College Knowledge: Furman University

Furman University is a local liberal arts college located in Greenville. An outstanding campus, prestigious scholars and a busy, entertaining campus life cause many people to look towards Furman as a place to enjoy their college experience.

Furman was founded in 1826, and since then they have grown tremendously into a beautiful 750-acre campus packed with fountains, walking paths and a wide variety of students, campus activities and educational studies.

The core beliefs of the university are to value diversity, to care for each person in every way, to involve the surrounding community, to strive towards excellence in everything and to appreciate where Furman all started. Every student that attends gets the Furman Advantage, a program created by the school to ensure that life during and after their college experience is better because of the fact that they chose to study at Furman University.

English teacher Emily Hendricks attended Furman to get her Masters in education and says that the connections Furman provided have benefitted her in life after school.

“The networking that Furman provided helped tremendously after school,” Hendricks said. “The businesses they’re connected with, along with all of the Furman alumni, really connected me and was very beneficial.”

The financial component in committing to Furman, or any school, is a big consideration and often times the deciding factor between two schools. The 2017-2018 annual cost of attendance rounded to $65,000, including tuition, housing, meal plans and books. However, Furman provides many scholarships for students in need of financial support.

“While Furman is quite expensive, there are benefits because of the networking you receive from being a Furman alumni,” Hendricks said. “While on campus, you can tell that you’re getting what you paid for. The campus is beautiful, all facilities are well kept and everything is pretty new, and the education you receive is well worth it.”

Furman University has a wide variety of majors and minors to accommodate anything a student may be interested in; from majors in education and neuroscience to minors in film studies and poverty studies, students have a well-rounded list to decide from. The school provides many counselors and faculty that will walk alongside students, helping them choose what the best career path may be and what classes need to be taken in order to ensure that the student receives the best major-based education possible.

Although academics are of the utmost importance when choosing a college, the campus life plays a major role in how enjoyable the experience is while studying there.

“There are a lot of choices and organizations for students that are attending,” Hendricks said. “There’s everything from D1 sports to religious groups and events that are put on for the students.”

Furman University is a very diverse and well-rounded campus for anyone who is looking for a small school with a safe, fun campus and connections that reach beyond the time spent studying at Furman. Furman Alumni are very reliable on each other, as well as seen to be prestigious and determined people in the workforce, which helps with jobs and life after degrees.