're the Wes Anderson of the film schools - not NYU/USC, spitting out Steven Spielbergs, but not Columbia College of Chicago, where we proclaim bizarre experimental film "art". Regarding the external programs - If you're a film/TV major, plan on going to Emerson's LA campus, because the internships set you up for a career that might actually justify the cost of coming here. If you're any other major, plan on going to the Emerson castle in the Netherlands, because most everyone who has been there called it the best semester of their life.

Emerson is an amazing school and the people who stay here are incredibly happy with it. Emerson has a lot of school pride, but we show it by getting involved and supporting theater groups instead of wearing emerson shirts and cheering on the basketball team. It's not your typical college experience. The campus is pretty much the Boston Common, which is awesome! I don't ever feel disconnected from people because it's not a traditional campus, I usually pass my friends along Boylston street. It's a city atmosphere, I also think Emerson has the best location out of all the Boston schools. It's directly across from the Common and a T station, which is the subway. It's also near china town and Newbury street, which has great food and shopping. The administration is incredibly supportive and totally understand the type of student at Emerson and how to cater to them. The cafeteria is getting a bit too small as the school grows and I bet they're going to expand soon. The food isn't bad and they have a vegetarian section, and tons of other vegan options which is really great.

The campus is ideally placed, to be honest. The size of the college allows every student to get to know their professors, not just become a number or a mysterious face in a lecture hall. There are plenty of bars around campus for after-exam or after-rehearsal drinks, restaurants abound. If what you're looking for isn't downtown, all T lines are easily accessible. The administration occasionally leaves something to be desired. Tuition is high (and getting higher), and more times than not, it's hard to see the benefits for the students. The facilities are nice, but they've been under construction for quite some time. The new Piano Row dormitories are quite the topic of conversation. The suites are nice, but sterile feeling. Having a gym in the basement is great, but most students never use it. A better use of the money would have been practice spaces for the theatre department, or more facilities for film majors, even just more classrooms or conference rooms to be used by any and all students. In terms of theatre, the Paramount purchase is controversial. The scene shop has been off-campus in South Boston, and so scenery has been built to be trucked in. Now the shop will be downtown, but the space and resources will be diminished. On the whole, I find that more and more students, especially in the class graduating in 2008, have come to wonder if their time and money has been spent to their best advantage.

This is a great place to learn a lot about the career you want, and if you know what you want to do, Emerson's really great. It is easy to take advantage of unique opportunities that are otherwise very hard to come by. You'll make important connections that will help you for the rest of your life. It's easy to meet people who have lots in common with you. It has the perfect location in Boston, right between the theater district and the downtown area and across the street from the Common, and the North End and Back by are nice, quick walks away. However, RA's are very strict and it is really difficult to drink on campus, and parties off-campus are usually inconveniently far away (a 25-minute T ride to Allston) and overcrowded. Boston is very much a 21+ city, so it can be hard to find things to do on weekends. There's a lot of redtape with some basic things, but at least the college is very organized. The dining hall is crowded at certain times, but is generally simple, easy and better than most other places.

Living on campus at Emerson is very overrated. It's definitely a good idea to live on campus your freshman year, so you can get oriented with the city. That was especially helpful to me, since I came from Cowtown USA. But after a year, I was so ready to get out of the dorms and have my own apartment... It's incredibly easy to make friends at this school. I find that I have something in common with pretty much everyone, regardless of where we came from. I have friends that scare me because we're so much alike. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. The theater program here is really good...I'm in Theater Education, and I think it's the best decision I've made in my life. Be warned: Emerson College does not hand out financial aid unless you are poor like me.

there are a lot of classes pertaining to the best aspects of odd or difficult-to-find majors. The school is pretty large, with over 5,000 students in all, and the freshman class itself is humongous. You are in the center of Boston and if you like expensice shopping then Newbury street is fine, but apart from Boston Common and the Gardens, there isn't a whole lot to do without traveling via subway into other areas of Boston. We have a lot of travel by our school and if you are used to the city you shouldn't have any problems. I spend most of my time in my dorm room, which is gorgeous, or in Boston Common. The classes themselves are great but some of the teachers are underqualified and although the classes you can take junior or senior year will definitely help you in relation to your major, the classes you will most likely take freshman year are wasteful as they feel everyone should have a "well-rounded" education, but it is really quite rediculous.

I always thought I would rather be a number than a name in college but I ended up choosing Emerson over far-larger Northeastern. I realized from the start that this was a much better situation than I thought. Teachers are closer to students and starting school isn't as intimidating, at least it wasn't for me. But the size is also big enough to guarantee diversity and enough space so that you don't feel as if you are in high school and you recognize nearly everyone you see. As far as campus goes, I love being in the city. All the buildings are close so that if I have class at 8:30 in the morning, I wake up at 8:10 and leave by 8:25 for class. It's convenient and love it. Plus all of Emerson is right across from the Boston Common. If you feel a yearning to be outside, just walk across the street and suddenly you have a grassy common to lay on and read a book. It's the perfect city college campus. And of course being in the heart of Boston means you can walk or take the T to endless destinations and distraction and fun is never far away.

Emerson is really an awesome school. It is in the heart of Boston, a great location and a perfect size. Whenever I tell someone I go to Emerson they are very impressed. My mother went here and she tells all her friends that I am going there and they say that it is quite the accomplishment.

Emerson is by no means worth the money it asks for. I'll explain why in further questions.

The best thing about Emerson is the faculty. They are well respected and connected, but also accessible. Office hours are very open and the faculty will take you through a lot of your writing. The campus is located in the very heart of Boston, which is an amazing opportunity, but it can also be overwhelming. I think it can be hard for freshmen at Emerson to become comfortable with their surroundings because the campus is so integrated with the city. However, over the four years of college this becomes less of a drawback and more of an advantage.

The school is really small with only about 3,000 students which for me is perfect. The class sizes are small which gives you a lot of contact with the professors, most of whom are really willing to help students succeed in anyway that they can. Being located in the heart of Boston gives you a lot of opportunities to explore the area and with so many other colleges around you run into a lot of other students. The food at the school isn't the greatest (but what college dinning hall is?) but because you're in Boston (and about a block away from Chinatown) you can easily access better food if you're willing to pay for it (and stuff isn't as expensive as you would think).

Not that many people know about Emerson, but when you mention the name and they know of it, they describe how great the school is. Then they ask about the acting and journalism programs.

I came from a small, very personal art school. It was were I went to middle school and high school so I knew college would be a big transition from that, but with Emerson it wasn't a big deal. The school is small, but not too small. There are always different people to hang out with and new clubs and events to explore, but at the same time you've seen a lot of the same people around and can know everything going on at the school if you really want to. This size is also perfect because you can get to know (or know of) most of the people in your major, which is important for film and theatre majors. The location

Emerson has a great thing going for it a far as the community feel. I think the smallness of the college makes it feel more tight-knit, and I don't feel like I'm lost in a sea of students. But personally, I really dislike the attitude of the students at Emerson. They seem naive, pampered and babied, wrapped up in their own coolness or their own interests, and are for the most part isolated from the community outside of the college world. I don't think Emerson does a very good job at culturing students outside the Arts. There isn't really a big emphasis on integration with the city and its people. I think Emerson seems to breed the same elitist mentality students enter the school with. Of course this is all probably heavily biased by my own experiences, so take all of that with a big ol' grain of salt. My biggest issue with the school is its cost. So far, I have seen absolutely nothing about Emerson College that warrants paying $40,000 a year to attend. The classes don't seem that remarkable to me (I've taken more challenging and worthwhile classes in the AP Program in high school for a fraction of the cost), and from what I've seen about how the school allocates its budget I'm not so sure my tuition money is going towards noble causes, like giving me an education that's worth forty grand. And since the financial aid situation at Emerson is absolutely awful, I'm not even getting a break with tuition rates (why very wealthy Honors Program kids get full- or half-rides while kids from lower working-class families get zip is yet another issue i have). Perhaps I just have yet to see the true worth of the school and the education it could give me. But chances are I won't be able to stick around long enough for that to happen.

I transfered to Emerson College in 2007. The process of transfer was very difficult. As a transfer, you are forced to sign up for semester classes after the entire school has been given the chance to design their schedules. This made it impossible to take anything outside of broad requirements for my first semester. The film department/visual media arts department seems to be saturated with students. Though this makes for a good community of working film students (there are always student film shoots to work on), it makes it impossible for the school to meet any equipment needs.

Students often complain about the ubiquitous red tape that they encounter at Emerson. This becomes particularly troublesome when attempting to get equipment from the Equipment Distribution Center, trying to get into classes that you need / want, and dealing with the upper levels of the administration. Emerson is a small school, yet seems to be growing in more recent years. While a small number of undergraduates promotes a close-knit community, it can often feel claustrophobic. There is, however, a certain charm in being able to walk down Boylston Street and know the vast majority of people that you encounter. Located in the heart of Boston, it could not be in a better location. It is close enough to Boston University, Northeastern, and Harvard that one can party there yet still come home to dorms in the theatre district. Its proximity to Chinatown lends itself to a certain degree of sketchiness, but affords students the opportunity to have delicious food late into the evening.