Autumn 2008
Dynamic Class: Oxford College welcomes 401 first-year students.
Jon Rou
Welcome Class of 2012
Emory and Oxford enroll their most diverse and selective classes yet
Heather Emery
Emory College Class of 2012 at a glance
17,446 applicants
(2,078 more than last year)
26.6% acceptance rate
1,299 enrolled
52% female
3.82 average admitted unweighted GPA
1395 average admitted SAT
31 average admitted ACT
44.7% Caucasian
8.7% African American
3.5% Hispanic / Latino
30.6% Asian
0.5% Native American
11.8% Unknown / Not reported
38% from the South
(19.6 percent from Georgia)
24 % from the Mid-Atlantic
9% from the Midwest
8% from the West
6% from New England
6% from the Southwest
9.7% are International, with 25 countries represented
By Mary J. Loftus
When she was accepted to Emory College’s Class of 2012, Heather Emery 12C became part of the most selective first-year class in the University’s history. But she had already faced a challenge far more difficult—and critical—than gaining acceptance to an elite college.
Emery battled bone cancer throughout her sophomore year at Norcross High School, missing nearly the entire first semester while receiving a double stem-cell transplant at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
She was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in April 2005. After chemotherapy and radiation, preparations for a double stem-cell transplant wiped out her immune system so thoroughly that she had to be revaccinated with all of her childhood immunizations.
Emery was in the hospital October and November 2005 and was released December 12—the day before she turned sixteen: “I’ve found that when you decide to do something and push yourself, you can find a way to do it.”
After returning to high school, she continued with extracurricular activities such as color guard, flute in the wind symphony, Students against Drunk Driving, and the Gwinnett County Relay for Life. Emery graduated not only on time, but twentieth in her class of 551.
Selecting Emory was “a tough decision,” because Emery also was offered a full ride to a small, prestigious public university in South Carolina.
“But Emory has always been my dream school,” says Emery, who laughingly acknowledges the coincidence of her last name. “I loved the campus, and the people I met, the faculty and advisers, seemed like they would go out of their way to help. At many other schools, it seems like you’re a tiny little fish. Emory has a different approach.”
Emory College received a record number of applicants this year, up 13.5 percent from last year.