Denison University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Double Major in Economics and Psychology
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Female
Summary
I’m in a sorority and am in Women in Business.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Private School in St. Louis, Missouri with about 100 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First Generation College Student: No
Majors: Double Major in Economics and Psychology
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in a sorority and am in Women in Business.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your majors?
Problem sets, reading, and labs are the main ones.
What are your major graded assignments?
Test and lab reports.
Is there anything that you feel your department does especially well or especially poorly?
In Psychology, the professors are in tune with their students and extremely helpful outside the classroom. For Economics, the professors come from esteemed backgrounds.
Can you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s collaborative.
What have been your favorite classes in your majors?
For Psychology, my favorite class is Abnormal Psychology. It was part of my psychology major and is an elective that went along with a lab. It was an interesting topic and it was taught by my favorite teacher at the school.
For Economics, all my courses were pretty generic. I’m about to take Behavioral Economics and I think that will be one of my favorite classes because I’m interested in consumer behavior. It also connects my Economics major with my Psychology major.
What have been your least favorite classes in your majors?
For Economics, it is Econometrics because the content was really bland.
For Psychology, Clinical Psychology was blander than I expected.
Do you see that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
In general, yes. [There are interesting differences] between Psychology and Economics. For example, Economics students think quantitatively due to the scientific nature of the subject. You don’t argue what you learn in Economics. However, in Psychology, students are more open-minded.
What made you choose that combination of your majors? Are you happy with your choice?
I chose Psychology because human behavior is interesting and Economics because it seems useful in the career world. At Denison, it’s also one of the more connected subjects to the real world because it is a liberal arts school. Many of the majors are abstract so combining them seemed like a good way to make a business major.
Reasons to Attend
1) With small classes, students receive greater attention from teachers.
2) It is a great school for student-athletes.
3) Great for networking
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It is not a school for you if you want to have a big school and need a bigger student body.
2) It is not a good school for technical skills within any industry, because it is based on critical thinking.
3) It is not good if you are looking for a competitive environment
Around Campus
Where have you lived over the past three years?
Freshman: I lived in Shorney and I had one roommate.
Sophomore: I lived in Crawford and I had one roommate.
Junior year: I lived in Beaver. I was in a six-person apartment and had five other roommates.
Senior year: I will live in Sunny B and will have three roommates.
What was your favorite place to live?
Crawford.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
For the party culture, the security that comes out does a good job. There are a few who are too strict or are not taking the right precautions and sometimes I don’t feel directly protected. But as far as everyday safety, we do have crime issues, but I feel safe. [There are 239.2 violent crimes for every 100,000 people in Licking County, OH]
How was the transitioning from St. Louis to Granville?
It was easy. Granville is a smaller town, therefore more isolated and has less access to general things, but the Midwest culture is still there.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
Mai Chau.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
Columbus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I go out on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, usually to The Sunnies (Sunset Apartments) and the bars outside of campus. In the weekend, I go to The Sunnies and on Wednesdays, I hang out with my friends or I will go to a bar, but not to The Sunnies.
Can you tell me about some of your favorite times at Denison?
In the spring, the weather becomes better and the daytime parties start. It’s not really an event, but that’s my favorite recurring moment at Denison.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It has a big impact. Generally, if you are in Greek life, you are only going to parties that are thrown by fraternities. Girls have a greater chance of going to fraternities without being a part of Greek life, but in general, there are other social events to attend [outside of Greek life]. [About 30% of students are involved in Greek life.]
How happy are you with the nightlife at Denison? Is there anything you would change if you could?
Our nightlife is really restricted in regards to quiet hours on days throughout the week and weekend. It’s extremely early. On the weekends at 1AM everything is immediately shut down, even if it’s relaxed. I believe it’s a waste of time. There is a huge issue of restrictions on where students can throw parties on campus. The housing (Sunset Apartments) that is provided is falling into pieces and we are limited with other options. [In Fall 2018, Denison capped the number of people allowed in the Sunnies to 33 people due to structural damage.]
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met them through freshman orientation and where I lived freshman year.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Denison?
It is dominated by Greek life and sports, but everyone is extremely friendly and fun.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientation mix socially?
I find that people of various sexual orientations mix well with minority races, but those who are not from similar affluent backgrounds may have trouble mixing within those groups. A part of the racial divide is through Greek life. In general, students from affluent homes often don’t mix with those who don’t. [Socioeconomically, 52% of students come from the top 10%.]
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Denison? Do you think people love Denison after they graduate?
Yes, people leave loving Denison.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yes, but the school needs to do a better job of retaining those relationships. For example, next month I have an interview next month with a company through an alum I reached out to on my own. I sent an email to someone who is high up in a company that doesn’t recruit at Denison and asked for help.
To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful have they been?
They have been really helpful to me.
Did you learn any computer programs that will be especially helpful for you professionally or for your course work?
I learned SPSS and for my career in particular, I don’t think that is going to be helpful. It would be helpful if Denison can offer an Excel course in the future.