u/HJECG

I just finished my freshman year at a liberal arts college in the northeast, and I have been admitted to Emory as a transfer student for fall.

I am curious as to why people in this sub think Emory has such a negative reputation in terms of students having fun and having a social life. It seems like maybe students don’t really feel like there is a cohesive campus culture. I understand that Emory doesn’t have football or any of that, but plenty of schools don’t have a big sports culture, but they don’t have Emory’s reputation for being, well, kind of a dull place to go to school, aside from the city of Atlanta having a lot of stuff to do, I also don’t think this reputation stems from the fact that Emory is academically demanding. Again, there are other very academically demanding schools that have a really strong reputation for being a great social experience for students in addition to being a great academic one.

I am not trying to slam Emory. I obviously think the school has a lot to recommend it or I wouldn’t have applied. But I am worried about the pretty consistent information, reviews, and comments online about Emory being a school where it’s difficult to develop a social life.

I’d love to get people’s thoughts on this. I have to make a my decision by the end of next week.

I know that Greek life is big at Vandy, and it’s known as a very fun campus culture with a lot of school spirit. Is it possible to have an active social life at Vanderbilt without joining a sorority or fraternity? Are there campus events and student parties that aren’t Greek dominated? Are students who don’t go Greek in any way thought less of when it comes to the social scene?

Thanks a bunch to anyone who wants to chime in on these questions.

I was waitlisted at Vandy, my first choice school, and I want to do whatever I can to maximize my chances of getting off the waitlist. I know that submitting a letter of continued interest is recommended, but I am unclear what I can say in it beyond that I really want to go to Vanderbilt. I didn’t submit my application until March 15, so everything that I had done up until that date in terms of academics and ECs was in my application. I don’t have anything new to add since it’s only been about 7 weeks since I submitted my application.

Can anyone suggest any ideas that are maybe outside the box for writing a compelling LOCI since I don’t really have any updates to my academic work or activities in the last 7 weeks? I know that I will need to submit my grades for this semester, but I won’t have those for a couple of weeks, and I need to get this LOCI written.

Also, how do schools prefer to receive an LOCI? As an email? Or should it be a letter with my actual signature attached as a PDF to an email? And to whom should I send it?

I know these are a ton of questions. Thanks to anyone who is willing to help me out by answering any of them.

TLDR; Mounjaro seems to have made a very positive difference for my LC symptoms, but now my insurance has cut off coverage, so I need to find a reputable provider of compounded GLP1s. Seeking help with that.

I am a Long COVID patient who has been severely symptomatic since catching COVID in September of 2020. Overnight I went from being a very healthy, fit, and active person to someone who has been absolutely knocked flat by a multitude of symptoms. COVID also left me with very symptomatic POTS, so I deal with all the POTS symptoms as well.

I have been to several Long COVID clinics around the country since I got sick, but no one has ever really had much to offer me in terms of treatment beyond basic things like advising me to pace myself, rest, and eat nutritious foods. I’ve tried many things that other Long COVID patients have said help them, ranging from LDN to various supplements. Nothing made a difference.

As a result of being so sick, meaning I’ve been almost entirely sedentary for the last almost six years, I gained 80lbs, by far and away the heaviest I’d ever been in my life. This obviously made me feel very demoralized, plus I knew that it was extremely unhealthy. When my blood work came back about 6.5 months ago showing that I was prediabetic for the first time in my life, my doctor prescribed Mounjaro for me. I have now been on the medication for the last 6 months, and it’s been great. I’ve had no side effects, and I’ve lost 40lbs.

What has also happened, which has amazed me, and was very unexpected is that I have felt much, much better - better than I have since developing LC and POTS. To be clear, I am still not all better or anything. I still have a lot of very bad fatigue, and POTS means that I have classic issues with, well, gravity and being upright essentially. However, most of my weirder Long COVID symptoms - all the stuff that so many of us discuss in this group - are gone. I am now able to take walks around our neighborhood, drive again, see people socially, and be a much better wife and mom. Although it could obviously be a complete coincidence that my improvements began within the first few weeks after I started the GLP1, after six months of feeling so much better, I am not willing to risk reversing my improvements by stopping the drug.

Unfortunately, now that I have lost 40 lbs of the 80 I gained due to Long COVID, my insurance company had suddenly denied further coverage of Mounjaro because I am no longer prediabetic. My doctor appealed, but his appeal was denied. Since brand name Mounjaro is outrageously expensive, I can’t pay for it out of pocket, meaning I need to order the compounded version (Tirzepatide) online. However, I am absolutely overwhelmed with trying to figure out which online providers of compounded GLP1s are reputable, because there are literally dozens of not hundreds of sites that advertise compounded GLP1s.

Can any other Long COVID patients that have used or are using a compounded GLP1 tell me which sellers are recommended, and which ones to avoid?

Thanks.