Emory University Top Questions

Emory's academic life is tough. It's certainly tougher than I thought it would be, and I came from a prestigious college-prep high school. People are nice and work hard, and generally are focused both on school and on at least one activity out of school. My favorite class was Civil Liberties, because both the content and the professor were great. The size, however, is conducive to having a lot of course options than one would find at a small liberal-arts college, but these classes are smaller than they would be at a larger school. I'm a Poli Sci and French Studies double major. Poli Sci is a popular major, and it's been tough but rewarding. I've genuinely enjoyed most of my classes. A couple were bad though. My French classes, especially in upper levels, have been very small (7-10 people) which has been great. I like having a mix of lecture and discussion-based classes. I think the distribution requirements (GERs) are okay. The administration recently made them easier to fulfill which has been a huge help. The education here is based towards pre-professionals, but there are also a significant number of people who are interested in learning for its own sake. Most people are a mix of the two; they want to take courses that interest them but they also want job security. The most unique class I took was a religion class where we went on a "pilgrimage" to Martin Luther King's burial site. We walked several miles on a Saturday morning, and I got a lot out of it.

Again, many classes are rich. The professors have the time to give written exams--that is, essay and short answer based exams. I have never had a Scantron graded exam at Oxford College. Also, the math department does not allow calculators in Calculus or any other classes other than Statistics. The introductory Political Science class is actually Political Philosophy--as opposed to American Government, which most schools use as their POLS 101, Emory College included. The class begins with Sophocles and ends with Shakespeare if I remember correctly--and the exams all have an essay component.

I know my professors by name and if you have potential you won't be overlooked.

I have had really great relationships with all of my professors. My general chemistry professor and organic chemistry professor both went out of each's way to learn every student's name. These classes had between 100-150 students per section. I think most professors are that eager to know their students. However, it is the student's responsibility to take the iniciative and visit office hours to really foster a relationship. Students can be pretty competitive in the pre-med courses, but usually the other classes are laid back. Class participation is essential for most classes. The small classes give participation grades usually, while big classes usually have some sort of electronic answering devices that allow teachers to give impromptu quizzes for participation points. I have not been in a lecture where the professor does not throw questions out for the students to answer. Emory just finished revamping their general education requirements. They are must better now (more general requirements).

Having spent the first two years of my college experience at Oxford College of Emory, I have found that the academic environment of the school can be very enjoyable yet demanding. At Oxford,classes are very small and student participation in all aspects of the class is required. I have come to know many of my professors well, and I have really enjoyed a number of classes. As an English Major, I have a taken many classes in that department, and I love every professor with whom I have taken a class. They are all very engaging, and they have shown me how literature connects me to the world. Even in the subject areas that I do not particularly enjoy, I have found that professors are very enthusiastic about their work, and they have always conveyed their enthusiasm to me as a student.

The amount students studies varies: some pull epic marathons of all-nighters go into the final exams/midterms week and others will only study a few hours before each test. Small classes have more class participation. There is a lot of intellectual conversation outside of class and sometimes groups of friends may talk hours on an issue. Students are competitive at Emory, but make a great attempt to hide it (and they succeed very well at doing it). Majors include...classics, philosophy, astrophysics... classics and philosophy are excellent departments and I have enjoyed taking their courses. The math and physics departments offer vigourous courses also and very challenging in which to get As. The grading scale has A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc... with A = 4.0 and A- = 3.7 and B+ = 3.3, etc... For those who wish to maintain a 4.0, such is very impropable and impractical: the Rhodes Scolars from Emory tended to have GPA's between 3.9 and 3.95

It's really not all that difficult to get to know your professors here. They are usually all very inviting when it comes to office hours and they want you to try to become familiar with them. I remember one actually saying in lecture once, "Please come by for office hours. If you don't come I'll spend 3 hours sitting at my desk doing chem problems... I have candy... I'll give you candy."

Excellent. There are so many phenomenal professors and classes, that it is impossible to experience them all. Some are less interesting than others, but on the whole, I definitely feel like I am getting my (parent's) money's worth. I was enrolled in the Undergrad Business school for one semester and hated it. The classes were extremely competitive and the environment was not one that fostered learning. It was one that emphasized the importance of internships and jobs AFTER college. There was no here and now and the core classes had nothing to do with developing a love for learning. It was all about the money. Terrible. I couldn't stand it. It was not for me.

All my professors knew my name even in my bigger classes of 60 students. Favorite and least favorite classes really depend 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} on the teacher. I learned that early this year that getting a good teacher is very very important. Students will study a lot to prepare themselves but I wouldnt say it is competitive. My freshman seminar was the History of Money. Education at Emory is geared toward getting a broad introduction into many subjects and beyond that it is up to the student.

hard as hell