University of Mary Washington

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Communications and Digital Studies
Minor: Business Administration
Student Self Identifies as: White Heterosexual Male

Summary

I am a student-athlete.

Background

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

High School Experience: Private school in Baltimore, MD with a graduating class of about 90 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Communications and Digital Studies
Minor: Business Administration

Extracurricular Activities: I am a student-athlete.
What impact has your sport had on your experience?
It keeps you busy. I’ve had to manage my time more efficiently than a normal college student. I have set appointments almost every day with practices, lifts, and meeting with coaches. If I ever have to meet with a professor, I have to do that at the worst times, in a way. It’s not at my leisure, but when it fits my schedule the best.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
I have more presentations, chapter quizzes, group projects, and I’ve haven’t had too many exams.
Have you used academic accommodations? If so, how helpful were they?
I do, I need extra time with assignments, quizzes, and tests. Most of the professors throughout the school have been fantastic with all the accommodations.
Is there anything you feel the Communications department does especially well or poorly?
They’re generally pretty accommodating toward student-athletes. They’re also really good at helping students with learning disabilities find the right track.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly collaborative or competitive?
It’s a mixture of both. There’s always a sense of competition, but maybe that’s just my personality, always trying to do the best that I can. There is a big sense of collaboration within the university and the major. There are lots of group projects so far in the Communications major. Collaboration is a big part of it, and this helps with competition as well. We want our group to do better than the others.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. Usually, you can email them, some will give you their phone number if you ever need to text or call them. Most professors strictly rely on email, but they’ll respond within six hours or so.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I was deciding between the business school or communications. I chose the communications route because I like the personal aspect of business as it relates to sales and marketing, and I felt that I was going to get a good education of marketing and personal contacts with communication. I am also considering being a coach, and I felt like the communications aspect would help with that because I’d get a lot of experience in public speaking.
How was managing both your sport and your coursework?
There are always difficulties, but generally, you take it class by class. There’s always time for schoolwork, which is the first thing coaches preach. If there’s ever too much work, you can find a way. Sometimes there are late nights in the library, and other nights where you do two hours of work then you’re hanging out with your roommates for the rest of the day. There are difficulties, but then it’s also been really easy because the school makes it easy for us to do both.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s welcoming and open school. They are accommodating to what we need as a student. They try to make it the best experience for you.
2) There are great professors.
3) There’s a good social life.
4) The location of the school. It’s between two major cities, [Richmond and D.C.]

Reasons Not to Attend

1) There are lots of commuter students. A lot of Virginia students who grew up less than an hour away from the campus.
2) It’s right off I-95 so there is always traffic which can be annoying.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Randolph Hall with one roommate and two suitemates.
Sophomore: Apartment called Eagle Landing with three roommates.
Junior & Senior: Off-campus house with four roommates.
How was transitioning from Baltimore, MD to Fredericksburg, VA?
It’s different because it’s not a big city, but it’s in-between Richmond and D.C., so there are big cities around me. It hasn’t been too much of a problem, but it’s taken a little bit of getting used to.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
They have pretty good campus police. If there’s anything that ever goes wrong off campus, the campus police are around and constantly have cars driving around at night. It’s pretty safe on campus.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in?
Being on a team, we’re together a good amount on the weekend. We usually stick together, and occasionally we’ll go to bars, but mainly sticking with my team and going to people’s houses. I go out usually on Fridays and Saturdays. There’s a dollar beer night at one of the local bars, so every Thursday in the off-season a group of us will go. Mainly Fridays and Saturday nights we go to someone’s house for a house party off-campus.
What is the impact of the sports teams on nightlife?
It definitely depends if we’re in-season or out of season. Out of season, we have more freedom because it’s not as demanding. Some fraternities have parties, but I’ve only experiences parties with sports teams. I’d say if there are parties they’re usually thrown by someone on a sports team. Some are open to more people than just other sports teams, and some are closed off as well. The fraternities aren’t affiliated with the school directly, but there are a few fraternities. [UMW does not have recognized Greek life but Greek organizations operate off campus independent from the school. Click here for UMW’s student newspaper’s articles on Greek life.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
I’ve been to D.C. to go to Washington Capitals games. There are sometimes deals for Mary Washington students to go those games as well, but they’re usually during the week. They also have trips you can join going to Shenandoah Valley, which is a very mountainous area with hiking. There are also language trips to take and opportunities to volunteer with certain groups.
How happy are you with the nightlife options at UMW? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy being with my team on the weekends, or occasionally going to D.C. to watch a sports game with some friends. I don’t think I’d change anything.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends are mainly my teammates, so I met them there. I’ve met people living on my freshman hall and getting close to them by hanging out at parties and living three or four doors down as well.
How would you describe the overall social scene at UMW?
There’s always something to do, and there’s always a group of people who want to do something. It may or may not be the same thing ever weekend and some months may be more exciting than others, but you can always find something on campus.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
There’s definitely some mixture and I’d say it’s smooth. There’s no hatefulness and I see more of a race mixture than a different sexuality mixture when it comes to the sports teams. But, there is a mixture and there’s usually no bad blood between people. [28% of students are self-identified minorities.]
How would you describe the student body?
It’s very diverse. It’s a public university in Virginia and I there are people of different races, nationalities, sexual orientations. It’s a very open school as well, so it embodies people to explore themselves. I’d say the school pushes the more liberal social aspect. [Students are from 34 states and 38 foreign countries.]
How do you like the size of UMW in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [There are about 4,400 undergraduate students.]
I think the size is good. It’s around 4,400 undergraduates. It’s a small, packed campus, so it feels busy which is nice. You’re in classes and you don’t know what grade some of your classmates are, which is kind of helpful. It doesn’t feel like I know every single person and it feels like I’m meeting a new person every day.
Do people generally seem happy with UMW by senior year? Do people leave loving UMW?
Most of the people I’ve been in contact with who are graduating are pretty happy where they ended up. There’s not real regret anywhere.

Careers

Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’ve used Excel and Access in a business class.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
I’ve had experiences where they’ve been really helpful and understanding, but I’ve also had experiences where they’ve been a bit of a pain and have caused a little bit of problem for me as well. I think this was because it was a busy time and I was moving off-campus and was potentially going to lose some of my scholarship money and they were adamant on their opinion.