Muhlenberg College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Political Science
Minors: Economics & Business Administration double minor
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Male
Summary
I’m in a fraternity, I’m in the Student Government, and am in charge of [multiple student organizations]. I was part of Cardinal Key Society where I worked with alumni on campus during homecoming and commencement weekend.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public high school in Allentown, PA with a graduating class of about 850 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Political Science
Minors: Economics & Business Administration double minor
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in a fraternity, I’m in the Student Government, and am in charge of [multiple student organizations]. I was part of Cardinal Key Society where I worked with alumni on campus during homecoming and commencement weekend.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
With student government, we got to go out and see the student body’s wants. Since we are a small school, we’re very connected with the student body which is nice. I noticed we weren’t representing multi-cultural life the best we could and through Greek life and student government, we worked together to try and create more diversity within these organizations and on campus.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
For Political Science, there’s a ton of reading, and when you come to class it’s heavily discussion-based. The exams are primarily essays. Rarely will I have a multiple-choice test, it’s mostly open-ended exams for the midterms and finals. For Economics, it’s primarily open-ended exams with no multiple-choice questions. You usually have three exams a semester and then a final. Business Administration has a lot of case studies, group work, and presentations along with a midterm and a final.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I’d say that connections with alumni is one thing they’ve really been working on. We usually have a lot of talks with alumni coming back to campus. We have something called the Center for Ethics, which focuses on a lot of ethical issues in the United States and internationally. This opens our eyes to how our coursework is related to current events taking place. With Muhlenberg being such a small school, you get to know a lot of the people which allows us to work together, which then allows presentations to come together. Something the departments need to work on is how it’s expected that students are involved in so many different things and sometimes they lose sight of how much work they assign us, especially with readings. There could be a little more communication between the professors and the students. [About 50% of classes have between 10-19 students.]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s a mix of both. It’s definitely competitive, but not at the cost of other people which I really love. It’s a competitive environment where people want to do well and you’re competing against each other, but you’re collaboratively working together to get the best grades possible.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. They’re very willing to meet with you. I usually can’t attend office hours because I work jobs on and off-campus to go to college, so often times I can’t attend office hours but they’re more than willing to meet with me on the side. Fridays are my one good day where I meet with all my professors. If they can’t meet in person, we’ll do a video call online.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Open-thought and inclusiveness is something Muhlenberg prides itself on. I’d say that you’re going to have the students that aren’t as open as others, but the majority of students are open. Since it’s a liberal arts school, there is more emphasis on the liberal approach to it. Politically on campus, I know some republicans feel they can’t necessarily voice their opinions. In the classroom, yes, but there is an overwhelming influence of liberal thought. The professors try making it as objective as possible by presenting both sides of an argument in class.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
As far a Political Science, I’m pre-law and wanted that background. Since we have a cooperative program with Villanova University, it was helpful for me to do that as a Political Science student, and then I’m advised by the Political Science department about how to maximize my chances of going to law school. I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship and the economics behind everything and a business approach, so I wanted to mix everything together to have that law and business background.
Reasons to Attend
1) The ease of access between administration, students, and faculty. The fact that you can talk to anyone you want and talk to the president on any given day is a really cool thing.
2) The ease of creating an opportunity to campus, whether that’s research or creating events, you can do whatever you want and create whatever you want.
3) The culture. Muhlenberg has a unique and friendly culture and if you put yourself out there, you’re most likely going to find a group of people that are going to be some of the best people you’ll meet.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It can be cliquey at times, and it can have a little bit of a high school drama feel.
2) If they don’t have your specific major, don’t force it. It’s a smaller liberal arts school with limited majors and minors.
3) If you want a city school you won’t necessarily get that. Muhlenberg is a campus school.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Walz Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Martin Luther hall with one roommate
Junior: East Hall in a single
Senior: The Village in a single with three other roommates
How do you like going to college in your hometown?
That’s always a tricky thing. One of the biggest concerns of mine was going to a college so close to the town I grew up in was feeling like I wouldn’t have the college experience. The really nice thing about it was living on campus without seeing my family and only going home on breaks. It is also nice because I have a background on where to go, what the hot spots are, and where to hang out with my friends off-campus. Because I’ve had that balance of not seeing my family too much, it’s been easy to provide me with a normal college experience.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Allentown is just like any other city, you have to be careful. There have been some incidences on campus, however not that many. I’d say one to two instances a year of someone coming onto campus and harassing students, but it doesn’t take place that often. I feel very safe walking around campus at night.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Since I’m in a fraternity I normally go out at night, whether that’s to the bars since I’m 21, or a fraternity or sports party on and off-campus. We party in houses that are a block or two off-campus. On Thursday nights everyone usually goes out to the bars, while Friday and Saturday nights are usually for fraternity and sports parties. For people that don’t go out, there’s something called Muhlenberg Activities Council (MAC), which hosts events every weekend night. There are a lot of [performing arts students] here, so whether it’s acapella groups performing, a theater or dance show, bingo, or people they bring in, there are activities for people. [About 17% of the student population is in the visual or performing arts.]
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options?
Since we’re a small school, the parties are usually closed for Greek life, but then the sports teams are allowed to come. After that, it’s all about who you know to get in. It’s a little more of an exclusive scene. There are usually parties on Friday and Saturday nights for those who know the guys in the fraternities.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
Being from Allentown, I love going out to nicer dinners on the weekends but then coming back and seeing acapella performances or just hanging out in the dorms or the college center at night.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Muhlenberg? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m happy because I’m in a fraternity. I do recognize that if you’re not in one, it could be tough getting into parties sometimes, so I can’t talk on behalf of the entire student body. I know a lot of people on sports teams and in Greek life that have fun.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through classes and the fraternity.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Muhlenberg?
On weekends, it’s pretty lively. A good number of students do go off-campus for parties. I’d say it’s mostly the bar scene on Thursdays, but on weekends it’s mostly fraternity and sports teams hosting those parties. There’s a lot to do and it’s there if you want it. But if you don’t want to go out and party, there’s no pressure, which I really like.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Diversity is one of the issues Muhlenberg is addressing right now, but still has a lot of work to do. I have a bunch of friends of different sexual orientations and races. The more involved students are on campus, the more connected they are. The multi-cultural life in particular has felt a little more divided from campus. One of the main initiatives I’ve tried to work on with student government is making them more connected with campus.
How do you like the size of Muhlenberg in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 2,300 students at Muhlenberg.]
I love it because of the opportunities we have on campus. Since there are no graduate students. I had a lot of opportunities. It’s small enough where you see a lot of people you know, but it’s big enough that I can meet someone new every single day. Something I don’t like is it can feel extremely small sometimes and can be gossipy at times.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Greek life and sports teams mix a lot together. As far as Greek life and non-Greek life or sports teams, that’s where there’s a little more of a divide between campus.
Do people generally seem happy with Muhlenberg by senior year? Do people leave loving Muhlenberg?
I’d say it’s a mix of both. For the students that were heavily involved on campus, like all my friends and myself, we’re very happy with it. For students that haven’t been involved, that’s not necessarily the case all the time. The one thing we all have in common is a sense of family at Muhlenberg. I really love how connected Muhlenberg is with the administration and faculty. None of my friends have considered transferring.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yeah, I meet with the career center a lot because I’m trying to find a job. Building that Muhlenberg network is something the career center is trying to work on, but there’s still work to be done in my opinion. I’ve found internships and have had lots of shadowing experiences, but the majority of ways I’ve found opportunities have been by talking to friends’ parents.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
I love how accessible and open they are on campus. The counselors and the career center are some of the student’s favorite people on campus because of how friendly they are. They’re extremely helpful as far as resumes and cover letters. They actually integrated a class as Muhlenberg focusing on the career center.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’ve learned SPSS, which is a statistical program we used in Political Science and Business Administration classes.