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Great and Getting Better

Emory is completely replacing all of the old freshman dorms with new freshman dorms. Four new buildings have gone up in the last three years and they're all gorgeous. The newest dorm, Longstreet-Means, has a fireplace and looks more like a ski lodge than a dorm. I lived in one of the new freshman dorms, Few Hall, as a freshman and it was incredible. Another cool thing is that all of the new dorms are LEED certified green buildings. The worst Freshman dorm, Dobbs, has tiny rooms, but as the oldest dorm on campus and has a lot of character. The residents love it for the open-door culture and really tight-knit community.

There's a little bit of a sophomore slump in terms of on-campus housing, but sophomores get a lot of options including Greek housing, suite-style rooms, apartment-style housing, and recently renovated dorms. The sorority lodges are only a few years old and are really nice. The frat houses get a lot more abuse but are large and well maintained by the university.

As an upperclassman, you can live on Clairmont Campus with apartment-style housing. The Clairmont Campus is on the other side of Lullwater park, so it's a 5 minute bike ride or 15 minute walk to main campus, which can be a bit of an inconvenience in a pinch, but Cliff shuttle buses run ever few minutes so it's not usually a problem. The student activity center and outdoor olympic-sized pool are a lot of fun to hang out at.

Lots of Rules, Lax Enforcement

Emory administrators love to create rules, but in reality, many of these rules don't get enforced or don't have a big impact on students. When it comes to drinking and drug use, you won't get caught unless you make an ass of yourself. If you do get caught, the punishments are not too severe... usually just a slap on the wrist. The exception to this is the honor code which students take very seriously, but it's the students who enforce the honor code, not the school administration.

Very Safe.

Emory's in a very safe area of Atlanta. White collar crime (i.e. theft) is probably the biggest issue, especially during finals. But if you're smart about your personal belongings, theft isn't an issue. Physical safety is almost a non-issue on Emory's campus.

Lots of Cheap Options, Lots of Unique Food.

There are a lot of cheap fast food options near campus if you're looking for some late night grub, yet Atlanta also has a lot of really great one-of-a-kind establishments like Vortex, Bones, Fox Brothers BBQ... the list goes on.