Want to study and play rugby at one of the most gorgeous campuses in the nation? Look no further than Furman University, one of the U.S.’s premier undergraduate liberal arts (ranked #53 National Liberal Arts Colleges) colleges featuring a fully funded USA Rugby D2 varsity rugby program. Furman is a private, coeducational university located in Greenville, SC about 2 hours from Charlotte, NC. With just 2,797 undergraduate students, Furman is known for its community based atmosphere, nationally acclaimed campus beauty and 79%four-yearr graduation rate.
Furman, dubbed the “Country Club of the South,” has a 750-acre campus that features an Asian garden, a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin, a Florentine bell tower, a spring-fed lake, 13 miles of paved trails through the woodlands and an 18-hole golf course. It is no wonder that 96% of students live on campus. Make no bones about it, this is a challenging academic institution and those looking to cruise through college need not apply!
RUGBY
Founded in 1998, the Furman Rugby program is widely considered to be one of the very best small college rugby programs in the nation. The program has compiled an incredible 178-61-1 record, and captured three Division III national championships in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and finished runner up in 2007 and 2008. In 2017, the team completed a remarkable season by compiling a record of 13-1 and finishing runner-up in USA Rugby’s Men’s Division 2.
Former Head Coach John Roberts, who helped found the team and led them to years of success, has recently left the program. New Head Coach Mike Miller has taken over the reins. Miller was an assistant coach under Roberts for 3 years and also acted as the head coach for the Furman 7s side.
The team actively recruits new additions to their program each year. The Paladin varsity rugby team provides scholarships for rugby athletes and with over $400,000 in rugby endowment money to spend over the next four year, some talented athletes may garner over six figures worth of scholarship money over four years! Other merit scholarships can also be awarded to stand out applicants. Scholarship applicants need to fill out a separate application.
ACADEMICS
In 2014, The Daily Beast (a division of Newsweek) ranked Furman as one of the most rigorous programs (ranked above the usual suspects such as Columbia, Dartmouth and Stanford), applicants must possess a very strong academic record not only gain admission, but to ensure their success. Furman is proud of its realistic approach to college admissions and has made the standardized test optional and instead relies on interviews with hopeful applicants.
In 2016, 65% of applicants were accepted. While this is somewhat of a higher acceptance rate than at most “highly selective” schools, the high achieving applicant pool demonstrates that this data may not accurately reflect just how competitive it is to get into Furman (45% of the applicants were in the top 10% of their class). The typical freshman enrollee has a middle 50% ACT composite score between 25-31, and the middle 50% SAT composite score is between 1110-1210.
The most popular majors include business administration, political science, health sciences, biology, and history. Chemistry and psychology are strong, too. Furman’s academic climate is challenging. “Furman students all understand that the courses are difficult and seem to commiserate with one another,” says one junior. Fifty-eight percent of classes taken by freshmen have fewer than 20 students, helping students get to know faculty members well. “I think the quality of teaching is exceptional,” says one senior. “All classes are taught by professors, and only a handful of labs are taught by teachers’ assistants.” The Furman Advantage program helps fund research fellowships and teaching assistantships for more than 120 students a year. Furman is extremely proud that 96% of graduates are successfully placed within 6 months (successful placement is defined as either enrolling in professional school, graduate school or in their career choice).
Students are required to fill out the Common Application, plus Furman’s own supplemental questions. Apply via the Common Application.
FINANCIAL
The average Cost of Attendance is $63,706 (including tuition, room & board and other fees); which can be comparable to many other colleges’ cost (when you factor in the potential athletic scholarship and other merit money available to applicants).
“Furman may call itself a university, but its educational approach is closer to that of a liberal arts college, emphasizing problem solving, projects, and experience-based learning. Two decades after severing its religious ties, the school continues to evolve, drawing more academically capable students from increasingly diverse backgrounds” Fiske Guide to Colleges note.
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