Knox College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biology – pre-veterinarian track
Minor: Environmental Studies
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m a resident assistant, I’m a writing tutor, I intern at a local veterinarian office, I do various volunteer work on campus, and perform in a dance company. I’m involved in TRIO, which helps students learn more about the college process, and I’m in various sustainability organizations.

Background

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

High School Experience: Public high school in Fairfield, IL with about 400 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Biology – pre-veterinarian track
Minor: Environmental Studies

Extracurricular Activities: I’m a resident assistant, I’m a writing tutor, I intern at a local veterinarian office, I do various volunteer work on campus, and perform in a dance company. I’m involved in TRIO, which helps students learn more about the college process, and I’m in various sustainability organizations.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
I’ve gained a lot of strong friendships through these experiences, as well as a new perspective that I might now have considered otherwise. I’ve been in many leadership positions in these organizations, so they’ve all taught me valuable personal skills as well as forming how I see the world. Our school is all about hands-on experience, so that’s been really important in my development.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your majors?
We’re on a trimester system so we have a different setup than other schools. The coursework varies from class to class. In my current classes, we don’t have assigned homework, we study based on lectures and lab materials for our exams. We typically have three exams including a final. Some classes offer practice problems which aren’t required but are highly recommended. Some classes offer homework or are more reading based, and some have papers. Our major grades are exams and a lot of it is participation. The professor to student ratio is [11:1], which is great.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The department tries keeping the class size pretty small in the upper-level classes so you can get one on one attention from professors. The professors really care about the students in the department. I’m close with my advisors and have been to a few Biology professor’s houses.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
In my experience, it’s definitely not competitive. We’re all here to learn and I enjoy working with others to learn how they approach information. I’m more of a social learner, so I learn best with other people.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re incredibly accessible. All of them have set office hours, but you can stop by whenever. Some of them say you can email or text them. I have a professor last year who acknowledged she wasn’t super great with technology so she said stopping by was more preferable than email.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Yeah, definitely. Our school is a liberal arts school and I enjoy all the humanities classes because it welcomes a lot of people from different schools of thought, political, socioeconomic, religious, and location backgrounds. I think that’s the first thing students learn when they come for orientation, it’s about establishing a community of respect. If you don’t agree with someone’s opinion, it’s important not to put that idea on a person.
How do you like the trimester system? How has it impacted your experience?
I enjoy the trimester system. Classes are shorter, so by the end of the term it’s almost bittersweet because you want to keep going because you feel there is more to cover, but it’s also nice to get a good break. The professors are good at condensing the material, so somehow we get through a semester’s worth of material in two-thirds of the time. With that, we only have three classes per term, but it’s more concentrated which I enjoy. We also start school in September and are on break from Thanksgiving until January.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I am happy with my choice. In high school, I was never a finance person, I was a writer and arts person primarily. My number one goal was to be a veterinarian and I always thought biology was interesting, learning how things worked on a macro and micro level. Since coming here, I have learned a lot about the natural world and about myself. The classes they offer are really comprehensive and cover a wide variety of materials.

Reasons to Attend

1) The financial aid offered is wonderful. [See financial aid information here.]
2) The academics are great, and there’s a lot of support that comes from faculty, staff, and peers.
3) I really love that you get to experience cultures beyond your own. It will inform and better your perspective, and if there isn’t a club or a group dedicated to a subject you’re interested in, you can make a club.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you don’t like the small community environment, or you don’t want to know everyone’s name.
2) It can be a little bit dull, on and off campus. The largest city, Chicago, is a three-hour drive or a train ride away.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Post Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Hamblin Hall with one roommate. Halfway through winter-term, I became an RA for Conger-Neal Hall
Junior: RA in Sherwin-Neifert-Furrow Hall in a single
How happy have you been with your living situations?
I’ve liked all of them. The room I’m in now isn’t great because it’s a single. We have very small singles and I preferred the doubles I had. The halls aren’t super up to date with their heating and cooling. The rooms can get very hot in the summer and winter because there is no air conditioning and the heat is controlled by one machine for the entire building.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The campus is fairly safe. The town can be a little rough sometimes, but if there are any incidents close to campus, campus security is quick to let us know. We have an emergency alert system in place.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m usually working or studying, but I know there’s always something to do from school-sponsored movie nights to sporting events or trips away. Then, of course, there is partying which is sponsored on our campus by fraternities and other cultural houses. Some people I know take the train to Chicago for the weekend because there is a train station relatively close to campus. I have my internship on the weekends, but I’ll hang out with my residence. We’ll do a movie night in our suite.
What have been some of your favorite times at Knox?
I really enjoy going to clubs and different events, and hanging out with my residence. I also like academics and learning so I’m usually studying which sounds no fun at all. My favorite time at Knox is during the fall when the leaves are coming down and when it’s overcast weather. We have brick walls that look really collegiate.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I met a lot of them through my freshman suite, but mostly through classes, work, or the clubs I’m a part of.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Knox?
I think it’s decent. If you want to go out, there is always stuff to do. There are always different club meetings or events, and everyone is always welcomed. There’s a fairly large emphasis on the party culture, so people will go and party on the weekends.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
To the best of my knowledge, everyone mixes fairly well. Our school is incredibly diverse on all fronts, but it’s definitely publicized that people here aren’t going to dismiss people of other races or sexual orientations. They come here with the understanding there might be people with opposing views as them which I think is really special and allows room for viable dialogue on campus. [The undergraduate population is 8% African American, 5% Asian, 15% Hispanic, and 17% International.]
How would you describe the student body?
We have a fairly broad range of personalities on campus, but for the most part, everyone is nice and welcoming. If any prospective student is lost or needs help, any Knox student is happy to help them out. If you see someone struggle with something, usually someone will run up and help. I like the sense of community that’s established through that.
How do you like the size of Knox? How has that impacted your experience? [Knox has about 1,300 undergraduates.]
I really like the size of the school because I like knowing lots of people, and knowing a name to the face I pass by every day. I like the small-school feeling, being able to know professors and having access to resources and all of that. I think it’s positively impacted my experience being able to get to know so many people.
Do people generally seem happy with Knox by senior year? Do people leave loving Knox?
I think it depends on everyone’s individual experience. A lot of us use Knox as a stepping stone for the next move in our lives, either by containing on with education or getting a job. I love Knox a lot because it has taught me so much and I’ve grown as a person and a student from all these experiences good and bad.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I’ve used them while trying to find internships in the area, looking over resumes and cover letters, and they also do a lot of work with Handshake.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I just took a course in statistics where I learned R programming. I learned how to use ChemDraw for chemistry, along with Microsoft Excel and Word.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
I have used financial aid. They’re easy to work with and offer a lot of aid. They’re incredibly helpful when figuring out things is FASFA and how to get scholarships.