Earlham College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biochemistry
Minor: African and African-American Studies
Student Self Identifies as: African-American Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m a student-athlete, I participate in the Black Student Union (BSU), and the Multicultural Resource Center.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: African-American
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public high school in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL with a graduating class of about 700 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Biochemistry
Minor: African and African-American Studies

Extracurricular Activities: I’m a student-athlete, I participate in the Black Student Union (BSU), and the Multicultural Resource Center.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Yes, I’d say all of those things I’ve participated in give you a good sense of community on campus. Also, if you’re having any self-identity issues, they’ll help you have some sense of belonging.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
There are a lot of exams and quizzes. Depending on the class, there are about four or five exams per semester for each science class. For other classes like math or physics, you get about two to four exams per semester. Within each class, there’s a quiz almost every week.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
They do really well with getting students into research programs. They also help a lot in terms of making sure you pass the class. As long as you’re willing to cooperate with the professor, they’re more than likely to make sure you’re able to get the grade that you want.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s a little bit of both. For the natural sciences, there’s a lot more collaborative work. A lot of students study together. Competitively, if there are extra credit opportunities, people stick to themselves. But for the most part, the studying environment is really good and other students in the major are willing to work with you if you have issues in the class.
How accessible are your professors?
Fortunately, the campus is really small so that means the classes are small. The professors are pretty accessible and their office hours are flexible as well. You can literally sit right after class and get your question answered, or during lunch and other hours of the day you can walk into their office.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
One thing Earlham does really well is pushing students to be open-minded, or pushing students into situations where people have different ideas than you. That’s something I experienced myself and I think it makes for a better learning environment.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I choose my major because I’m looking to go to medical school. The Biochemistry major fulfills most of the requirements for you to take the MCAT. Instead of doing a different major and having to study for those subjects on my own, it’s just easier because it’s already part of the curriculum for my major.
What has been your favorite part of Earlham academically?
There’s still a lot of room for you to take classes outside of your major. It’s hard to do a double major because of the course load that comes with being a STEM major, but there’s room to take other things in different fields of study.

Reasons to Attend

1) The exposure to different types of cultures and communities. It’s a hot spot for that.
2) The academic situation. I think we’re really strong when it comes to academics, and that’s something I appreciate a lot.
3) Earlham and Richmond are only an hour away from Indianapolis and Dayton and other nearby cities.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) Our food is not the best.
2) Richmond is a small town and we have a small campus and there isn’t a lot of stuff to do in Richmond. If you like going out and having fun, Richmond might not be the place for you.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Bundy Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Campus Village in a single with other two roommates
How was transitioning from the south suburbs of Chicago to Richmond, Indiana?
In the south suburbs of Chicago, it’s really big and there are things to do for fun. Some of it is a bit of a drive, but there’s a lot of nightlife. Moving to Richmond was a little different, but fortunately, I grew up in a small town so it wasn’t too big of a deal. The hardest challenge is trying to find ways to get off campus because anything you want to go to will more than likely be 30-minutes to an hour away. Walking isn’t favorable unless it’s something close by like Domino’s.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The campus is really accessible to non-Earlham students and it’s a little scary. We’ve had incidents where people have walked on campus. Also, where I live is surrounded by the Richmond community so that’s another safety concern that myself has. When I lived on campus in Bundy, I didn’t have a lot of safety concerns. I stay up really late studying, so now that I live off-campus, the 10-minute walk is a little scary at night walking by myself.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
Every once in a while, we’ll go to the movies or one of the surrounding restaurants. You just hang out with your friends and that’s about it. Occasionally, the campus will have certain things at night. When Earlham plans events they try to target different audiences and people so everyone feels involved. Sometimes those activities are things people are interested in. If people have a car, they go to Ohio or Indianapolis and do fun stuff there.
What have been some of your favorite times at Earlham?
I really enjoy the International Student Festival. I have a lot of friends who are international students so it’s a really nice way to go and support them. It’s a good way for different students to learn about different countries and their peers. They also have a lot of fun activities at the beginning of the fall semester. The new student orientation week is when the freshman class comes in. There are no classes and it’s met to get freshmen situated to the campus. They have a lot of fun activities such as a movie night on the soccer fields. [About 20% of students are international students.]
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at Earlham? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’ve learned to adapt to them, so I’d say I’m pretty happy. I would change a few things. A lot of the things people go to are in Indianapolis and Dayton, so I’d bring them to Richmond. I’d have smaller businesses and spaces college students will feel comfortable hanging out, like coffee shops. I think it would make it livelier and entice people to come to Earlham.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
In various ways. One of them was through during new student orientation week. I bumped into a girl and then we met two other people. It seems like those first few people I met as a freshman all had similar circles, so I met more people through them.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Earlham?
It’s a lot and a little complicated. Earlham is a pretty liberal campus in terms of political views, so you’ll find a lot of people that identify with the LGBTQ community and feminism. There are a lot of views that the conservative party might not agree with. We don’t have Greek life, so a lot of people find that lacking. But, I think the party scene and the people, in general, make up for it. Something is always happening. People are always throwing parties and because it’s a small campus you know everybody.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Honestly, not very much. Even though there are a lot of international students, a lot of students of color would call Earlham a [predominantly White institution]. There’s a large LGBTQ community presence on campus, but in terms of people of color within that community intermingling with people who aren’t of color, I don’t see a lot of that. There’s a club on campus called Black and Lavender which is geared toward people of color who’re part of the LGBTQ community. [The undergraduate population is 7% Black, 49% White, 3% Asian, and 8% Hispanic.]
How would you describe the Black community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s pretty strong. We meet once a week for the Black Student Union, which is the time you see most of us together. During Black history month you’ll see us all together. There have been a lot of conferences this year geared toward Black students, which is another thing we like doing together. There are two main subsets of the Black community on campus. There are African students and then Black-American students. Having those two different groups brings in two types of cultures. I’d say both of those presences are very strong, and, for the most part, people are pretty cool with each other.
What is the impact of the Quaker values on your Earlham experience?
You’ll meet a few people who identify with the Quaker religion, and they came because it’s a Quaker school. Others came here because their parents came. In terms of politics, the Quaker values resonate with a lot of progressive people on campus. Although a lot of students don’t identify with the Quaker religion, they feel comfortable on campus because those values reflect their own personal values.
How do you like the size of Earlham in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [Earlham has about 1,000 undergraduates.]
It’s a smaller campus, but that helps academically because you have more opportunities to get closer to your professors. That allows them to get to know you better which can help in the future with letters of recommendation. Socially, it’s the same. It helps you get to know people better and helps you define friendships and relationships better. There’s a sense of security, both academically and socially.
How would you describe the student body?
A lot of people are very open-minded. A lot of them are willing to share experiences with them, even if you don’t know them personally. One good thing about all the students on campus is there’s a sense of community. If you see another Earlham student outside of campus, there’s a sense of making sure everyone stays together. You’ll feel comfortable seeing them outside of campus because you’ll know they’ll take care of you if you need help.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
They have an alumni weekend where they invite all the alumni with jobs to come. They try to get students to connect with alumni. It could help you, but for me personally, it has not.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’ve helped me find internships, my career path, and help to decide what classes to take.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I used Excel a lot more than I expected in physics.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
They gave me a lot of financial aid as a freshman. The office is good to work with, but they’re not always willing to give out more aid and I know certain students that have left because of it. The main issue I have with the office is that when the semester starts you’re expected to have your bill below $1,000 so you can register for classes. That could cause a lot of issues that could result in you not being eligible to be a fulltime student.