Muhlenberg College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Business Administration
Minor: Marketing
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Male
Summary
I’m on a varsity [sports] team, the Muhlenberg Athletic Leadership Team, and the Investment Society.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Private all-boys boarding school outside of Pittsburgh, PA with a graduating class of about 75 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Business Administration
Minor: Marketing
Extracurricular Activities: I’m on a varsity [sports] team, the Muhlenberg Athletic Leadership Team, and the Investment Society.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
Playing [my sport] and being on the Athletic Leadership Team have had a big impact. For the team, it impacts my social life, and the leadership team, it’s a time commitment that puts me in a leadership role and helps my resume look good and want to be a better leader.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
So far, I haven’t taken a bunch of courses for my major, but so far, it’s mostly lectures and problem sets and tests will be a big portion of the grade, along with attendance and participation.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Based on the size, what they’ve done well is having a lot of faculty per student. There are small class sizes and teachers can focus on each student more. There’s a smaller feel which I like, and the teachers look out for you more. The lectures have about 15 students in them and it’s really easy to learn that way. [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?
I’d say it’s a mix of both. My major is more collaborative and there is group work.
How accessible are your professors?
They’ve very accessible. There are office hours 2-3 times a week, and whenever I need something, I can email them and if it’s during business hours I’ll get a reply.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
My dad and brother both did marketing and it seems like something I’d be interested in. So far, I’ve enjoyed the marketing classes I’ve taken, so I’m happy with the choice I made.
How was managing both your sport and coursework?
It’s very difficult, and it’s a lot harder than high school. Some days we’ll be in the gym for 5-hours between lifting, practicing, and film. It’s hard sometimes, especially during finals when we have games at the end of a week with four finals. If we really need more time, we can tell our coach and he’ll let us off for practice. The library and the writing center are extremely helpful for getting work done.
Reasons to Attend
1) The people and culture are great. The people are welcoming, nice, and they care about you.
2) The small class sizes are good. The professors focus on you, so if you’re struggling you can go meet with them. [About 50% of classes have between 10-19 students.]
3) The campus is small but beautiful and easy to get around. You can wake up 10-minutes before class and get there if you really want.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you’re a very social person, this might not be the place for you. The population is kind of small and you’ll see the same people every day. It’ll get repetitive.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Walz Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Martin Luther hall with one roommate
How was transitioning from Pittsburgh to Allentown, Pennsylvania in terms of location?
They’re pretty similar. In Pittsburgh, there’s more to do, but Allentown is nice as well. There are a farmer’s market and a minor-league hockey team, so there are things to do.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never had any issues with safety on campus, but we get email alerts about things that happen near campus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
We’ll either throw a party, go to a party, or go to the bars some nights. Thursday is the bar night because there [is a special drink deal at a local bar]. On Fridays, sometimes there will be stuff and sometimes there won’t be. That’s when a lot of the closed parties are, so my team will usually have a closed [event] with a girls’ sports team. On Saturdays, there will be day parties, and then there will be closed parties at 8 or 9 at night before opening up to other people to come. These are mostly hosted at on-campus houses. We have something called MILE Houses that are smaller and mostly for [small parties]. You can’t really throw a big party there. One of the fraternities has a house on campus, but they’re not allowed to serve any alcohol there.
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options?
Our Greek life is [not that big of a thing here]. Their parties are okay and not a lot of people show up. The sports teams are the ones that mostly throw the bigger parties. [About 4% of men join fraternities and 11% join sororities.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
We’re a big art school and our theatre program is really good. We’ll go watch some plays sometimes, and we’ll go to the movies as a team or get together at the teammate’s house to watch sports and hang out.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Muhlenberg? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
A lot of people who go here live in New Jersey, so a lot of weekends people will just go home. Those weekends are boring because not many people have parties because not many people are here. I wish people were around more.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through [my sport], and one of my closest friends roomed with one of my teammates last year. We’re pretty close now and live down the hall from each other.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Muhlenberg?
I’d give it a B+. There are about [2,300] students that go here so you kind of see the same people at parties and get to know everyone. That’s not the worst thing. You show up and know all 60 people at the party so it’s fun. If you’re really outgoing and like seeing new people all the time, this isn’t what you’re looking for.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Muhlenberg’s population is pretty White. We also have a lot of Jewish students going here. I wouldn’t say it’s the social life, I think it’s the school in general, but because of the demographics, different races don’t mix a lot. The sports teams tend to stick to themselves, so they don’t throw parties with other sports teams. [About 30% of the population at Muhlenberg is Jewish.]
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 think it’s been great. It’s small so you get to know most people, but it’s not really small where you literally know everyone. I think the class sizes are good, but the social and party life could be better. You see a lot of the same people.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I’d say people in Greek life are likely to have friends outside of it. People will have [small parties] with their friends in their dorm rooms before, but Greek life is mostly just for parties.
How would you describe the student body?
It’s split because we have a really big theatre program. The theatre program and the rest of the student population are kind of different. Personality-wise, it’s welcoming and everyone is nice and has a good vibe. It’s happy, outgoing, and how you’d expect a college campus to be. [About 17% of graduates in the Class of 2018 were in the Visual and Performing Arts making it the second-largest academic group.]
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
With [my sport], we get a mentor so that’s helped me, but there haven’t been alumni that reached out.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
They’ve been really helpful. I’ve been in there to get help with my resume and look for different internships. Whatever you need, you can go in there and they’ll help you with it.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’ve used Excel for my Investments Club, and I’ve used R Studio for statistics classes.
Financial Aid
Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
They’re very easy to work with. I’ve had to go down and do my student loans. You just go in and they explain it all to you. They’re extremely helpful.