Whitman College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m on a varsity sports team, I’m in a sorority, and I’m in the Pre-Health Society.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public high school in the Evergreen, CO with a graduating class of about 200 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m on a varsity sports team, I’m in a sorority, and I’m in the Pre-Health Society.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Playing on the sports team has. It’s who I live with and interact with all the time. The schedule is in the fall, so when we got here freshman year, we came early for pre-season and stuck hanging out with each other for the four years.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
I don’t have very many essays, but I have a lot of tests, problem sets, and readings. Each week I’ll typically have one problem set, a quiz, and a test between all of my classes.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
My major does a really good job of providing opportunities post-Whitman with labs that they know are hiring. In terms of particularly poorly, sometimes since Whitman is such a small school, we’ve had visiting professors teach the major courses and it makes it inconsistent with the other years.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s a competitive environment because it’s such a high academic achieving school. Whenever I didn’t know something and asked somebody for help, they went out of their way to help me, and the same goes for if I knew something someone else didn’t know. It’s super collaborative.
How accessible are your professors?
Depending on which one, they are usually very accessible. I’ve met with professors are their house before. Being an athlete, a lot of times the office hours don’t work for us.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I choose my major because I was really interested in pre-med and I wanted a major that prepared me for medical school. I’m really interested in molecular interactions that are living, which is why I chose more of an in-depth major rather than a broader major like Biology. I’ve been really happy with my choice.
How is managing both your sport and your coursework?
For me, it’s easier to manage during the season because I know I have practice that I have to work around. Away trips are hard because you’re busy the whole time, but it’s nice to have other people working who you can collaborate with on your trips.
Have you used academic accommodations? If so, how helpful were they?
I had a binder of all my disabilities and accommodations needed, but they’re really accommodating and easy to set up appointments with.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s a high academic achieving school, so a degree from Whitman says a lot.
2) The people are so nice and the professors are so accommodating.
3) Walla Walla as a town is up and coming with a good community.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) The career counseling in helping seniors find jobs or plan for where to go is lacking. There are no job fairs.
2) It’s a very small campus and town, so if you’re not used to that or don’t want a very close-knit community it’s not for you.
3) If you’re really into Chipotle or shopping, you have to drive an hour to find [some mainstream brands].

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Anderson with one roommate
Sophomore: Prentiss in a single with one suitemate
Junior Off-campus house
Senior: Off-campus house
How was transitioning from your hometown in Colorado to Walla Walla, WA in terms of location?
My hometown is much smaller but pretty similar to Walla Walla, so I was coming to a bigger city. It was a pretty smooth transition for me.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
On-campus I think Whitman does a really good job of keeping security around. When I was a first-year and sophomore I’d call security and they’d walk me places when it was dark. There are issues with the surrounding areas of campus, but I think it’s getting better every year. I’ve felt a lot safer this year. [There are about 103 crimes per square mile in Walla Walla, more than triple the national median of 31.]

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I like doing a mix. I’m in a sorority and we’ll have functions that I go to sometimes. There are a few bars in Walla Walla. I also stay in to cook or bake. The parties are usually in off-campus houses or the fraternities. In Walla Walla, there’s a law that more than 7 women in a house is considered a brothel, so we don’t have sorority houses. The Greek parties are closed to the Greek organizations that are throwing the party until 11 PM and then they open up to the whole campus. The parties are usually Friday and Saturday nights, but sometimes on Thursdays.
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options at Whitman?
Usually, I’d say that’s where the majority of people end up, even if they start at off-campus houses they’ll go there once the parties open up. Also, Greek organizations have a weekend where other Greek organizations can’t throw a party that weekend, so if they’re the only ones throwing a party, there’s nothing else going on and they’ll have the only party. Since our school is so small, everyone will end up at that party.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
Sometimes we’ll bake in the house. Some people go to the wheat fields. We also have really good Mexican food here, so people will take food out there and eat.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at your school? Is there anything you would change if you could?
If I could change anything, I’d have more nightlife options in Walla Walla. Sometimes it would be nice to do something different than a fraternity party or a party in the basement of a house. I’m pretty happy with the weekend scene because you can participate if you want, but it’s totally an option to stay home and do other things.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends I met through my [sports] team. From there, my closest friends are also all athletes I met through athletic department events.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Whitman?
It’s very inclusive. I’ve found that everyone is so nice. You can be in any group and have a good time.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
To some extent they do. Especially racially, Whitman isn’t a very diverse campus so there are some groups that form [of people of all a certain race]. [The undergraduate population is about 7% Hispanic, 2% Black, 6% Asian, and 64% White.]
How would you describe the student body?
It’s very outdoorsy and has a reputation for being very liberal. It’s very inclusive and there are nice people.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
The parties open up, but in the past, there has been a divide between Greek affiliated and non-affiliated people. Recently that divide has been smaller because enrollment in Greek life has gone way down. There is brand new sophomore housing and they have to work harder to I’ve in them if you’re affiliated. [See Whitman Wire article, “Exclusion and the Decline of Greek Life” and article, “Greek Life Attracts Fewer New Members.”]
How do you like the size of Whitman in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 1,500 undergraduate students at Whitman.]
It’s been the perfect size. I have a lot of learning disabilities so it’s been nice to directly interact with my professor to find ways in which we can accommodate those.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
For career planning, it’s not that helpful. They just tell you how to use their database, but Whitman has an internship grant where they fund unpaid internships for students. I’ve received this twice, which has made it possible for me to have internships and gain experience I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to because the internships were unpaid.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’ve learned Excel and R. We did a lot of Excel in general chemistry, and then we learned R in statistics of application.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
Yes, I have and they’ve been super responsive and accommodating.