Agnes Scott College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Mathematics-Economics
Minor: Philosophy
Student Self Identifies as: Biracial: Asian and Caribbean Straight Female

Summary

I involved in the Atlanta Youth Energy Corps, I work in the Center for Sustainability as a work-study student, and I help write the climate resilience plan.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: Asian and Caribbean
Sexual Orientation: Straight

Transferred in after working for two years and then going to community college for two years
High School Experience: Public high school in Tampa, Florida with about 500 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Mathematics-Economics
Minor: Philosophy

Extracurricular Activities: I involved in the Atlanta Youth Energy Corps, I work in the Center for Sustainability as a work-study student, and I help write the climate resilience plan.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The climate resilience plan has given me a lot of connections. It’s a joint plan I’m writing for [the City of] Decatur. The opportunity to meet people from the city has been great for my network. It’s also improved my skillset to be able to write [a large document]. The group I volunteer in, [The Atlanta Youth Energy Corps] has helped develop my leadership skills. I’m able to build something from the ground up outside of campus, which I think is really important.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I probably study about 15-25 hours per week. It’s a pretty hefty course load with a math focus. I transferred in from community college and I wanted to be done quickly, so I took on a lot of Math classes. I spend time working on weekly problem sets and for most of the Math classes, you have mini-projects. When exams are coming up, I spend time studying extra practice problems. The bulk of the grade is made up of exams.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
For especially well, my Math professors are really good at having office hours and extra practice questions. When I’ve struggled with homework or a problem set I’ve been able to come to them for answers. Even if it’s one particular problem and I don’t get it, they don’t seem to get annoyed. They’re very patient with me.
For my Economics classes, half of my professors have been great and are easy to talk to, but the other half are typically new. My first Economics professor was new and I didn’t learn from him.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I’d say it’s very collaborative. I’ve always been able to work well with others.
How accessible are your professors?
In general, they’re accessible. But it feels like there aren’t a whole lot of hours in the day when you can go see the Math professors.
How has going to a historically female college impacted your experience?
I really love it. I really love the collaborative nature of Agnes. I feel like people really care about each other here. There’s always a bit of competitiveness here, but I think it’s healthy. People want you to succeed, and part of that is challenging yourself.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I was really interested in math and I was interested in understanding economics more. My family is pretty working-class, so I didn’t have a good grasp of economics. I felt that if I did, I’d be able to put myself and my family in a better financial position in the future.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student who was also a transfer? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
There’s a growing number of resources for first-generation college students. I feel like there are some employees on campus who were also first-generation students and they make themselves really accessible to talk about any issues you’re facing. They’re very straight with you, so if you have any questions there are people here who can do that.
As far as the transition goes, I really think the resources could be better. I think there are aspects to the transfer experience that aren’t acknowledged because the focus is on first-year students.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s a wonderful place for women and other gender minorities to excel and feel supported.
2) The academics are rigorous, but not too rigorous. I feel like it’s challenging, but not to the point where you’re suffering in your classes.
3) It’s a tight-knit community. People care and want to see you succeed.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) The resources available for transfer students.
2) The food isn’t bad, but I don’t particularly like eating on campus.
3) They need more professors of color. I’ve seen a lot of White professors here. [About 32% of instructional faculty members are from minority groups.]

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Sophomore, Junior, Senior: Avery Glen apartments with two roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown to Decatur, GA?
We’re in the suburbs, which I wasn’t used to. Everything is green and looks nice, so if you’re not used to that, it’s a little bit of a culture shock. Decatur is increasingly a gentrified White area. While on campus there’s a lot of diversity, there isn’t as much diversity off-campus. It’s about 20-minutes from downtown Atlanta. [About 66% of the residents of Decatur are White and the median household income is about $92,000.]
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel pretty safe. I wish there were more blue lights because there are some dark spots around campus. I think public safety responds to issues well and makes sure to include student input to address issues on campus.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
The bars around here are pretty good, so I go to those every now and then. There aren’t any clubs over here, so if I want to go to a club I have to go further into town or up North in the Sandy Spring or Buckhead area.
What have been some of your favorite times at Agnes Scott?
They have something called Pancake Jam. It’s a night on the last day of classes every semester where they serve pancakes at night. The tradition is that people show up [after partying] and it’s pretty fun. They play music and everyone is dancing.
How often do you mix with other college students in the Atlanta area?
I’d say maybe 30% of the time I’m interacting with other college students from the Atlanta area. I work a lot, so I usually stay on campus unless I’m off-campus studying at a coffee shop.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I wish there were more biking trails in Decatur, and in Atlanta in general. It’s not that safe taking my bike everywhere.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through classes. I’ve also made good friendships out of orientation. It was a sore spot when I did it because they group all the transfer students together even if you’re older so there was a bit of an age difference. I was pretty miserable during that time, but I ended up being good friends with a lot of the first-years I met.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Agnes Scott?
It’s a small town and everybody knows everybody. Even if you don’t know someone’s name, you’ve seen their face. You may have a friend who’s friends with them.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
It feels like half and half. There’s mixing and then there’s not. I think that’s okay and people need to be in places with people who identify as equal to them. There are certain spaces where there’s lots of diversity in terms of ethnicity and sexual orientations. [The undergraduate population is 12% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 29% Black, and 35% White.]
How do you like the size of Agnes Scott in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 1,000] students?
When I first got here I didn’t love it. I was pretty miserable as a transfer student, and the last thing I wanted to see was the same people all the time. Now that I’ve built better friendships and like my classes more, I do like that aspect of seeing people all the time.
How was it blending into the social environment as a transfer?
It took me a solid year to feel comfortable. I’m a transfer student, but I took two years off to work and didn’t come right from a community college. My experience is definitely different than someone who came from another college.
Do people generally seem happy with Agnes Scott by senior year? Do people leave loving Agnes Scott?
It’s a mixed bag. I feel like I’ve heard a good deal of people who’ve recently graduated that want more of a post-graduate emphasis. They want to see significant effort from the career office to ensure they get a job after graduation. For some people, it has worked to be that way, but for others who didn’t grow up [in a business environment], you really need someone to show you what it looks like to network to make sure you get into the spaces you want to get into. I think the career office can be more direct in that way. Sometimes I feel like the career office isn’t as intentional about that.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I used them as guidance for the next steps. Because I’ve worked, I have a good idea of how to network and perform. I think that’s hard if you come from an immersive college experience where you’re work experience is limited to a part-time internship. They’ve been helpful in looking at what I want to do for myself.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I took a class on Python. We’ve used Excel in a data analysis class. I’ve also learned Stata in a business statistics class, and I’ve used Maple in a linear algebra class.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
I haven’t used them a whole lot. I have a grant from the college and FAFSA, which has been pretty straight forward.