College of Charleston
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Political Science and Economics double major
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m a tour guide, I [have a leadership position] in the sorority I’m in, I work as a teacher’s assistant, and I [have an entrepreneurial project] with a couple of students at College of Charleston.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
First-Generation College Student: Yes
High School Experience: Public magnet school in Ermo, SC with a graduating class of about 120 students. There was a culture of going to college
Majors: Political Science and Economics double major
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m a tour guide, I [have a leadership position] in the sorority I’m in, I work as a teacher’s assistant, and I [have an entrepreneurial project] with a couple of students at College of Charleston.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Yeah, I would say all of them have. Being a tour guide allowed me to connect with a lot of people that run the school and build my network. Working as a T.A. has been great because I get to help other students around the college. Then, the majority of my friends are in my sorority, so it’s nice to have something that I’m really passionate about.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your majors?
It’s mainly essays, I don’t have many exams for both Political Science or Economics. Economics will have problem sets, but it’s nothing crazy.
Is there anything you feel either of your majors’ departments do especially well or poorly?
The Economics department and the business school do a great job of creating an interdisciplinary environment, so it doesn’t feel like purely Economics. They do a great job of mixing in my interests, which are international development and political science, into it. They have really creative courses and the professors are phenomenal.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
My Economics courses are competitive and my Political Science courses are collaborative. The type of students in the Economics classes are completely different than the students in Political Science classes. People majoring in Economics are doing it in order to get a [high-paying job] when they graduate, so it can feel cutthroat. If you have a problem with a question you probably shouldn’t ask the person next to you. That’s just the culture of the classroom because most of the classes are graded on a curve and the business school, in general, is competitive. With Political Science, I feel like they’re a bunch of hippies. People are more into the theory of everything and trying to figure out how to make a better society.
How accessible are your professors?
I just enjoy my Political Science major more than my Economics major, so I reach out to those professors more and can attest more to that. The Political Science professors I really like. They are always willing to work with you and talk to you.
Do you feel people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
It’s a pretty friendly environment, so you can what you want and we’ll dissect it, even if you’re wrong and maybe even slightly offensive to a certain group. We’ll dissect why you think that way. People will ask you why you think that way instead of telling you that you’re wrong.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your majors?
Economics: International Economic Development. That class is about economics of developing countries around the world and comparing them to the United States.
Political Science: Democracy and Discipline. That class was about the incarceration rate in the United States and how and why Black people are incarcerated at a higher rate.
Why did you choose your combination of majors? Are you happy with your choice?
I started out as pre-med but then changed to Political Science because I wanted to get involved with student government. I then also realized I wanted to work in the business world, so I added the Economics major.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Were there any resources or systems in place that helped you adapt?
My first semester I had a really bad GPA and was on academic probation at the school. It was a really hard experience and I think a lot of it had to do with my transition to college. Not having someone who’s been through the college experience made it a lot harder, so I had to do a lot of the heavy lifting and find a lot of the resources myself. I spent a lot of time running around campus and figuring out who to talk to. I think that experience helped me because I had to do it all by myself, but, at the same time, it was hurtful because it was such a shock for me. I found the freshman advisors to be bad and they didn’t help me at all. Once I figured out what my major would be sophomore year, those advisors were helpful.
Reasons to Attend
1) The size of the city. It’s not too big or overwhelming and it’s not too small.
2) The demographic of people here. It’s not a southern school. There’s a good range of people from all over the country. [About 31% of students are from out-of-state and about 1.5% of students are international. The second most common state represented other than South Carolina in the Class of 2022 is New Jersey.]
3) How fast the city is growing and how many opportunities there are because of that.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s an expensive school and there is a high cost of living.
2) There are a lot of distractions here.
3) The weather because it’s either really hot or there’s a hurricane coming.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Berry Hall in a suite of six people.
Sophomore: Off-campus house with four housemates
Junior: Off-campus house with two housemates.
Senior: I’ll live in the sorority house with eight other people.
How was transitioning from Ermo, SC to Charleston, SC?
Ermo is a small town and can be pretty rural, so coming to Charleston was nice because it’s a city but not an overwhelming city. At first it was hard to deal with because you need to have a good balance of understanding both the city and the school here. But, I thought it was a good adjustment.
What is the impact of having the majority of students live off-campus? [About 32% of students live on campus.]
I love it. Freshman year basically everyone lives in a dorm which is cool because that’s how you make friends. Sophomore year you live off-campus but still so close to campus that you could live right next to a dorm and still be considered off-campus housing. Having an actual house to live in is fun and it makes downtown Charleston feel like a big neighborhood where you can go to other peoples’ houses or just sit on your porch and chill and see people walk by.
Can you describe the level of safety you have experienced on and around campus?
I think the college does a great job with safety. The campus safety officers do a great job of patrolling the city.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I go to bars a lot now that I’m 21. It’s a lot of casual drinking. After classes we’ll go to breweries or hang out at a bar. At night, we’ll all go to bars on King Street. There are frat parities, but that is where all of the younger people go because they can’t get into the bars. Now that I’m older, I just go to bars. The frat parties also get shut down a lot.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out?
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then sometimes Monday and Tuesday.
What is an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
Going to concerts is a fun thing to do and also people just like to hang out at different houses. They are not apartments, they’re more so homes, so they’re a good place to hang out.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
After freshman year, Greek life doesn’t matter. It’s not like people are always asking you what sorority you’re in. It doesn’t really have an effect on our social because we go out separately from everybody in Greek life. It’s also not a big percentage of people at the school. I will say that when we have social events it’s an opportunity to go out with our sorority and whatever fraternity we’re with.
How happy are you with the nightlife at Charleston? Is there anything you would change?
I’m really happy with the options here. Sometimes I feel like King Street, which is where everyone goes on the weekends, can be overwhelming. I wish there were more places on the outskirts of Charleston where people could casually hang out and get out of the college student scene.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends I met sophomore year. We all lived off-campus and they lived around me. Some of them were in my sorority, some of them were my roommates, and it was this friendly neighborhood where we could just walk into each other’s houses.
If at all, how did being a first-generation college student impact your social transition?
Something that I learned about college is at first I really cared about grades for a period of time, but then I switched to focusing more on networking and building connections [with faculty members, students, and locals]. My grades haven’t suffered because of that, but being able to take every social experience as an opportunity to network has helped me tremendously. As a first-generation student, I feel like I have to network because we don’t have opportunities handed to us. We have to go out of our way to make those connections and create those opportunities.
How would you describe the social scene at Charleston?
Charleston’s a very social school. Pretty much everyone who goes here knows that it’s known as a party school, so partying is kind of everywhere. But, I also wouldn’t say that it’s not as much hardcore partying, it’s more just casual drinking and hanging out.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Considering I’m a minority, the majority of my friends are White individuals who are heterosexual. But, I do have a lot of friends that are minorities in both sexual orientation and ethnicity. It’s not something I put that much thought to because it doesn’t matter to me. Something I’ve realized is growing up as a minority there are a few ways you can handle that, and I chose not to allow my skin color define who I am or who I hang out with.
How would you describe the South Asian community? How strong is it?
There is a tight-knit community at the College of Charleston. Pretty much, if you’re Indian you know everyone else that’s Indian. We’re all aware of each other and where we’re from, but it’s not like I would hang out with them every night.
How do you like the size of your school in terms of undergraduate enrollment? [There are about 9,900 undergraduate students at College of Charleston.]
I think the size is perfect. It’s a balance where you feel like you know a lot of people here but there is always an opportunity to meet more. For me, coming from a really small high school, it was a breath of fresh air. I have met a lot of people but also created relationships that have given me purpose and happiness.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I went through a program here called ImpactX and that program has given me so many opportunities. But, if I were not in that program I think I would be struggling because that program is how I met all of the older people here in Charleston I know and all the alumni I know.
To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful are they?
I’ve been to the career office a few times and it was mainly for looking over my resume and seeking internship opportunities. I think they try as much as they can but they aren’t experts. I appreciated their kindness and ability to help, but it didn’t really help me.
Have you learned any computer programs that are helpful or will be helpful to you professionally?
Yes, so I know a little bit of Java and I mainly work with Swift and am pretty competent with that.