Lawrence University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Global Studies and Spanish double major
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Bisexual Female
Summary
I [have a leadership position] in the Pan-Asian Organization, I am part of Alianza, and Kids Gives, which is a non-profit.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
High School Experience: I’m an international student and went to a small international school with about 50 students in the graduating class. Students went to university in either the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Global Studies and Spanish double major
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I [have a leadership position] in the Pan-Asian Organization, I am part of Alianza, and Kids Gives, which is a non-profit.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The Pan-Asian Organization has had a big impact on me. It’s a great club if you have a strong idea of what you want to do because it’s a place where you can find connections. For me, there were a few events I wanted to organize and I couldn’t have done them without the Pan-Asian Organization because I organized them through it.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
This year, I’ve been mostly taking language classes. In those classes, you’re expected to do a lot of reading from primary texts. In those classes, you’ll have essays or projects that make up the bulk of your final grade. If you’re in a lower-level language class, that is a lot of daily work because you have class every day. In those classes, your class participation, homework assignments, and tests make up the final grade.
Is there anything you feel either of your majors’ departments do especially well or poorly?
They do a really good job of reaching out to students and making sure we have access to resources. Though, you do have to take your own initiative in class and accessing resources because if you don’t show that you’re interested, it will be hard for the professors to take you seriously as a student.
One thing about the Global Studies department is it’s not really a department. It’s comprised of professors from different disciplines, like Government, History, and Language professors. If you’re very uncertain about what you want to do, I would not recommend it because there are not a lot of places to reach out to since all the professors have different focuses. There are also a lot of other departments at Lawrence that are set up so that they are a combination of different departments. [See Global Studies faculty here.]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I would not say that Lawrence is competitive, but I wouldn’t say it’s collaborative either. If you came from a culture of hard work, then you’ll be okay because my classes have been very individually motivated.
How accessible are your professors?
They are very accessible. You can send them an email and they respond within the day.
How was transitioning academically as an international student? Were there any resources available that helped you adapt?
Lawrence is very welcoming to international students, which is great. I think international students feel at home at Lawrence because there’s a longer orientation week and you get to form a deeper bond within that community before you even start. That gives you a place to refer back to when you are having academic problems or other issues.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I chose Global Studies and Spanish because I’m trying to keep my options open in terms of finding a job in the future or continuing on to a master’s degree.
What has been your favorite part of the academics at Lawrence?
I like how flexible the curriculum is. You can have Student-Initiated courses and Student-Designed majors that you can take advantage of. That’s very easy to do and oftentimes your advisers will encourage you to do that. I’m a very independent worker and I like the Student-Initiated courses.
Reasons to Attend
1) If you like small class sizes, come to Lawrence. [About 79% of classes have 19 students or fewer.]
2) There are lots of vegan food options in the dining halls.
3) If you’re introverted, I think you’ll be happy here. That’s because it’s winter for half of the year so people are cooped up inside enjoying their own company.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) Don’t come if you’re a big party person.
2) If you’re set on the program you want to study, make sure we have it.
Around Campus
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I would say that I feel pretty safe on campus in that I don’t think anybody is going to rob me or anything like that. In terms of how safe I feel around other students, I definitely felt safe in the Sankofa House because it was a house for people of color. You would always see the same familiar faces there.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Lawrence isn’t great in terms of going out. If you have a good friend group or live in a house-type situation, it’s much easier to go out. If you’re 21, most people go to bars downtown. It does get very cold, so prepare for that as you will. It’s definitely not a big party school, so you can find ways to have fun on a given weekend. For me and my friends, for the four or five months when the weather is nice, we go on hikes and runs because there are great trails. We have a resort called Björklunden that is really fun to explore too. When it gets cold, I just stay inside. It can get to negative 30 degrees [Fahrenheit]. If I were to go to a party, I prefer to go to parties at my house or a fraternity house that I trust. It’s just about finding your people and community to have fun here.
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options at Lawrence?
It has little to no impact. Sorority houses don’t exist at Lawrence so they don’t have parties. Then the fraternities only attract a certain group of students to their parties, so not a lot of the Lawrence population goes to those as a whole. [About 9% of men join fraternities and 13% of women join sororities.]
What have been some of your favorite times at Lawrence?
I would definitely say our spring music festival. Most years, the committee has a very good taste in picking the musicians so there’s something for everybody.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Lawrence? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I would prefer something a bit more vibrant. Because there’s not a lot of diversity on campus, there’s not a lot of diversity in the type of parties that are thrown. That’s slowly starting to change. Right now, I’m fine with whatever options there are.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends at Lawrence?
Most of my friends were from the international community that I met through international orientation. But, when I think about it, I also have a lot of friends I met from all over the place. For example, I met them through events organizations throw. People at Lawrence are very friendly so you randomly meet people often.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Lawrence?
It’s not bad. There’s something for everybody if you look hard enough. At the same time, it’s a little divided in that people who are people of color tend to stick together and White students stick together. It’s not that there are major underlying issues, it’s just a difference of culture. I personally don’t have a lot of White friends because I just personally don’t feel the same level of welcome-ness and that White students are not as patient in making friends outside of [their own community].
How would you describe the international community? How strong is it?
I would say that the international community is very strong. Even if we have a lot of international students from certain countries, they still try to reach out and make sure that everybody is included. [About 12% of students are international.]
How do you like the size of Lawrence in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [Lawrence has about 1,450 students.]
In terms of my academic experience, the class size is perfect because you have very small, personalized classes. Socially, I do wish that there were more people because it feels like a small high school.
How would you describe the student body at Lawrence?
They’re very oriented towards what they want to do with their career or music interests. There are a lot of musicians on this campus and there’s a culture of musical performance because we have the conservatory here. People are pretty creative and I’ve met a lot of artistic people. If you’re not creative in the traditional ways, I’ve met people who are creative in other ways.
As an international student, were there any aspects of Lawrence or American university overall that surprised you?
I wouldn’t necessarily say anything about Lawrence surprised me, but the town of Appleton surprised me. I came from a big city, and, to me, it feels like a small town and is very rural. That was a bit of a shock because I didn’t think Lawrence would be in that setting.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Not yet, but I am in touch with a lot of alumni because I am part of the Student Ambassador Program. In a few classes they also require you to contact alumni, so I think that Lawrence has a very good system for linking students and alumni.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’ve been pretty helpful. I go to get my resume polished and they are always very welcoming and friendly.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
No, just the general Microsoft Office tools.
Financial Aid
Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
Lawrence has been very generous with me with financial aid, but I know situations where they haven’t been as generous with people when it comes to reconsidering aid. If you’re a first-year student and you’ve already made your appeal for aid and got it, make sure that you’re okay with that amount of aid because after that it’ll be very difficult for you to get it reconsidered.