Beloit College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Political Science and Sociology double major
Minor: Spanish
Student Self Identifies as: Black/African-American Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m a student-athlete, I’m a McNair Scholar, I have a [leadership position] in the Black Student Union (BSU), I serve on the academic senate, and I’m a student representative on the board of trustees.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Black/African-American
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in Champaign, IL with a graduating class of about 400 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Majors: Political Science and Sociology double major
Minor: Spanish
Extracurricular Activities: I’m a student-athlete, I’m a McNair Scholar, I have a [leadership position] in the Black Student Union (BSU), I serve on the academic senate, and I’m a student representative on the board of trustees.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
[Having this leadership position] in the BSU has taught me a lot of leadership skills. It’s given me a lot of opportunities to talk with different people and to just do things on campus. Serving the board of trustees allows me to talk higher up people, and give them my opinion on decisions. Although I can’t technically vote, I can let them know the students’ perspectives. I’m also a McNair Scholar which helps me develop my research and what I want to do for graduate school.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I write a lot of essays. I usually do a mini-essay for each class once a week. We have a midterm, but it usually just essays questions and the final is a big paper.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
They do a good job of helping you figure out what you want to do. Even before I declared my major the advisors in that department and my professors were helpful. They helped me figure out how to accomplish both of my majors, my minor, figure out if I wanted to go abroad, and look into different graduate schools. A bad thing could be how sometimes they grade really hard.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I’d say both. My classmates really push each other and it kind of becomes a friendly competition. We work really hard together and we’re very supportive, but we push each other to be our best. By doing that I’m making myself better.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re extremely accessible. Whenever I need my advisor, he’s there. We’ve had meetings on his front porch before in the summer. They’re good at meeting with you whenever you need it, or if you need an extension they’re helpful with that.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
They gave me a mentor for my freshman year. He was great, he helped me with organizational skills. We had a weekly meeting to make sure I had the support I needed, and that I knew of the resources out there. They helped me get a computer on campus, and it was free.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I double-majored because they didn’t have Sociology as a minor. I chose Political Science because I loved the department. In the classroom, I truly felt like they wanted me to succeed and I was learning so much.
It’s popular to go from Beloit to graduate school. How has that impacted your academic experience?
It’s really helpful and has a positive impact on me. My professors [lay out what I’m doing], and see how we can make it so I can go to graduate school. The culture on campus is you’re going to go to graduate school.
Reasons to Attend
1) We have a great academic program and our professors want you to succeed. They’re open to talking about any and everything.
2) You get more opportunities here because we don’t have a graduate school, so the research opportunities the graduate students would get, the undergraduate students are getting.
3) We have a strong alumni network.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you don’t like winter, because we get a lot of snow.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Aldrich Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Black Students United House with one roommate
Junior: RA in Wood Hall.
What was your favorite living situation?
I really like my building now. It’s an upper-class dorm, everybody’s really quiet and nice. I did enjoy having a roommate because it was somebody to talk to.
How was transitioning from living in your hometown in Champaign, IL to Beloit, WI in terms of location?
It was a pretty big transition because Champaign is a city, and the college town is within the city. It’s a lot busier and there’s a bit more to do, but once you’re on campus and you’re immersed in Beloit culture, I don’t notice it as much.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel extremely safe. I’ve walked down to the river at night and have never had a problem. If you ever feel unsafe, security is really good at coming to get you and asking where you’re going.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Our Greek life has good parties, or the clubs on campus will throw parties. The first Friday of every month there is Friday Flicks where we vote on a movie and they do a movie night for us. There are lots of sports games and people do stuff in their dorm. I do everything. My typical weekend is I’d have a [sports game] Friday night, then I’d go out with friends for dinner. Saturdays I have a game in the morning and I’d probably go to a party that night, or stop at the campus bar.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Greek life has a very large impact. If one of the fraternities or sororities are throwing a party, that’s what everybody is doing. Nothing else can compete with it. They have campus-wide events, but they also have invite-only closed parties. A lot of my friends are in sororities so I am invited, but they still do events where if you’re not in the fraternity or sorority you don’t get to go.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I wish there were more options. If nobody is doing anything, it’s kind of boring and you have to make your own fun. I wish there was more frequency between everything.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my boyfriend in Spanish class. One of my best friends I met through [my sport], and we were in the same class. Freshman year we didn’t run in the same circle, but we have the same classes, the same advisor, and do the same social justice things on campus so we got really close from that.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Beloit?
It’s really small so everyone knows everyone which can be kind of annoying, but it’s still big enough to the point where you can have various groups of friends.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I’d say a lot actually. There is not as much mixing of races, but definitely a lot mixing of different sexual orientations and identifications. For me personally, I’ll have a class with somebody and then I’ll bridge a friendship through that so we’ll talk outside of class. As an RA, we have our group meeting of RAs and we’re all people of different races and sexualities. Beloit does a good job because there are so many things you can be part of on-campus where everybody intersects. [The student population is about 7% Black, 11% Hispanic, 52% White, and 4% Asian.]
How would you describe the Black community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s not as strong as it could be. I’m working on the Black solidarity on campus and trying to create more togetherness. There are groups of us, but I’m trying to bridge those gaps and figure out what we need to make it stronger. If it comes down to it, we know the other Black students on campus will have each other’s backs.
How would you describe the student body?
We’re very “Beloit” and you’ll see so many different personalities. One thing we have in common is how we all love this school and it’s our space. We have the social justice [people], the athletes, the non-athletes, the theatre students, the frat boys, and those who strictly go to school and that’s it.
How do you like the size of Beloit in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 1,250] students?
I really enjoy it. For me, I thrive when I have smaller settings academically. The fact that I could had a personal connection with my professor and they’ll remember me is nice.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
If they’re in Greek life and other things they mix socially with a lot of people, but if they’re solely in Greek life and that’s their thing they don’t really mix with people.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
No, but they have helped my research opportunities. If I have a question or am trying to plan a trip, there’s an open door for me. They help me find opportunities so I can make another opportunity.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
I primarily use them for their resource and alumni connections. Based on the annual sophomore shadow trip, I went to San Francisco for free to job shadow alumni. They’re good at connecting you to alumni so I can then network from there.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
For my Political Science major, I had to use Stata in a research methods class.
Financial Aid
Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy are they to work with and how responsive are they?
When I was applying they gave me more aid after fighting with them. Now that I’m at school, they’re really helpful. If you pop in the office, they’re willing to answer any question and work with you. I’d say they do a good job.