High Point University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biology – On the Pre-med track
Minor: Spanish
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Female

Summary

I’m in a co-ed service fraternity, I’m part of the Green Team, and I play on the Club Ultimate Frisbee team.

Background

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

High School Experience: Public school in Minnesota with a graduating class of about 500 students. There was a culture of going to college there.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Biology – On the Pre-med track
Minor: Spanish

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in a co-ed service fraternity, I’m part of the Green Team, and I play on the Club Ultimate Frisbee team.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
I’d say the fraternity made a pretty big impact on me. I transferred this last year from another school in Minnesota, so I didn’t know anyone as a sophomore besides my boyfriend who goes to High Point. I was able to get to know a lot of people, and I’ve always loved to volunteer. It kept me really busy when I was pledging, and not busy this semester with volunteering and learning about leadership.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Being a science major, there are lots of labs I have to do. I usually have about 6-hours of lab per week and I have online assignments. The majority of my time is spent studying for exams. The bulk of the final grade is usually made of exams.
Is there anything that you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I think they do a really good job making sure everyone gets the help they need. For the science department, we have a lot of things like learning labs where there are always professors in our learning community center to provide you help if needed. This is super helpful in science because it’s a lot of memorization and understanding concepts.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I don’t think it’s super competitive transferring here. At High Point, students don’t care if someone is doing better than them. They won’t try and one-up others in academics, it’s really easy going.
How accessible are your professors?
All the professors I’ve had have been incredibly accessible. They have office hours, and every time I email them I get an email back within 24-hours. If you can’t go to their office hours, they’ll make time for you.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m very happy with my choice. I chose it when I was pretty young. I’ve always wanted to go into the medical field. At first, I chose biochemistry but I wasn’t doing too well at my other school so I switched it to biology because I wasn’t a fan of the chemistry aspect. So far, I love every biology class I’ve taken.
How was transitioning academically as a transfer college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
It was kind of messy because I had to get all my credits transferred. Some of them transferred, but they placed me in classes as if I were a freshman. In one of the classes, I realized I had already learned all the topics on the syllabus so we went through a long process of me being put into the right class for my level. It got a little bumpy, but there were lots of helpful teachers and faculty that helped me get where I need to be.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
I haven’t used any programs or faculty to deal with that, but it’s cool because as I’m learning my family is learning as well since none of them have ever done this. It’s cool to learn at a higher level.

Reasons to Attend

1) The class sizes are a very good size. There’s a lot of one-on-one support from faculty and professors. They go out of their way for you. [The average class size is 18 students.]
2) There are lots of dining options, but they may get boring.

Reasons Not to Attend

None

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Sophomore: North College Terrace residence hall
How was transitioning from your hometown to High Point, NC?
I thought it was pretty cool. I don’t like the cold, and it’s a lot warmer in High Point. It’s a little strange being in such a wealthy school compared to the environment that we’re in. I also think it’s pretty cool to experience different locations and see different communities. It was easy to adjust. [The poverty rate in High Point, NC is about 19%.]
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
On campus I feel super safe because it’s a gated community. We did have a problem last semester with someone threatening to shoot up the school, but the school handled it well. They got the person the help they needed and made sure everyone was safe. There are police officers driving around, which makes me feel safe.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
There’s a housing area on campus called Centennial Square where people throw little parties and gatherings with their friends. That’s something I like to do. I don’t really go out to bars, but I know there are a couple near us. I usually just get together with friends or go to parties in the Centennials. You can usually find some group of friends doing something on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. I usually don’t go out except for Friday or Saturday night.
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options at High Point?
There’s a Greek row where fraternities throw parties on the weekends. There’s usually a list to get it, and I don’t know how hard it is to get on that list because I don’t really try to get on it. I’ve been to a few of them and it’s a lot of dancing with someone playing music.
What have been some of your favorite times at High Point?
A few weekends ago our frisbee team traveled to Georgia. It was really fun being able to travel with our sports team and participate in an event with other schools.
How happy are you with the weekend options at High Point? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I don’t think I’d change anything, but for the benefit of other people, I’d make Greek life a little more interesting. It’s what people tend to focus on, but most of the time the Greek life events are all similar. The parties are basically the same. I’d also make it easier for people not on the list to go to Greek life parties.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Most of my closest friends I met playing on the Club Ultimate Frisbee team.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
It can be pretty cliquey, but if you put yourself out there most people are genuinely nice. There’s a group for everyone on our campus. Even if you don’t think there’s a group for you, you’ll find them. It can feel cliquey in that it’s like high school where there can be groups of girls who stick together and don’t really want other girls joining their group. Girls can get snotty towards each other.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think they mix perfectly fine. I don’t think there are any problems on campus with different races. The places I usually hang out at don’t exclude people. It’s pretty inviting to everyone and it’s common to see diverse groups of friends on campus. [The undergraduate population is 76% Caucasian, 7% African American, 6% Hispanic, and 3% Asian.]
How would you describe the student body?
There are a lot of students who come from money. It makes some of them act a little more entitled than they should, but I do think there’s a lot of super nice and outgoing people on our campus. There’s a group for everyone to fit into, so if you don’t like the rich students there are others too. [68% of families at High Point come from the top 20 percent.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I don’t know for sure, but I know I have a bunch of friends who are in Greek life and we get along perfectly fine. I know a lot of people who are in the same sorority or fraternity that hang out with each other a lot, but I do think everyone gets involved and blends with each other. [About 30% of students are involved in Greek life.]
How do you like the size of High Point in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 5,200] students?
I think it’s really good. One of the reasons I transferred were the class sizes at my other school were too big for me. High Point’s classes are a lot smaller, and you get more one-on-one with the professors and can actually get involved with the class discussion. If you like small classes, it’s a very good school. [The average class size is 18 students.]

Careers

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
I was awarded an outside scholarship so I went to the financial office to deposit the check into my account. It was super easy.