Campus News
August 22, 2011
Class of 2015 hits campus
A time-lapse video captures the choreography of the freshmen class photo on the Quad.
By Beverly Clark
The Class of 2015 is now in session with the arrival of nearly 1,800 first-year students to the Emory College of Arts and Sciences and Oxford College.
Emory College welcomed 1,357 freshmen to campus for fall semester, chosen from a highly selective and diverse pool of 17,027 applicants.
"Students choose Emory because they know they will receive an exceptional education that will prepare them for whatever career and life paths they may choose to pursue after their graduation," says Emory College Dean Robin Forman.
The class hails from 48 states and beyond, with 13 percent of the students (both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens) representing 31 countries outside of the United States. About 34 percent of the class hails from the Southeast, 22 percent from the Mid-Atlantic region and the rest spread among the West, Southwest, Midwest and New England. Nearly two-thirds of the class comes from public schools.
Academically, the freshman class earned an average, unweighted GPA range from 3.78-4.0 in high school. Their SAT scores range from 1320-1510 for the combined critical reading and math sections. The number of students for whom Emory is the top choice also remained high: Early decision applicants make up 39 percent of the class.
"At the core of an Emory education is a true liberal arts experience. Our undergraduates get to work with and learn from outstanding faculty who are both prominent scholars and gifted and dedicated teachers and mentors," Forman says.
Emory also provides research opportunities in the sciences and humanities for its undergraduates to study with top faculty across the University, and access to newer interdisciplinary programs such as those in predictive health, media management and new minors in sustainability and development studies. The city of Atlanta also gives students distinctive options for community service (more than 90 percent of students volunteer), internships and hands-on scholarship.
"Our faculty are committed to creating transformative intellectual experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom, that help our students discover their life's passion and work, learn to think deeply and critically and gain the knowledge they need to make a difference in the world," Forman says.
The Emory College Class of 2011's annual senior survey found that 83 percent reported they had definitive post-graduation plans in place, with either a job or acceptance to a graduate or professional school program in hand when they graduated last May. Ninety-five percent of seniors provided information about their plans.
"Our strong record of success in transitioning our students into challenging and rewarding jobs across a wide variety of industries, and into the very top graduate schools and professional programs, also is a key attraction for students," Forman says.
Oxford College
Oxford College welcomes an entering class of about 450, who were drawn from a record number of applicants. Oxford's total enrollment of approximately 945 is also its largest ever. The first-year students come from 369 high schools in 38 states and 20 nations; 67 percent come from outside Georgia.
"Each fall, about 20 percent of the freshman class enrolls on the Oxford campus," says Oxford Dean Stephen Bowen. "They defer for their freshman and sophomore years the dynamic, high energy Atlanta campus in favor of the small, intimate Oxford community. They are attracted to small classes, freshman and sophomore leadership programs, the diversity of the Oxford student body, and the chance to be part of a community in which everyone knows almost everyone else."
Students who complete the first two years of the Emory bachelor's degree in Oxford's liberal arts intensive program are automatically enrolled as juniors in Emory College, or they may compete with others to enter the Goizueta Business School or the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.
"Offering students a choice of two distinctive programs lets Emory attract a more intellectually diverse student body and creates a richer community when the Oxford students join their classmates on the Atlanta campus as juniors," Bowen says.
