Temple University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Accounting
Minor: Management Information Systems
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Male

Summary

Beta Alpha Psi which is an honors accounting organization, Athletes Helping Athletes, and intramural sports.

Background

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

High School Experience: Private high school in the Warminster, PA with a graduating class of about 280 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Accounting
Minor: Management Information Systems

Extracurricular Activities: Beta Alpha Psi which is an honors accounting organization, Athletes Helping Athletes, and intramural sports.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Intramural sports have because they were a lot of fun. The honors accounting organization did as well because I was able to get a leadership position. It gave me a lot of exposure to recruiters and the professional world, which landed me an internship this summer.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It’s mostly problem sets. You’ll be given problems with a bunch of numbers and you would have to figure out how to journalize it and write it down into the books. The bulk of the final grade is usually exams and projects.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The faculty was really close to the student body. For the student professional organizations, they were right next to the major heads of the department so they made sure to know everyone’s name. Whenever you need something you could just go up and talk with them.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I’d say it’s a little bit of both. A lot of my closest friends are in the Accounting department, and I don’t think I would’ve done as well if I didn’t have people to study with or bounce questions off of. It’s also a pretty competitive field because those students are also competing for internships and jobs, and even for the 4+1 master’s program I’m doing. I feel the competition when companies come onto campus and you’re selling yourself to them. You want to make yourself stand out in a way. In the classroom you want to stand out as well.
How accessible are your professors?
They are really accessible. Four or five of my professors gave me their phone number and told us they are accessible if we have questions outside of office hours. You could develop that strong relationship with them.
What has been your favorite part of Temple academically?
Honing my professional development skills and learning professional etiquette when talking with recruiters, and how to dress business casual.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
During my sophomore year of high school, there was an accounting class that I took, and I really liked it. My brother and my cousins are all accountants, which might have had an effect on me.

Reasons to Attend

1) The faculty I’ve worked with were helpful and responsive. They helped me advance my career.
2) Temple is ranked well across all fields, so no matter what your major is it’s a big accomplishment to graduate.
3) The exposure to a metropolitan area. One of the most interesting parts is how close you are to Center City.

Reasons Not to Attend

None

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: White Hall with three roommates
Sophomore: Beech International with one roommate.
Junior/Senior: Off-campus apartment with three roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown to living in Philadelphia?
It was a little bit of an adjustment. I originally wanted to go to a suburban school, but I visited Temple my senior year of high school and loved it. It wasn’t too big of an adjustment, but living on my own was. Learning how the transit works was an adjustment.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
On campus, I felt that I wasn’t in danger. The further away I got, the sketchier it was.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
My friends and I go to either a bar of a club. We might go to Center City to see what’s going on there, and if we don’t have anything going on during the week, we’ll go find trivia to go to. A lot of our intramural games are at night, so we’d do that. We also went to house parties, which were mostly through Greek life my freshman year. We started meeting people with houses through intramurals and our majors, so we started branching out.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
I think it has dissipated over the years. I remember freshman year there were five or six we could go to, but by the time senior year rolled around it had decreased. As a male, you usually have to pay to get in.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
Just hanging out. I had a group of 9 or 10 friends and our house was right across the street from theirs, so hanging out at either of our houses and watching a movie.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’d say I was pretty happy. I like the bar options, so I don’t think I’d change anything.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
We were all in the same dorm freshman year. People meet others in clubs, classes, and going out on the weekends. In the first couple of weeks as a freshman, we met up with another group of guys on the way to a fraternity party.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Temple?
It’s pretty good. On a nice day, you’ll see people hanging out anywhere on campus, and there are a bunch of places to hang out and meet people.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I don’t think there are any boundaries to that at all. Temple is a really progressive campus and they are accepting of everything. My group of friends is pretty diverse as well. It’s common to see diverse groups of friends around campus. [The undergraduate population is 55% White, 13% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 12% Asian.]
How has the urban environment impacted your experience?
It has been a positive experience. It’s made me more street smart and I’m always aware of what I’m doing and where I’m doing it. Being an urban school, we’re close to Center City and it’s interesting because there was always something to do.
How do you like the size of Temple in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 29,000] students?
I like the bigger classes. It might make some people feel like a small fish in a big pond, but I like the 200-person lecture halls.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I had two or three friends that came to Temple from high school who went into Greek life, and they were always inviting their friends to the parties who weren’t in Greek life. if you don’t know anyone in the specific fraternity they’ll make you pay at the door.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
It was all on my own or through the honors accounting club I was part of.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I went for resume critiques and had a few mock interviews with them.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
In my Management Information Systems classes, I got pretty used to using Excel, Tableau, SQL, and MongoDB.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
They are very easy to work with. I was just asking about the CARES Act the other day and they responded within 15-minutes.