Towson University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Computer Science with Security Tracking
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Asian Heterosexual Male

Summary

I go to the gym to rock climb and I also go to the International Student Association meetings.

Background

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

High School Experience: Public school in Baltimore, MD with a graduating class of about 30 students. There was not a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Computer Science with Security Tracking
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I go to the gym to rock climb and I also go to the International Student Association meetings.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The International Student Association has helped me build connections with a lot of people and, because of that, I’ve made friends all over the world.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Junior and senior year, it’s mostly focused on projects where there is a goal and you create code to reach that goal, fixing errors in the code, or setting up servers. Each project is about 20% of our grade, homework is about 20% of the grade, and along the way we get lab work which is about 20% of our grade and exams are also about 30% of our grade.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I think the projects they give us are pretty fun to do, especially if you’re interested in coding. The not so fun parts are the lectures because if you already know how to program, the very first classes you take are basic programming classes, so those are pretty boring if you already know how to do it.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s more collaborative. In most of my Computer Science classes, the professors encourage us to work in a team rather than competing against each other individually. Once you graduate and start working on a job, teamwork is essential. Therefore, the professors are teaching the students how to work in a team before they go into the workforce.
How accessible are your professors?
They are really accessible. If you send them an email, they will respond within a day or two. If you want to show up to their office outside of their office hours, it’s very easy to set up an appointment ahead of time.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
The networking class that I took last semester. It’s my favorite, but it’s also the most widely disliked class because it was very hands-on and there was no lecture at all. The professors just put us in a team of four and then we worked together as a team to build servers. It was fun because we didn’t have to sit through lectures, we got our hands dirty and wrote code and set up servers. The not so fun part of that class was we had to spend about 20-30 hours a week working on it when we normally would spend 5-6 hours a week in class. We had to spend every weekend in the computer lab working on it.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
During my junior year and senior of high school I started learning how to program and I liked it. Compared to the other fields Towson has, Computer Science was the most interesting to me, so I chose it.
How was transitioning from your high school where there was not a culture of going to college to Towson? Were there any resources that you used to adapt?
They have plenty of resources like the tutoring center here. When I was transitioning from high school to college, I had a hard time because I thought freshman year of college would be the same as senior year of high school, but I was completely wrong. Thankfully, they have the tutoring center that helped me with my math. In my high school, the highest level of math was geometry, but here I had to take pre-calculus, which I didn’t know anything about. The resources they offered were really helpful for me and helped me not fail my classes.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s a great place to socialize and meet people.
2) Towson likes to bring in international students. [There are over 400 international students from over 80 countries.]
3) If you want to be an entrepreneur, Towson has a lot of resources for that.
4) There are nice areas for independent artists to show their work.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) There are issues with parking.
2) If you don’t like big campuses, this is a large campus. There are some really long walks across campus. [The campus is 329-acres.]

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
I’m a commuter student. [About 72% of students live off-campus or commute.]
How has commuting impacted your experience?
There are some events that I want to attend but can’t because it starts and ends late and I don’t like staying out too late when I have to travel back and forth from my house.
Can you describe the level of safety you have experienced on and around campus?
Based on my own experience, I’d say it’s pretty safe. The campus university police send out emails notifying the whole student body about certain activities in the university area both on and off-campus. Most of them are about things that happen outside of campus. I like that they do that so that we’re aware and can take precautionary action and avoid that area. We also have the blue light system all over campus.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I don’t [laughs]. I’m a computer scientist so my nightlife is me staring at a computer and coding. Sometimes the club that I’m a part of hosts events throughout the semester and those can be pretty fun. My club also hosts a field trip to New York City which is pretty fun. I just like to hang out with them.
What have been some of your favorite times at Towson?
My favorite times this year are when I go to the gym to go rock climbing because I get to socialize with the people who are also rock climbing and we can talk about how to climb a particular wall, etc.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Towson? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m pretty fine with them. I don’t think Towson has that many activities going on every weekend, but once or twice a month they host an event that is interesting. If you just view the daily email they send out, you can know what they are.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through the International Students Association. I’ve also met other people through my Computer Science classes where we’ve taken multiple classes together and worked together.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Towson?
Socially, I think it’s pretty nice. There is a particular spot on campus where students can go sit down and enjoy the warm weather during the spring and fall. During those times, there will be people hanging out, talking, and socializing. But, in the classroom, students don’t usually talk to each other. It feels like they have an isolation bubble around them. You have to initiate the conversation because they won’t. People tend to be open once they are in clubs or activities, but once people are in the classroom they tend to mind their own business.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
They mix pretty well. Students support all kinds of movements or beliefs. There is no discrimination that exists except for isolated incidences. There was recently an event where a student was harassed. I would say that it’s common to see diverse groups of friends on campus.
How do you like the size of Towson in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 20,000 undergraduates.]
It’s getting a little crowded because the parking garage is always full. But, the more people that are here means the more people I get to talk to and meet.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
I started using the career center this semester. They’ve helped me with my resume and helped me make some changes.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’ve learned Java, HTML, C, and Assembly.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
Yes, every year I use financial aid and there is an online portal that makes it really easy.