Furman University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Psychology
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Male

Summary

I’m on the Student Activities Board, in the Psychology Club, the Film Club, and I have a job on campus. This summer I’m doing undergraduate research.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public high school in North Carolina with a graduating class of about 700 students. There was a culture of going to college
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Psychology
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m on the Student Activities Board, in the Psychology Club, the Film Club, and I have a job on campus. This summer I’m doing undergraduate research.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The Student Activities Board has had a huge impact. It’s been a great way to meet upperclassmen and get advice from them. It has forced me to work on my interpersonal and professional skills.

How easy was it to get involved in the research?
I knew I wanted to get involved, and I’m interested in going to professional school after college, and research is big for those applications. I talked to my academic advisor about it and we figured it out and now I’m working in his research lab this summer.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
For the classes within my major, it’s a lot of reading, analysis, and interpreting information and spitting it out for a response. It’s also creative problem solving and just good old fashion reading. It’s a little bit of everything, and I like that. Papers and tests make up the majority of my grade.
Is there anything you feel either of your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
They do a good job of creating relationships with students. The psychology department is one of the largest on campus, but they do a good job of creating those special and unique relationships that students have with professors. You go to office hours and work through difficult problems. You don’t have to use a TA. [About 5% of majors in the Class of 2018 were Psychology majors.]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s much more collaborative than competitive. It’s the kind of mentality within your classes that you’re in it together so you may as well study together. If you’re stuck on something, you can text a friend about it.
How accessible are your professors?
They are very accessible. It depends on the professor and if they have an open-door policy, but the vast majority of them do. Even if they don’t, you can send them an email to meet with them. They’re willing to listen about what they’re doing well, but also what they can improve on the next time around. They take a lot of pride in being approachable.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’ve always had an interest in human sciences. How people make their decisions and the ways they can be influenced is interesting to me. It wouldn’t seem like it at first glance, but I think it’s a major that’s applicable to a wide variety of careers after college.

Reasons to Attend

1) The opportunities. They put a huge emphasis on undergraduate research and internships. They also give stipends for that type of stuff.
2) Study away is a big part of a lot of people’s experience, and it’s provided at no additional cost.
3) The relationships with faculty are outstanding. Both as a resource, and as a way to get advice. They’re genuinely interested in your success.
4) The student organizations are active and engaging.
5) As a liberal arts school, they have cultural life programs. You have to have a certain number of them to graduate. You earn them by going to see speakers come to campus or going to watch a theater performance. It’s a cool way to learn about stuff you wouldn’t get in class.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) It’s very important to get involved early. A lot of opportunities are available as a freshman, and it’s harder to get involved as a junior or senior.
2) There are some classes that set up so only freshmen can take them. Also, the small classes can fill up fast and you won’t get to take them.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Manly Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: McBee Hall with one roommate and two suitemates
How was transitioning from your hometown in North Carolina to Greenville, SC in terms of location?
It was not a difficult transition. I came from a reasonably large city in North Carolina, so I was moving from city to city.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s very high. The Furman police are pretty active and I never feel unsafe.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Furman?
On the weekends I’ll hang out with my friends and we’ll either watch a movie, play some games, or go over to someone else’s apartment for a party. There’s a good variety, but I wouldn’t say there’s ever a normal weekend. The nightlife is transitioning. It used to be where people went to fraternity houses for parties, but it’s moving more towards being a bar culture. I don’t go out very often, but when I do, I prefer a bar to a fraternity house. It seems more legitimate.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
There are two types of people. The people who don’t go out every weekend and the people who do go out and party every weekend. Those are the people who are usually the people in Greek life. They usually go out with the people who are in Greek life with them. For the people who aren’t in Greek life, if a fraternity or sorority puts on a party, it’s usually open to the whole campus, so you just show your ID at the door.
What have been some of your favorite times at Furman?
I’m a big fan of going out to eat late at night. Everyone likes to go to Waffle House or Cookout. The annual concert we put on is always a really good time. You go to that and hang out and after that, you go to someone’s apartment to have fun there. On the weekends I like going to the mountains and hiking.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Furman? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy with the weekend options. They fit me just fine. If I could change one thing, it would probably be to have larger events that are affiliated with Furman.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through the student organizations that I’m a part of. Getting the chance to work closely with them has brought us together in good and intense times.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
The people who are in Greek life hang out with the other people in Greek life, and if you’re not in it, you hang out with people not in it. For the most part, you can hang out with whoever you want. No one is judging anything like that. It’s very open and accepting.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
As far as sexual orientations, people mix fairly well. As far as different races, you work with people of different races and backgrounds in classes and clubs, but in your free time hanging out with friends it’s less common to see. [The undergraduate population is about 6% African-American, 4% Asian, 5% Hispanic, and 80% White.]
How would you describe the student body?
Furman has a lot of people who like commitments. They like working hard. You hear about a culture of being heavily committed, and, from what I’ve seen, there is plenty of that. But sometimes it can be a little stressful. There are also plenty of people who aren’t involved or engaged in the campus community.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
They can mix pretty well, but when it comes time for the Greek life people to go do their stuff, the people not in it can be left stranded. There’s not a culture of not hanging out with certain people because they’re not in a Greek organization.
How do you like the size of Furman in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [Furman has about 2,600 undergraduate students.]
I really like it. I like small class sizes and having personal relationships with my professors. If you want to go to a school where you live on campus for all four years, Furman is perfect for that.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’re excellent and do a lot of work to make sure people get into selective positions. They helped me put together a resume, they put on career treks where you can go to a different city on Furman’s dime, meet industry leaders, and develop connections with companies. They’re good at connecting people with alumni in certain companies and bringing people to campus to recruit.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be especially helpful to you professionally?
As a Psychology major, you go through a research methods class where you learn how to use a statistical package.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
I have a scholarship and have worked with the office. They’re nice people. You just send them an email or show up in person and there’s usually someone to talk to. They’re pretty helpful.