Emerson College Top Questions

Emerson has amazing opportunities. Everyone has connections and it is very geared towards real life experience and focuses on your major. There are amazing extracurriculars at Emerson and I really have no complaints, I love it here. The one thing that is difficult is living in a suite. Living with 5 other girls is definitely not all it's cracked up to be.

The school is big enough that you know a lot of people but you definitely dont know everyone, which is nice. Parties here kind of suck, and it's hard to get into the bars around. Everyone smokes weed. It's definitely a college town, but like I said the parties are not as good as other schools, though a LOT of parties here are themed, which is fun. Great classes, small and interesting. There's an artsy style that most kids ascribe to. It's a pretty sweet school, but a lot of people here suck. Like, I'm not saying that with mass hatred towards everyone here, I myself am well liked to I'm not bitter, but everyone automatically assumes everyone else is dumber and not as talented as them, and they will talk down to you. Just dont take offense to it and do your own thing. Everyone here is talented...multi-talented...it's freaky.

Emerson is great if you know what you to do going in - this isn't really a great school for the undecided major. It has a great film program, and anything related to film is fantastic. The opportunities available through Emerson are fantastic for almost every major. The only weak spot I can think of is it's communications major, as well as the dance program. It has an AMAZING location - next to both Chinatown and Newbury street/ Beacon Hill, right across from the Boston Common and Gardens. Though it doesn't have a real campus, all of the buildings are located practically next to each other, so it's not entirely necessary. Most of the time is spent hanging out in friends dorms.

Emerson is a small, liberal, private school in the middle of Boston, which is a major college town. It is most noted for its film program and radio station. It's highly devoted to communications and the arts

Emerson has really put itself on the map and, at least in the world of media production, it's up there with NYU, USC, and UCLA in terms of quality. Students are constantly busy working on ten activites at once--everything from film shoots to plays to publishing, journalism, or stand-up comedy. If you're not ready to dive in and explore a bunch of extracurriculars at once, you're in the minority, at least during your freshman year. The school has been expanding rapidly in the last ten years, and the changes have been met with some praise and some loathing. The good news is that the expansions are leading to top-of-the-line buildings, like the Paramount Building, which'll be unveiled soon and includes a new theatre, sound stage, studio, screening room, rehearsal spaces, and dorm rooms. On the other hand, the cost of tuition is rising rapidly, and the school is making an effort to attract a new crowd of students. Whereas Emerson has often been a haven for artistic high school misfits, it's now catering to the more mainstream bunch--which is cool in some ways, but also causes the college to lose parts of what make it unique.

The best thing about Emerson is how open-minded and accepting the general student and administrative body can be. You can start any group at Emerson as long as it isn't morally evil or illegal. There truly is something for everyone at Emerson, pardon the cliche.

The best thing about Emerson is the networking. My journalism professors have a journalistic background and most professors have actually worked in the business of whatever it is they're teaching. At least in the journalism field, you get people practically begging for Emerson interns because the school has such a good reputation. People in the field are impressed when I tell them I go to Emerson. The school is pretty small but by no means isolated - it's right in the middle of Boston, close to a lot of other colleges, and there are plenty of things to do. Financial aid is a big issue and students tend to get very little. Tuition fees are high and rising by approximately another $2000 next academic year. You are only guaranteed housing for the first year of college - when you're no longer a freshman, you have to get your own apartment in the area. Rent is ridiculous (I live in an apartment 20 minutes' walk away and I pay $1300 a month) so most people live further out and commute every day. The biggest controversy this year was that Emerson ran out of housing so a bunch of freshman are living in nearby hotels for the year. Emerson is building more housing which should be ready in... I think 2010.

The best thing about Emerson is definitely it's size. It's small enough that the students get individual attention from their teachers. If anything, I would change the fact that we don't have a campus, but the Boston Common makes up for that! People are genuinely happy for me when I say I go to Emerson, and it's great because I get to spend so much time in the Theater.

Outside of Boston, people have never heard of Emerson. Occasionally someone recognizes it in association with liberal liberal arts schools. In Boston, people usually are familiar with Emerson and assume you're pursuing some crazy career in poetry that will never materialize into any substantial income. Boston is the ultimate college town, but thats not a bad thing. There are plenty of events at other campuses and plenty of students to meet in different schools. Just when you get sick of the Emerson artsy bunch, you can head off to Boston University for some good down time with frat house bros. But at least they recognize that you've been accepted into one of the best schools for starving artists. It's just the right size-- you can make friends and acquaintances without feeling like a face in the crowd, but you don't have to run into your ex-boyfriend on every corner. The administration at Emerson takes pride in the schools reputation. So much so that they spend all their money on expensive new buildings and other, more superficial investments. This isn't the worst thing they could be spending money on, but for students who are paying tens of thousands of dollars to see little pay off, it can be a little frustrating. School pride at Emerson consists of artsy Emerson students hating on artsy Emerson students.

The best thing about Emerson is that people try really hard at what they are doing. That isn't to say that they are talented. But they do think that they are. The majority of people are talented in various forms of art and dabble in a lot of different areas outside of their major. Majors definitely define people. Film majors and theater majors and marketing majors can be seen miles away. The school is small enough to know everyone's friends' but big enough because no one really lives on campus. Something that sucks is that teachers aren't necessarily professors (with doctorates) but are often from the industry that they teach. This is a positive and a negative because they know what they are saying but they don't really know how to say it most of the time. All of the minors and gen eds are pretty ridiculous and not as challenging as any similarly tiered school. It is in the middle of Boston. Yeah, that's awesome. Everyone lives all over the place. People go to each other's apartments a lot. This makes it hard to make friends. If you didn't live in a dorm for a year or two you are pretty much screwed when it comes to making friends unless you are friendly. I don't know much about the clubs. I think the administration is really lazy. I transferred and no one was helpful in the slightest. It's pretty much DIY everything. The dining hall is expensive the food is ok. The dorms are nice but not enough to house that many people. There isn't really school pride. Some people flaunt that they go here but not many. There is little to no racial diversity on campus. Many, many jews and many fallen Christians. Yet everyone identifies as "agnostic". No one is politically conservative.

The best thing about Emerson is that no matter how weird you are, you're never the weirdest one. I could show up to school in a potato sack and a shower cap, and people will still be talking about the girl who glues the strip of mesh over her eyes. When I tell people I go to Emerson, most people either 1) Don't know of the school because it has no sports teams (and the rest of Boston is incredibly sports-centric), so I have to say "you know, that theater school near Suffolk. or 2) Back away, and ask if i'm straight. I don't spend any time on campus because there really is no good congregational space. I'm a commuter, and I don't have a meal plan so I never go in the dining hall. Though there is no hardcore campus scene, it is in a vibrant city filled with culture. You have theater, concerts, sporting events, readings, museums, tastings... tons of stuff to do. Emerson is in one of the biggest college towns- you've got BU, BC, MIT, Suffolk, Berklee, and the MA Institute of Art. So once you're sick of fellow Emersonians, you can always go to some jazz club and find eccentric Berklee kids, or go to a college hockey tournament and find Boston University bro-dudes. And then there's the outskirts of Boston, Allston "rock city." If you don't get housing at Emerson (only 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} do), and love the hipster scene... move here. All-night parties of pot smoking and PBR drinking, Daft Punk dance parties, basement punk shows, everything hipper-than-thou. And this is why the working-class of Boston hates when school is in session. School Pride: There's always mixed feelings about Emerson. Everyone likes to make fun of it, and the hipster scum that attends it. But secretly, everyone that makes fun of it ARE the ones wearing leggings and taking blurry, out of focus, black and white Myspace pictures. They ARE the ones who name-drop obscure literary or film figures. They ARE the ones who love Post-Modernism (or Po-Mo).

I guess I like teachers the best. I haven't been able to bond with a lot of students, maybe 2 or 3 at the most. I feel teachers are understanding and fun. However, I think Emerson is just the right size for someone who likes a lot of attention in the classroom and likes to stand out. classes are toooo big so that no one know who you are or too small to completely stand out. I don't like the whole signing people in to the dorm process...its a little complicated.

Emerson is a get it done yourself school. If you aren't organized, don't bother. You need to be able to figure everything out. People aren't just going to hand opportunities to you. If you go after them, opportunities are everywhere.

Emerson is a very directed, goal oriented school. We are very media- driven and if you don't know exactly what you want to do or at least that you without a doubt want to be in the communications field you may want to consider some other places. It is a pretty small school, with the campus only spanning about a block and a half, which means if there is someone you don't want to see-- you will see them everywhere. It also means that you will almost never have a class of more than 40 students and you won't get classes taught by TA's. Your professors will all know your name and will be more willing to help you if you are having a problem with something. I have found that when talking to people in the media industry, they hear that I go to Emerson and I might as well have said Harvard by how impressed they are, however anyone outside of the industry hears Emerson and says; "that's in Georgia, right?"

Emerson is the perfect school for all the kids who were never jocks in high school, we take pride in what we like to think of as our individuality--the one we share with all the other 3,000 liberal arts majors who go to school with us. When you first come to Emerson, they tell you that you'll be living in the heart of Boston and you will see the city, but most students don't really see much until they move off-campus sophomore or junior year. For some reason most people will stick around the LB and P-Row most of the time with a few trips to the North End, but the real fun of living in Boston begins when you get your own place somewhere in Allston or Central Square. One thing I hate about Emerson, especially as an international student is that they don't give any financial aid to foreigners, and barely any to Americans.

Emerson is a small city school and a lot of the time it is easy to forget you are at college because of the lack of a proper campus. I actually enjoy this aspect of the school because it feels like you are a part of the city, not shut away from it like some college campuses. A lot of students complain about the amount of security faced when entering the buildings (mostly when it comes to having guests) but I think most realize it is a necessary step given our location. Another thing that bugs me about Emerson is the lack of athletic opportunities. I came to college with hopes of getting involved with intermural basketball, however no such program existed. Not only that but there is very little support of comradery behind the school's teams. There seems far more support for the Emerson ethos of being special or different. Many take pride in the fact that Emerson is a bit of a "freak school." This can be both annoying and entertaining.

It is a small school, and if you want your traditional college experience, this school probably isn't right for you. This is a school that caters to the small population of adults graduating high school who have a clear focus. Much of Emerson acts as a microcosm to whatever industry you are studying and hoping to enter after leaving school, and to a wise student it allows you to enter into that industry while still in school and allow you to have a greater sense of security. As with most schools, the professors can be hit or miss here, however if you are one who believes that true learning and education comes from seeking it out yourself, than you can thrive here. If you'd like to sit back and work hard at what is handed to you during your college experience this is really not the right fit for you. If you are a motivated individual who is curious and resourceful, you can really make your education here invaluable.

Emerson is REALLY good for it's education but it lacks in athletics and alot of other things you might look for in a school. The problem right now is that Emerson is pretty much a conservatory looking to become a school. We're kind of in the middle. We are definitely becoming a school though. There isn't much of a campus here that is school property, however we are literally across the street from the Boston Common and the Public Gardens which are more than fun to mess around in during the summer and especially the winter! You can skate and play in the snow and it's awesome. If I had to pick one great thing and one bad thing, I would say that our best thing is our real world education and quality professors and available resources and our worst thing is our lack of athletics. The athletic department, however, is definitely building. We have a new gym and don't let your tour guides tell you otherwise, we DO have an Ice Hockey team!!

Emerson is a good school for the programs it has but it is too small in my opinion not on in physical size, students are always looking for space to have meetings rehearsals etc. and dorm space, but it's student body is too small and not diverse enough. Students at emerson don't get exposed to a wide variety of cultures compared wiht larger campuses. As an off campus, international ethnic student i spend most of my time in the multicultural centre, because it's like home away from home. literally and figuratively speaking. i find other students much like myself and we can relate to each other about similar problems we are having.

The communication within the school is lacking, but the staff is very knowledgeable. The size of the school is rather small but makes it more of a community. Most students live off campus and spend their time in apartments or on the commons hanging out. It's in Boston, which is a great city to live in. Emerson is super liberal and fight the administration on things such as multigender bathrooms since there are a large amount of homosexuals on campus.