Kaplan college guide labels Emory as 'Hot'

By Eric Rangus erangus@emory.edu

It’s official: Emory’s hot. Not in temperature, either, although that is often the case.

Hot as in hip, happenin’, trendy and, perhaps most importantly, a school that is being viewed among academics and prospective students as an elite national institution.

Emory is one of nine universities named as “Hot Schools” by the Kaplan/Newsweek special publication How to Get Into College, which hit newsstands Aug. 13. The educational and career services company and the news magazine team each year to produce the publication, which features in-depth articles on many aspects of the college experience.

One of those features identifies a small group of school that are on the rise nationally—the “Hot Schools.”

Joining Emory on the hot list are: the Franklin Olin College of Engineering, Hampshire College, Oberlin College, Tulane University, the University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, Vassar College and Wesleyan University.

The list is overwhelmingly private (Michigan is the sole public school) and eastern (Tulane, in New Orleans, is the westernmost school).

The article’s authors, John Schwartz and Nadine Joseph, freely admit that their list is unscientific, but schools named do share some telltale characteristics.

It helps to be in or close to a vibrant city (such as Atlanta). Application rates should be higher than the national average. A distinctive strength, such as Emory’s medical school, helps a “hot school” stand out. So does presence in the national news (take, for instance, the Deborah Lipstadt libel trial). All of those qualities helped Emory make the cut.

There are other reasons, too.

“Emory has, in recent years, undergone a building spree,” Newsweek Senior Editor David Kaplan told CNN’s Leon Harris the day the guide was released. “There’s obviously a lot of money in the Emory endowment because of Coca-Cola. It, along with schools like Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tulane in New Orleans [and] Duke in North Carolina, have become popular in part because they’re away from some of the rush and perceived competition of the Northeast; a little slower, a little more genteel being in the South, but obviously first-rate institutions.”

“I am pleased by the recognition for Emory,”said Provost Woody Hunter. “ As an Emory parent, I know firsthand that the educational opportunities for Emory College students are among the best in the nation.” Hunter’s daughter Emily graduated from Emory College in 1998.

“During the 12 years I served as law school dean, large numbers of our strongest applicants and best-prepared students were graduates of Emory College,” he said. “It does not surprise me that Emory would be named one of the ‘hot’ schools.”

The guide focuses on the challenges not only of getting into college, but the difficulties students face once they reach campus. It explores how technology is changing university life and includes a detailed directory of schools, featuring tuition rates, admissions requirements, campus demographics and other statistics.

How to Get Into College retails for $7.95 and is available on newsstands.