College of Wooster
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Business Economics
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Straight Male
Summary
I’m a member of Greek life, I’m part of the Investment Club, and I used to be part of some multicultural organizations. I dropped those because of my course load, and junior year getting harder in terms of studies.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Private high school in Southern India with a graduating class of about 90 students. Out of 90 students, about 20 are now studying in the U.S. or abroad.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Business Economics
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m a member of Greek life, I’m part of the Investment Club, and I used to be part of some multicultural organizations. I dropped those because of my course load, and junior year getting harder in terms of studies.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
I’d say Greek life definitely had a big impact on my development as a person. The Investment Club did as well because it applies directly to what I want to do when I graduate. It’s been a wonderful experience so far.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your Business Economics major?
It really depends on the professor you get. The workload is usually tough during specific times, kind of like a business cycle. You have one or two weeks without a lot to do, but then there will be that one week where you’ll have a lot of work to turn in for you Economics courses. The two weeks where you don’t have a lot of work, you have to do your readings and keep up with the material that’s being taught in class. Some classes like to combine assignments and give you one or two big assignments to work on throughout the semester.
Is there anything you feel the Business Economics department does especially well or poorly?
All the professors I’ve had except one or two have been incredible. They’ve been amazing to work with, and are very helpful. When it comes to tests, you have to go beyond what you learned in the course to develop your own ideas. I really like that about the courses, because it makes you work. It’s not just learning and spitting it out. What I do not like about it is sometimes the professors tend to be unorganized. It makes sense because they have so much going on, but then it becomes more work on my side. I have to figure out how to navigate around the course.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
From what I’ve seen, it’s extremely collaborative. I’ve heard from my friends at other colleges, and they tell me that nobody is willing to help them out because they’re all competing for the grade. Here, people just want to learn, and there’s no real competition in the courses. The professor will never say that only one person in the class can get an A because then there would be competition. They tell the students what they expect and what they want you to learn by the end of the course.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
Entrepreneurship and Macro Economics. They were incredibly interesting, and a lot of the material we learned we had to apply. For Entrepreneurship, we had to make projects and surveys. It was hands-on work.
How was transitioning from your school in India to the College of Wooster academically?
Academically it was a little challenging. The education system back home is really different. Back home, you didn’t have a GPA system, and ultimately the tests are what mattered. Here, if you do badly your first semester it tags along with you, bringing you down the rest of college. You also have a lot of other things besides the exams that matter like homework. Besides that, I feel like the learning here is more application based. Back home, I’d have to study and regurgitate textbooks.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
Computer Science. I thought it was pretty boring, and the professor wasn’t great.
Reasons to Attend
1) The academics are really good compared to what I’ve seen my friends studying back home. You end up learning a lot beyond your major, and it adds a couple of dimensions to your personality.
2) Being part of a small campus allows you to develop close friendships with a lot of people.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s too small and you tend to get bored.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: First semester in Bornheutter Hall, and second semester in Babcock Hall in a single.
Sophomore: Douglass Hall in a single.
Junior: Miller Manor, which is a house on campus.
What has been your favorite living situation so far?
In Miller right now because I have the whole room to myself. I have a couple of friends living in the house, so they’re always around and you aren’t by yourself all the time. It’s also really close to my classes, so I can be there in two minutes.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I haven’t experienced anything bad. Occasionally some people from the town drive through the main road, roll down their window, and scream. It doesn’t happen too frequently, but it does happen. It’s not actually a risk to anyone’s safety.
How was transitioning from Southern India to Wooster, OH in terms of location?
It wasn’t as big of a transition as you’d think. My family traveled a lot, so I was already exposed to a lot of different cultures. After coming here, it was a change, but not as much as most students that come from abroad experience.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I have a lot of friends with cars, so we’ll drive around and sometimes go to Cleveland or nearby towns. On-campus, there is nightlife, and there are house parties happening, but for some of them you need to know people to get in. This will end up happening because freshman year you meet a lot of people and it’s not that big of a campus. There’s always something going on, and there are clubs and organizations running events. I enjoyed the parties my freshman and sophomore year, but my third year they became consistently similar. You go to the same place, see the same people, and see the same things happen again.
What have been some of your favorite times at Wooster.
There have been nights where I’ve stayed up with friends pretty much the entire night going around campus, chilling in our rooms, and partying a little bit. I can’t pinpoint one thing as my favorite, but just all the little things that happen with your friends.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met some of them through my orientation, through Greek life, and classes. You’ll meet new people every year, and the campus environment is always changing.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Wooster?
It’s really mixed. There is some level of toxicity in the social environment because it’s so small, and everybody knows everybody. If somebody does something, a lot of people find out about it. Besides that, I think the social environment is pretty welcoming, and people are friendly.
To what extent do you feel international students mix with domestic students?
They mix pretty well. There are groups of just international students that get along better because they have cultural similarities, but in general I’ve seen mixed friend groups. I know groups of friends that are extremely diverse, and I’ve seen groups that are mostly American or international.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It’s not required to join Greek life at this college. It’s nice to be part of it, but there’s no real impact on social life because I think only about [13%] of the campus is Greek. They don’t dominate the entire social scene.
Were there parts of the College of Wooster, or American college as a whole, that surprised you?
The way families are. A lot of Americans I know are paying for their own education, and once they’re 18, they got a different place away from their families. That was different for me. My culture back home is very family-oriented, so they usually stay together even once they get married. They’ll stay in one house and join families. In terms of college life specifically, the biggest difference was how many people there were from different backgrounds. It was interesting to see how everybody got along.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I usually get internships back home, so I never ended up applying.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They always help me put experiences together to improve my resume.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
We work extensively with all of Microsoft office. Beyond that, I’ve learned Stata.