Sure, there are a lot of gay guys. There are a lot of hipsters. But, the thing about Emerson is that it doesn't really matter who you are here. You can be anything and you will still be accepted by the student body.

Most of your professors will know your name. Because of the nature of the school, "studying" is more often going to take the form of directing a play or film or creating a marketing strategy. But students work hard. The professors are very acessible. I took a class on Sex Comedy. We studied films like Animal House! Students are extremely competitive. Whether it's more practical or intellectual is kind of up to you - there are both ends of the spectrum. The math, science, and language requirements are slack to nonexistent, but you do have a well-balanced plate of liberal arts, which is nice. A lot of the arts schools I looked at seemed to dispense with that altogether, but I managed to minor in psychology.

I was very miserable at Emerson until my senior year I travelled abroad. That changed everything. Students at Emerson seem to be a lot happier if they begin there and end there. If you join in the middle like I did, it is a lot harder to adjust because the school doesn't emphasize the importance of transfer students being happily involved. If you do go to Emerson, do not spend every semester in Boston. Please go to the Kasteel, LA or Prague. The world is too big and exciting to stay in one place the entire time. If you can, go to two of them. They are all amazing programs. After graduating, I have gone against liberalism because of how strong it is at Emerson. If you do not have strong political beliefs before Emerson, you will leave with some. You will get obsessed with causes to the point of it taking of your life...or you will be one of the few, like me, who went to the completely opposite side. Emerson is VERY pretentious, yes, but not everyone is as bad as that 25%. There are some awesome, normal, intelligent people who go to our school. Not everyone is an artsy dodge ball target, I swear! And yes, it is true that musical theatre majors sing in the elevators, in the hallways alllllll the time! Again, I am one person and not everyone at Emerson feels the way I do, so I apologize if what I say is offensive or not helpful.

One thing I definitely feel strongly about is that Emerson changes you as a person, and definitely in a good way. This college nurtures your talents and makes you become a more confident and independent person. Not only have I become more social, but I've never felt more sure of my career path or myself as a person. Also, and I really need to add this, I'm especially grateful to Emerson for giving me a sense of style :)

Just a warning - you will have to take some classes during summer because for whatever the reason they aren't offered during the year (at least in the Prof. Studies program) and that just isn't fun at all. They're shorter more intense sessions and require A LOT out of you. My advice: be mentally prepared if you have to take one and make sure your friends/significant other knows to take care of you during that time period. When I said it was intense, I mean INTENSE. Also, I believe that whatever you bring in yourself to the school is what you'll get out of it, only enhanced. Especially if you're creative, don't hold back at all no matter what class you're in. I promise something in any class with spark something inside you. This place is that good.

If you aren't sure what you want and want to wildly experiment, Emerson is not the school for you. But if you've been writing/performing/filming since you could sit up on your own, welcome to the Emerson Mafia.

I really can't think of a better place for me to be. I've never EVER thought of transferring.

If you're looking for a party school with a happening campus and something fun to do anytime, don't come to Emerson. However, if you're looking for an intimate, interactive, down-to-business liberal arts school where everyone is equally passionate about their careers, where you build close and trust-based relationships and networks, and where your social life is whatever you make it, then you'll love it here.

I'd just like to say that Emerson was my fourth college to attend. I had transfered so many times because I had some traumatic events take place in my life and just couldn't find a school that I felt accepted me as a person. The first day at orientation, I knew Emerson was the right fit for me. None of the students or faculty prejudged me or tried to shove their views down my throat. There was really no category that a student gets lumped into other than his or her major, and even then it's not like the students with other majors aren't going to be friends with you. For any art student who has ever felt out of place, this is the school where you will be nurtured into an amazing artist!

You aren't truly going to Emerson if you don't engage in extracurricular activities. Many claim that they learn more from these than they do actual classes. They provide many students - especially film - with the hands on experience that they don't receive initially starting out. It's a great way to make friends, and lots of activities will earn you non-tuition credit. The EVVYs (an entirely student run awards show) in particular are a great way to get involved - nearly everyone in the school participates in them, so it's a great way to meet people, and it looks really good on the resume. Extracurricular activities also provide students with lots of opportunities for networking - I've heard of countless students who have gotten summer internships and even jobs through people they've met and worked with at the EVVYs. I myself am on two literary magazines, and have made lots of friends and gained lots of experience from being on both.

The film groups on campus are big, Frames Per Second being the biggest. There are also many comedy groups. There are dance groups ranging from tap, hip-hop, ballet, and modern. I am a part of Emerson Dance Company which is all student choreography and is lots of fun. If you live in the Little Building people leave their doors open and you get to know everyone on your floor. From my experience this is the better dorm because it is more home-y and you can actually go to the common room and hang out with people. The other dorm Piano Row is all suites and everyone stays in their suite. Therefore you never meet anyone. I didn't know the people who lived across from me until I went to the Castle with them. If you live on campus you will hang out in a floor common room or a suite common room. Or you will just roam the streets of Boston looking for food (NYP is a frequent for late night snacks). Athletics are not popular but they do exist. Theater is huge, go see all the performances. If you don't want to drink just roam Boston and Harvard Square, see lots of movies. There are lots of party on the weekends in Allston as well as in Brookline and the North End.

Emerson is really an awesome school. It is in the heart of Boston, a great location and a perfect size. Whenever I tell someone I go to Emerson they are very impressed. My mother went here and she tells all her friends that I am going there and they say that it is quite the accomplishment.

Many students are smokers and some are homosexuals but not everyone.

Every single one of them. All the girls dress like Mary-Kate olsen (leggings and giant bags/sunglasses), read Nylon, and listen to the Shins. All the boys wear tighter jeans than the girls, and drink PBR / Miller High Life, have combovers, and oh, are super-gay.

I don't know. I lived off campus and liked to keep my social life outside of Emerson. I think there are a fair amount of students that do that as well.

Just a warning - you will have to take some classes during summer because for whatever the reason they aren't offered during the year (at least in the Prof. Studies program) and that just isn't fun at all. They're shorter more intense sessions and require A LOT out of you. My advice: be mentally prepared if you have to take one and make sure your friends/significant other knows to take care of you during that time period. When I said it was intense, I mean INTENSE. Also, I believe that whatever you bring in yourself to the school is what you'll get out of it, only enhanced. Especially if you're creative, don't hold back at all no matter what class you're in. I promise something in any class with spark something inside you. This place is that good.

I can't lie to the kids coming here. i knew nothing about the school other than what i recieved by mail and online before i arrived. Overall i'm not upset about my choice of school. but it is a very different college life to that compared to larger campuses, so be prepared. if media is what your interested in you are in the right place so have no fear :)

The Emerson activities are next to non-existent. The "film society," Films on the Margin, doesn't even screen actual film prints -- just DVDs. Don't bother, its an absolute waste of time.

Most of the classes are small enough that your professors will know you by name, even if you don't talk a lot. For most of the general education classes, the professors aren't going to be older than you by much (grad school students), so since they're young, they try to make the classes fun and interesting. Not to say that the older professors don't make things interesting... The classes at Emerson are very atypical, in that they are very geared towards the arts and your major (this could be trouble if you ever plan to transfer out, which one hopes you wouldn't). Emerson is very devoted to gearing its students toward getting jobs or internships, so while math and science classes are required general education courses, it's easy to get those waivered. They want you to focus on your major instead of worrying too much about silly math and science (I say "silly" because like most Emerson kids, I hate math and science). Don't quote me on this, but Emerson supposedly has the highest job placement in the entire country. People hire Emerson kids because they know what they're doing.