Ursinus College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Pre-Engineering
Minor: Computer Science
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Male
Summary
I was in Wind Ensemble, I played intramural tennis which was a lot of fun, I was part of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and I worked as a teaching assistant for Physics which was a great experience. They’re really open to letting undergraduates T.A., which is really awesome and an experience I would recommend. I also did research the summer after my sophomore year in Math. I didn’t know much about abstract math at that point, so that was also a crazy opportunity.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public school outside of Reading, PA with a graduating class of about 500 students. There was not a strong culture of going to college with about 60-70% going to a college and a smaller group who graduated.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Pre-Engineering
Minor: Computer Science
Extracurricular Activities: I was in Wind Ensemble, I played intramural tennis which was a lot of fun, I was part of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and I worked as a teaching assistant for Physics which was a great experience. They’re really open to letting undergraduates T.A., which is really awesome and an experience I would recommend. I also did research the summer after my sophomore year in Math. I didn’t know much about abstract math at that point, so that was also a crazy opportunity.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Wind Ensemble did because it was a nice place to go twice a week to get away from all the academic stress and play my instrument with my friends. A lot of times we would hang out or get dinner afterward, so that turned into a friend group. I have a musical background from high school, so it was nice to find people with a common interest across several classes.
How easy was it to get involved in undergraduate research?
It was very easy. I had to be the one to initiate wanting to do it. I went up to a professor that I had a class with the first semester of my sophomore year and said I was interested in doing some research. I had no idea what math research would look like or be like, but the professor liked me because I did well in her class. I had to initiate the conversation which takes some bravery, but after I asked it was super easy. There was luckily not a lot of competition, but it can be a little harder to get a research position in the bigger labs. But, if you ask around and work hard to get a spot, anybody can get a spot in the lab that they want.
Academic Experience
Did you enter Ursinus knowing that you wanted to do one of the 3+2 engineering programs?
Yeah, it’s a pretty rigorous program with a lot of required classes and GPA requirements. If a student wants to do it, they have to be pretty serious about it, which I was so I was able to follow through with it.
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
It was a lot of Math and Physics. Every semester I was taking at least one Math and one Physics class, and each course would involve two midterms and a final. Chemistry was also a requirement and I took a chemistry course the first semester of freshman year which was tough because I hadn’t taken a chemistry class since junior year of high school. I’d usually take a Math course, Physics course, and some sort of science course and all three would involve three exams per semester, and then some other course to fulfill a general requirement.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I’m studying electrical engineering now, and it gave me a strong foundation in physics and math. The student to teacher ratio is really low so once I finished the intro-level classes, I was in classes with like eight or nine people, so I was able to get a lot of help and a really strong foundation for my engineering degree here.
In terms of things that are not so great, the Pre-Engineering Program is a really small program. I was the only student who did it in my year and there was only one person in the year above me, so I felt a little isolated because I didn’t really have a major. That was a little frustrating at times because there wasn’t a strong community around it. Another thing I really didn’t like was in the small classes it can be tough to be motivated to do well because as long as you all agree to be collectively lazy, you can get away with it. When you have a class of a hundred students, you can’t all collaborate to not do your homework on time or not study. [The student-faculty ratio at Ursinus is 11:1.]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s collaborative. At Ursinus, students are very friendly. I missed classes and was able to get notes and we’d have study sessions together. It was very, very collaborative and I think that’s partially because the classes were so small. When you’re in a class with eight or nine people, it’s tough not to stick together.
How accessible are your professors?
Very, very accessible. Now that I’m at a bigger school, I’ve come to appreciate how available my professors were. It was so easy to meet with them. They would have office hours three or four hours a week and if you couldn’t make those you could make an appointment, and if you didn’t make any appointment, nine times out of ten you could just show up at their office and they would talk to you.
What was your favorite class you took for your major?
Analog Circuit Design, which was the closest thing to electrical engineering there. We built an AM radio from scratch, so that was really fun and I learned a ton. There was a small group of junior and senior Physics majors in that class. It was a really good time.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m really happy with my choice. I’m happy with it because I wanted a liberal arts education but I also wanted to do something technical, which is hard to do. I was able to get the liberal arts education and took classes I would have never taken if I wasn’t forced to, such as Chinese and Spanish history. It’s a great mix for someone who wants to do something technical as well as in the liberal arts.
Reasons to Attend
1) We have a really good student to professor ratio. [The student-faculty ratio is 11:1.]
2) The social atmosphere is really good and inclusive.
3) The campus dining hall food is good.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s in a slightly isolated town and is a small school, so you might get bored and you’ll eventually meet everyone.
2) It’s not a very well-known school, so you are going to have to get used to you telling people you go to Ursinus and them not knowing what you’re talking about.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
I commuted from home the three years I went there.
How did commuting impact your experience?
Commuting was great. I would go really early and leave really late, so a lot of people didn’t even know I was a commuter. However, there was no commuter lounge, basically the library was the commuter lounge, so you had to get to know the spots to hang out. It was actually a really sore spot with Ursinus for me and it was tough at the beginning of my freshman year when I didn’t know people because I would be stuck sometimes with nowhere to relax. Apart from that, the commuter life wasn’t that bad.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Public safety is great. They’re always riding their bikes around campus and I felt very safe while I was there.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Ursinus?
There’s a residence hall called Reimert Hall that is a suite-style residence hall with balconies and a courtyard in the middle and that was the go-to spot for parties. The parties were always really fun and the people were very welcoming. There was a bar that was near campus that we would go to. I’d tend to go out on Fridays and Saturdays and sometimes Thursdays. There are also fraternity and sorority houses across the street from campus who also host parties, but on-campus is where most people go to. The groups who tend to host parties are fraternities, sororities, and sports teams, but everybody is invited because it’s a small school so everyone knows everyone.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
There are a movie theater and shopping center about 20-minutes away, which is a good option. I did that a lot. There’s a movie tavern near campus that is pretty awesome. The clubs on campus will also do things, like there is a Film Club that will host movie screenings.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Bentley? Is there anything you would change if you could?
Quiet hours started at 2:00 AM, but I think all colleges are like that. If you live in a residence hall that hosts parties, you’re signing up for party life, so that can be a positive and a negative.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friends through the Christian Fellowship, intramural tennis, and also through my major.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
I think it’s pretty good. There are a lot of clubs, so there is a spot for everyone. Some clubs would have three people in them, but they would stick together and keep the club going. As long as you put yourself out there, you’ll find a place to fit in.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think they mix a lot socially. It’s a very inclusive campus and it’s a liberal arts school, so the culture is very liberal. When I was there, there were a couple of marches for Black Lives Matter and when other [demonstrations] happened throughout the country. I would say there’s a strong social presence of inclusion. The words you hear 24/7 are inclusion and diversity. There have been some incidents that were not so great, but I think, for the most part, there’s a good environment of diversity. Keep in mind this is coming from a White male, but I think it’s pretty inclusive.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
They mix really well socially. Most of the people in Greek life are athletes, so usually Greek life and sports teams are somewhat tied together. But, there are also people who are on sports teams and not in Greek life, so it meshes really well. I was never in Greek life and I was also never a student-athlete, and I had friends in Greek life and would still go to their parties.
How do you like the size of Ursinus in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [Ursinus has about 1,450 undergraduate students.]
I thought it was kind of small. There were maybe five or six Physics majors in my year, and that was very small. Also, just the fact that everyone knows everyone got annoying. After a couple of years, you go to a party or are walking on campus and you know literally everyone. It’s been nice to see fresh faces now that I’m at a bigger school.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Ursinus by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Ursinus?
Absolutely. There will always be people who don’t like it, but, for the most part, everyone loves it and people come back to visit. I’ve met lots of alumni who are my parents’ age. If you finish, which most people do, you’re going to have loved it. [For the 2017 freshman cohort, 89% returned for their sophomore year.]
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I was in a program for one summer with the U-Imagine Center, which is an entrepreneurship center. That was directed by an alum and she connected me with another person outside of Ursinus for an internship.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I didn’t use it much at all.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be especially helpful to you professionally?
I learned Java and I also learned C++ in a Data Structures class. There are a lot of complaints that they don’t teach many languages other than those.