University of Oregon
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Psychology
Minor: Legal Studies
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m in the Cru Campus Ministry, and I go to meetings for the Undergraduate Legal Society.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public High school near Long Beach, CA with a graduating class of about 1,000 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Psychology
Minor: Legal Studies
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in the Cru Campus Ministry, and I go to meetings for the Undergraduate Legal Society.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
Cru was really helpful. That’s how I found my first friends and it’s the first thing I got connected with on campus. Getting involved with the Legal Society this year helped a lot in figuring out my career path.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Some classes have labs, but I’ve only been in one so far. It’s heavily writing-based. A lot of the assignments are term papers or short response papers. There’s also a good amount of textbook reading. The exams are pretty standard, just midterms and finals.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I’m a pretty extroverted person, so I find it easy to talk with professors. They are pretty available, even if you’re not in their classes but are interested in their research, their doors are always open during office hours.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
For Psychology, it’s pretty collaborative. The classes I’ve taken are pretty group-oriented. It’s not necessarily a lot of group projects, but all of my classes encourage finding a study group. It’s very community-oriented in my experience. As for competition, if you’re serious about psychology and going to graduate school, it’s highly competitive. Getting into the research lab is essential. They have a ton of training and research opportunities. They have internships as well, and they do a good job of making that known to you as an undergraduate. Getting into the labs can be competitive, depending on how many open spots there are.
How accessible are your professors?
I think they’re pretty accessible. I was surprised this term with how much my professors emphasized coming to office hours.
What has been your favorite part of Oregon academically?
Academically I feel like the quarter system is really beneficial. I was concerned about going into a quarter system school coming out of a semester school because I thought it would be really fast-paced and crammed. But, it works for me and is honestly my favorite part. The professors really get to the point a lot quicker. If you’re a slower learner it might be a little more difficult, but it’s not rushed in my opinion.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I came into the university as a Sociology major because I didn’t want to take any math courses, but I knew I was always interested in psychology so I ended up switching. Taking the one Statistics requirement wasn’t the end of the world. I chose Psychology because I want to go to law school, so I felt it was a very applicable field to study. I wanted to be different than all the political science majors going to law school. There’s a lot of flexibility in what you can and can’t take.
Reasons to Attend
1) The location is awesome and the weather is okay.
2) The networking you can get is really beneficial.
3) The professors are pretty accessible and, for the most part, want you to learn.
4) The counseling center and career center resources are really beneficial.
5) Socially it’s a good environment. There’s something for people of any interest.
6) If you’re into sports, the school runs around sports. I love the competitiveness of it and being able to identify with your team through the ups and downs.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you really hate rain.
2) If you aren’t interested in any type of research. If you’re more interested in focusing on liberal arts it’s not necessarily the best.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Carson Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Off-campus apartment with three roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown to Eugene, OR in terms of location?
Location-wise it wasn’t too bad because I moved before moving to college. I grew up in Southern California near Los Angeles, so it was very urban and busy. Six weeks before going to college I moved to a tiny farm town in Northern California, and that was the hard part by going from a big city to a small city. Moving to Eugene, I found it to be a happy medium. It’s not rural by any means, but it’s not as crazy as L.A. There’s still that beautiful nature aspect where you can go away from campus.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel safe on campus. Eugene, in general, I’m not fond of. I don’t go downtown frequently, and it’s not the safest town. [The overall crime rate in Eugene, OR is about 26% higher than the Oregon average and 49% higher than the national average. The poverty rate in Eugene is about 22%.]
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I have responsibilities at home so I go home pretty frequently on the weekends. When I am here, I’m a big sports person so I love going to those games on the weekend. As for the party culture, I think it’s fine. It’s accessible, and I’ve gone to the parties when I feel like it, but I don’t go every night of the week. It’s good for people who want that, but it’s not being shoved down your throat. The easiest parties to go to are fraternities and sororities, but I personally go to more house parties at my friends’ apartments. There’s a lot of good stuff to do in Eugene. My friends went white water rafting last weekend.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I feel pretty content with it. After living in a small town back home, anything is better than just driving around. I think it’s awesome you can just drive out to the beach whenever you feel like it. [Eugene, OR to Heceta Beach is about a 1.5-hour drive.]
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
My roommate my freshman year was my best friend since I was four. We coincidentally went to Oregon together. I met her friends through her, who are now my closest friends.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Oregon?
You get out of it what you put into it. There are a ton of super friendly people willing to be friends with you, and I think if you’re extroverted it’s pretty easy to make friends. If you’re introverted, you have to push yourself a little bit. You don’t make friends by walking around campus by yourself, you have to join clubs and talk to people in classes.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I’m a little biased because my freshman year I lived in the Gender Equity Hall so we all interacted all that time. I’d say they mix together all the time. I’ve never seen any type of discriminatory problems or anything like that, but I can’t speak for the whole university. [The undergraduate population is 6% Black, 14% Asian, 15% Hispanic, and 3% Native American.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I was in a Greek house for a term and it financially didn’t work out for me, but when you’re in a house you’re pretty cemented into the friendships. It’s pretty exclusive. I think it’s possible to have friends, but you’re not going to connect with them as much because they’re busy with house stuff.
How do you like the size of Oregon in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 19,000] students?
Everything in Southern California was huge so this wasn’t a big shock. I struggled with the size of freshman year because I felt like nobody knew me, so I felt intimidated. Having your first class be a 500-person lecture hall was intimidating. Now that I’m in upper-division courses and the classes are smaller, it’s not an issue at all. It’s pretty beneficial for networking. Having more people means more resources.
Would you say Oregon is politically charged? How has it impacted your experience?
Yes, but it doesn’t really impact my experience because I don’t care about it. I have my political views and I’m pretty open to anything, so I don’t feel offended by anything. There are some professors who put their ideologies on you and your learning. Last year, there were protests that were really aggressive.
Careers
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I’ve talked to career advisors at the law school about the process of getting into law school. It was super easy to go in and chat.