Emerson College

Boston, MA

Emerson is focused on the performing arts, communications, marketing, and media. It is not a general liberal arts school, but rather a pre-professional school for those areas of study.

It's very urban, with classrooms and dorms scattered in buildings within a few-block area. Although it has no green space of its own, it is located directly across the street from the Boston Commons, so students can have a place to be outdoors, see trees, etc.

There is a housing shortage, and this year quite a few students had to be housed in hotels. Currently they are building two new dorms. Next year first and second year students will all be required to live on campus. After that students typically live off campus.

There are frats and sororities, but they are not housed.

They have a new student center that is nice. The small gym and workout facilities in that building were for athletes only, and they didn't show us the workout facilities for non-athletes.

There are 3,000 undergrads. The students were very artsy. They are also coastal - primarily coming from east or west coast - few from Midwest.

Performing arts is the most competitive program, particularly for the BFA degrees in Acting and Musical Theater. Film is the second most competitive.