Washington College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Psychology
Minor: None yet
Student Self Identifies as: African-American Heterosexual Female

Summary

I [have leadership roles] in Cleopatra’s Sisters, the Black Student Union, and the Shoresteppers, which is a step team that is new on campus. I also play women’s club basketball.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: African-American
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public school in Delaware with a graduating class of about 300 students. Most students went to college, but there was not a very strong culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Psychology
Minor: None yet

Extracurricular Activities: I [have leadership roles] in Cleopatra’s Sisters, the Black Student Union, and the Shoresteppers, which is a step team that is new on campus. I also play women’s club basketball.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
Having [leadership roles] in a club as a sophomore has shown me how to bring out my professionalism more than my personal feelings. Dealing with people’s opinions and differences and guiding people throughout the organization made me much more mature.

Academic Experience

How much of your psychology major have you completed?
Last year I took both parts of General Psychology, so I took one half the first semester and the second half the second semester. I’m not taking a Psychology class this semester but I’m taking two Psychology classes next semester. I’m taking Drugs and Behavior and Psychopathology, and I’m really excited to take them.
What is your favorite class you’ve taken so far?
Global Health and Disparities. It was my favorite class because it was with my favorite professor so far. I met her through my first-year seminar class. I loved the way she teaches and how she was so supportive because she knew that we were all nervous for our first semester. The class was looking at other countries and seeing how we can help them with issues, for instance, hunger or health issues. We did research throughout the year on a certain country [and how to possibly help them].
What is a class you did not like?
Precalculus. I’m not really good at math but I needed it for my major. I took it with a new professor and the whole class was struggling.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I definitely think it’s collaborative. We all want to be able to succeed. During classes, I have become friends with people, and it’s not like they’re your friends in that specific class, we also hang out outside of class.

Reasons to Attend

1) The class size is very small compared to other schools. You’ll be able to talk to the professor and have a good relationship with your professor. [The student to faculty ratio is 11:1.]
2) There are a lot of opportunities on campus. I have had fall and summer break internships through the school. There are also a lot of interest groups on campus.
3) It’s peaceful on campus. It’s never loud, there are rarely crimes within the community.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) It’s in the middle of nowhere. You have to drive 30 minutes to go shopping. If you don’t have a car, it could be frustrating because you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.
2) There’s no football team. I was disappointed when I found that out.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Reid Hall on the freshman side with one roommate.
Sophomore: Corsica Hall in a suite with three other roommates.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s pretty good. Public safety is available 24/7 and they walk around campus to make sure it is safe. The campus is still open to the community, which is something my parents were concerned about. Other schools have security check-ins, but our school you can just drive on campus. Other than that, I think public safety does a great job of making sure everyone is safe at all times.
How was transitioning from Delaware to Chestertown, MD?
It was very different. Chestertown is in the middle of nowhere. In Delaware, we have Walmart like 5 minutes down the street, but here you have to drive at least 30 minutes away. Being in the middle of nowhere versus having everything near you is a big change. My high school was small, so Washington College is like the same sized community and that wasn’t a big deal to me.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
Cafe Sado for sushi. We don’t have a lot of chain restaurants around here, but I really like sushi and I go there every Friday.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
Chipotle, which is 30 minutes away from school.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
This semester I work for Safe Ride, which is a free shuttle for students to go around Chestertown. My best friend and I drive the van on the weekends together, so our nightlife is working on the weekend nights. Last year there were parties, but the parties had lists with names on it and if your name wasn’t on the list you couldn’t get in. Also, the parties were shut down really early. My friends and I tried to go to some parties and either the party was shut down at like 9:30, or we had to be on the list. We tried to go to parties like three times and after the third time we gave up and we’d just hang out with each other in our rooms.
How happy are you with the weekend activity options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I wish there were parties that anybody from Washington College could go to. I also wish we had football games – we don’t have a football team at Washington College. I feel like that would be where my weekends would be because at home I was at football games all the time. I wish we had some more options because the parties are not good.
What have been some of your favorite times at school so far?
Birthday Ball, which is a formal ball for George Washington’s birthday. My three best friends and I went last year and it was really fun. Also, the Black Student Union semester parties are really fun. That’s when everyone can come together and be themselves. I really enjoyed that as well.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
We all came to preorientation. We weren’t all in the same preorientation programs, but we all happened to live on the same hall freshman year. Since we all kept passing by each other, we all connected.
How would you describe the social scene?
For Safe Ride, we drop off a lot of people off at the bars on weekdays and weekends. The athletes don’t have a strict group of athletes, it’s a lot of people in a mixture of groups. That’s one thing I really like [about WAC]. Before I got here, I thought people would have little cliques, but when I got here I realized that’s not true. Everyone hangs out with everyone. Most of the people go to the bar, O’Connor’s or another restaurant called the Fish Whistle on the weekends.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think everyone mixes great. I have a lot of different types of friends. I feel that a lot of people hang out with people who are different than them, unlike my high school which was the total opposite.
How would you describe the student body?
For my class, a lot of people are really nice. We try to support each other. Because a lot of us take similar classes we can relate to each other. Or, you happen to find people who live near you at home, so you can build a lot of relationships with people from your class easily. I feel like there are no negative vibes here.

Careers

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating are they to your needs?
Yes, I’ve used financial aid, and they’re really good about it. They give a lot of money to me and they give a lot of money to my friends as well. I think they’re very generous with it.