High Point University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Majors: Biology & Exercise Science double major – On the Pre-Med track
Minor: Chemistry
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Female

Summary

I came in playing a Division I [sport] but left the team after my freshman year and now play intramural sports. I’m in a co-ed service fraternity, I’m in the [Honors Scholars program], and I’m part of Habitat for Humanity.

Background

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

High School Experience: Public school in Evergreen, Colorado with a graduating class of about 450 students. There was a culture of going to college there.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Biology & Exercise Science double major – On the Pre-Med track
Minor: Chemistry

Extracurricular Activities: I came in playing a Division I [sport] but left the team after my freshman year and now play intramural sports. I’m in a co-ed service fraternity, I’m in the [Honors Scholars program], and I’m part of Habitat for Humanity.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
My [co-ed service fraternity] has had the biggest impact. We have about 150 students on campus from all different majors. The primary goal of the fraternity is service, but we also have a leadership and fellowship aspect. It’s a great way for me to meet people and also service my community and make a lasting impact on the High Point area.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Most of the courses have three to four exams per semester and a final exam. On a daily basis, some have weekly pre-class quizzes to make sure you’re keeping up with the material.
Is there anything that you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Most of the classes are fairly small, so that helps with getting one-on-one time with the professors. We also have supplemental instructors which are another resource. They don’t teach the class, but they are sometimes in the classroom and they act as a tutor outside of it. They know exactly what’s expected of that professor and where you are in the content. It’s extremely helpful.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s more collaborative than competitive. As we get into our upper-level classes there is a competitive nature, especially because I’m pre-med, but most of the time it’s collaborative. Students create study groups and group chats to help each other with projects and exam preparation.
How accessible are your professors?
It’s easy to meet with them, and most will respond to your emails almost immediately. They all have office hours two to three times per week. If you can’t attend the regularly scheduled office hours, they are willing to meet with you outside of classes.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I wanted to be pre-med going into High Point, which is why I initially choose the Biology major. High Point has one of the largest biomechanics labs in the country, so after seeing that and talking to professors about the research they were conducting I decided I wanted to add the Exercise Science major. I have a background in sports and a desire to go into orthopedic-related research.
What has been your favorite part of High Point academically?
What stands out the most is the availability to do research. I started doing research my freshman year and was able to publish an abstract in the spring of my freshman year. Getting hands-on research time early in your career allows you to get a feel for what it’ll actually look like later in life. knowing what you’re getting yourself into research-wise is very helpful. It also helps you identify a mentor you can work alongside. They have guided my choices in career and allows you to reach out for different internships and opportunities.
How has being part of the Honors College impacted your academic experience?
The honors curriculum differs from our normal curriculum in that you have to take less general education credits, which opens up more time to double major or add other miners. You can combine classes. For example, my philosophy, theatre and literature credits are all combined into one semester-long course where we evaluated a similar topic in all three of those lenses. It was one of my favorite classes that I’ve taken. We had three separate professors, which made it interesting to see the collaborations across all of those majors.

Reasons to Attend

1) The small classes allow for a great one-on-one experience with professors and opportunities for research.
2) The overall support from the university.
3) They practice what they preach. They claim you can get involved in research as a freshman, and that has really been true for me and other people I know on campus. Applying to internships can be daunting, especially coming from a smaller name university, but everything they say they’ll do to help you, they do.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you want a school with a lot of school spirit for sports, we don’t have much of that. The stadium during basketball games is about half empty.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman & Sophomore: Finch Hall with one roommate and two suitemates
How was transitioning from your hometown to High Point, NC?
It took a little getting used to, but overall it was pretty easy. The campus is pretty large for the student body size and we have lots of events going on. I never felt isolated at all and the area around the campus is decent. There’s a lot to do if you’re looking for it. There’s a Greenway where I go running and get outdoors.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never felt unsafe around campus. Off-campus is pretty safe as long as you’re smart.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
There are lots of opportunities for parties both on and off-campus. The Greek village is on campus and they usually have parties most weekends, based on if the fraternities get approval. High Point also puts on a lot of activities for students run by the school, whether those are plays and performances or a movie. They also arrange trips on the weekends. There’s a ski trip included, including transportation and equipment. The U.S. National Whitewater Center is in Charlotte and we do a trip down there in the fall every year too.
I usually just hang out with my friends. I might go out to my friend’s house if they have a party. I also attend various school-funded trips because they’re included. It’s a fun way to do something different. There are also a lot of fun restaurants near High Point. There’s Brown Truck Brewery, a place called Boxcar Bar + Arcade, and 20-minutes away there’s a rock-climbing gym. [See HPU Outdoor Discovery here.]
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options at High Point?
I’d say about 40% of students on campus engage in Greek life activities on the weekends. A lot of people choose to have house parties instead of going to Greek life, or they do both. [About 30% of students are involved in Greek life.]
How happy are you with the weekend options at High Point? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m pretty happy with it. There’s not much I’d change.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
We had a class together freshman year.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
Most people live on campus, or local off-campus housing and most people spend about 90% of their day on campus in classes, or in our two main buildings Slane Student Center and Cottrell, where people go to study and hang out with friends or get lunch. I can’t walk into Slane without seeing someone I know. A lot of the social aspect comes from the clubs you’re involved in. That helps you identify common interests as you. Having smaller classes also helps you meet people in your major.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I’d say there’s good mixing. I think it’s common to see diverse groups of friends around campus. [The undergraduate population is 76% Caucasian, 7% African American, 6% Hispanic, and 3% Asian.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I think it’s a pretty good mix. Only about [30%] of the campus is involved in Greek life, so while there is some isolation between sororities and fraternities as far as their individual parties, a lot of mixing happens outside of that. With intramural teams, some are specifically Greek, but there are a lot that are made up of people from different clubs or just groups of friends. That facilitates mixing.
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 a really good size. I see people I don’t know every day, but I do feel like I know a decent amount of the population at High Point. It’s not overwhelmingly large where you feel like you can’t meet new people, but it’s also not too small where you feel like you know every single person. Each semester I have classes with a group I didn’t know before, but most of the time there’s at least one friendly face in the class.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’re really helpful. I have two jobs on campus, and the career office helped me identify and apply for those positions. If you ever have issues with a job, they’re a good liaison for that.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I do a lot of programming because of my major and research background. I have experience with Excel, MATLAB, Python, and my research professor is helping me learn R. Introduction to Physics teaches a lot of the initial coding software, but most of how I learned that has come from my research working within the biomechanics lab. Our statistics classes also introduce SPSS and Excel.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
They’re pretty good. Because it’s a smaller school, they do a good job managing the financial aid. They are good at releasing new opportunities for scholarships. For me to do my study abroad trip last year, the financial aid office helped me identify a scholarship that cut my individual cost by 75%.