No symposium about what college is for would be complete without the perspectives of those for whom the question is most immediate: college students. This past spring, we asked undergraduates from a range of schools—liberal arts colleges and research universities, community colleges and state schools, religious institutions and labor colleges—to tell us about their experience of higher education. We received over a hundred responses and have reprinted a selection of them here.
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LILY CUELLARSOLA
Wellesley College, Class of 2022
Philosophy Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
This question sounds so simple, but it feels so loaded to me. I grew up in a very abusive environment and would escape through school. In high school, I made it my life’s mission to get into a college far from home where I could study in peace. I think I really romanticized the idea of college and saw it as the only way for me to truly be independent and free. Alongside that, I think I was also heavily influenced by the idea that a college degree was the only way to have a good job that pays a good wage. I really wanted to break out of the cycle of poverty I grew up in. College became the answer to all of my problems.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
The biggest challenge is access to accurate and reliable information. I grew up knowing I wanted to go to college but had no idea how to do it. I was constantly told that college was expensive and that because I was poor I would leave with tons of debt, which terrified me. In my junior year in high school, a woman who ran a nonprofit reached out to me and other students at my school and told us that she would provide us with free test prep and mentoring to apply to college. I had never had an adult provide such an amazing gift and demystify all of my preconceived notions of college. If it weren’t for her, I would not have gotten into a top institution with full financial aid. I didn’t even know that was a possibility.
What is college for?
I ask myself this question a lot. Now that I am in a safe environment where I am excited about life and the people around me, I can clearly see that I want this for the rest of my life. I don’t think that necessarily means I want to pursue a life of academia, but that I want a life where I am excited about what I am doing and the people I am around. For me, college is for growth and coming into understanding who I am and what I want for my life. The philosopher in me wants to argue that that answer could apply to a lot of experiences, but I know that college has definitely been that for me.
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OLIVIA PITTARD
St. John’s College, Class of 2022
Why did you choose to go to college?
I wanted an education that would serve me for my whole life. I wasn’t interested in becoming hyper-specialized. I don’t believe that college is for specialized skills unless you want to be an engineer.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
Best part is the small intellectual community and getting to see your friends all of the time. Life is so integrated. It’s not fragmented like it is in adulthood. We all play sports, go to class, eat, drink, laugh together. I don’t think you get that anywhere else. The course material is brutal. And it really hurts to do some of the readings (like Calvin for instance). But that’s why I’m here. It’s supposed to be brutal.
What has surprised you most about college?
How immature people are.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
Mentality. People don’t think of education like they should. They take it as a given that they should go to college and major in something banal. That’s not what it’s for but that’s also what most high schools prepare you for these days. There’s not enough of an emphasis on being well-rounded as a person, not simply as a bundle of extracurriculars.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
It sucks. I hate being online for everything. I feel robbed.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Haha, yes. Essential. College is for self-reformation and learning. You’re shaping your mind into something that will best serve you no matter what you do. The humanities are an incredible way to do that. But math is also essential in that project. Being able to think logically and follow an argument is critical and it will never be unhelpful.
What is college for?
Self-reformation.
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MEADOW TREADWELL
University of Memphis, Transferring elsewhere
Photography Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
In my junior year of high school, I dropped out. Due to a combination of familial issues and mental-health difficulties, high school seemed like the last thing I wanted to engage in. I regret it every day, but I didn’t let it stop me from attending college. While working to obtain my GED in what would have been my senior year of high school, I applied to the University of Memphis as a non-degree-seeking student so that I could collect credit hours which would then transfer once I was enrolled as a degree-seeking student.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
My favorite part of college is the difference in the environment from what we’ve been used to for our whole school lives. I’m able to casually talk with my professors, dive deeper into discussions/assignments more than I would’ve been allowed to in high school, and experiment within (albeit loose) parameters. The worst or most difficult part for me was the transition to online coursework. I attended an online high school, and if I had decided to switch to a physical brick-and-mortar school, I don’t think I would have dropped out. So when the COVID lockdown struck us in March and we suddenly transitioned into all online courses, I was both devastated and unmotivated.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
The biggest challenge to getting an education nowadays is without a doubt tuition costs. I know intelligent, interested (which many college students are not) people who would thrive in college, but who cannot attend because they cannot afford it and have no other financial support. I can attest to this. My family is supportive and is not bad off financially but I couldn’t attend an out-of-state school unless I had a scholarship or applied for federal loans. I’ve made it a goal to not rely on federal/educational loans for college because I’ve witnessed the devastation of debt. My response to the ridiculousness of tuition for a decent education is to attend Santa Fe Community College for two years, become a resident of New Mexico, and then transfer to the University of New Mexico, which has one of the best photography programs in the country and would have affordable tuition for an in-state student.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
I’m probably biased, considering that is all I like to read. But I remember when attending the in-person philosophy class at university, many of the students would become very engaged in the subjects addressed, even those questions that seemed a bit dated or arbitrary. I was surprised by who would comment and how invested people would become during these discussion periods. You don’t get that experience in economics classes or biology or whatever people deem more important academically than the humanities. Every humanities course I’ve taken has been about testing one’s ability to rationalize, argue, question your own assumptions and engage with those who differ from you as a person and in opinion.
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AVERY NGUYEN
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Class of 2022
Chemical Engineering Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I wanted training that college offered, so I went. More practically, I would say that I’m someone who has historically been good at school; people who are good at school don’t generally stop at high school, even if college isn’t strictly necessary. There’s a huge bubble of social pressure that colored my decision to go to college, such that it didn’t necessarily feel like a decision either way. But I had my reasons (I wanted to be an engineer, I wanted to solve problems, I wanted to help people), and everyone else had their reasons to expect college of me (I got good grades, mostly), so things mostly aligned.
What are studying? Why did you pick that concentration?
I’m studying chemical engineering, with a concentration in materials process and design, and I’m studying literature. I picked the first because I’m one of those real save-the-world types, even if it feels increasingly futile with time, and I don’t know if anyone has noticed lately, but the world is kind of on fire. I thought—and think, sometimes—chemicals might be able to help fix that, even if only a little bit. I’m studying literature because it is life-giving and life-sustaining, on a more micro level. Stories are powerful. I know this firsthand, but also secondhand, and thirdhand, and so on. I don’t think I could have a life without literature, so I don’t.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
This is a place filled to the brim with lovely, bright, impassioned students, and I am so incredibly privileged to think and feel and live and breathe alongside these people.
But it’s hard, of course. My mental health is a little bit in shambles, and I don’t honestly think it will get better over the remainder of my time here. I unironically schedule my complete collapses in my calendar, because I know I can’t go that long without melting down, but I also know that I have to have myself pulled together. It’s not just the work—it’s the stress, the pressure, the anxiety that I feel about pretty much everything.
What has surprised you most about college?
I was a little too idealistic going in. I thought maybe everyone wanted to save the world. I know, now, that it’s okay to not want to save the world. Necessary, even, for people to feel that way. I used to feel a bit betrayed, though, that not everyone had the same hero complex I did. I’m a little better about it now, but I’m still adjusting to a frame of mind in which I acknowledge, respect and even appreciate the myriad things people wish to do with their lives.
There’s nothing wrong with financial technology, or investment banking, or software over and over. My sense of morality and social responsibility can’t be extrapolated to everyone, and it shouldn’t be.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
Doing school digitally is horrendous regardless of how you spin it. Being on endless video calls is exhausting. Completing problem sets and essays alone is exhausting. Remaining in the same room for hours and hours on end is exhausting. An experience that was once draining but fulfilling is now pretty much only draining.
Mostly I miss my friends.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
The humanities are approximately responsible for keeping me sane and alive, so I’m slightly biased in my thought that the humanities are essential.
But still, I do. Think that the humanities are essential, I mean. Partially I think this because I have to, as someone who is being kept alive by a sense of art and humanity in the world. Mostly, though, I think this because the technical is rendered incredibly empty without the humanities.
Nothing exists in a vacuum, especially not science and engineering. It is critical to understand the people we engineer things for, and the contexts we engineer things in.
What is college for?
College is, almost inevitably, training of a kind, for the rest of your life. And that life might be the sort of life that demands learning and growing, but it might also be a life that really just wants you to have learned a lot of thermodynamics, or a lot about signal processing and circuits, or a lot about pipetting.
These senses aren’t mutually exclusive, but ultimately I think it varies a lot, from person to person, and I think you do discover where on the spectrum of practicality your college education falls.
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KEZIA VELISTA
Baruch College, Class of 2021
English Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
It was just the thing I felt like I had to do. When I was sixteen years old and looking at potential universities to go to, I asked my mother about my choices. All she said was, “Of course you should get a higher education, but you’re just going to get married anyway, so you need to focus on that too.” As you can probably imagine, this dismissive response made me boil as an already angsty teenager who regularly listened to bands like Joy Division and The Clash. I found comfort in attending school, because I could build a sense of camaraderie with teachers who were interested in the subjects I was curious about. School to me really became a home when home didn’t feel much like one. From my mother’s response about my aspirations, I saw going to college and succeeding at it as the ultimate act of rebellion.
What are you studying? Why did you pick that concentration?
I am from Jakarta, Indonesia and my family immigrated to the suburbs of Georgia when I was ten years old. We were of modest means, and when it came to choosing a major, my options were to either study business administration or something related to nursing. My first semester of college, I was taking accounting and business classes; I ended the semester with a 2.5 GPA.
After seeing my grades dwindle, I decided I couldn’t just be one of those students who merely cruised through college. I am a DACA recipient, so there’s much more pressure applied when it comes to my personal identity as an immigrant. It’s as if whatever I do, I am also representing other dreamers in the entirety of the U.S., and I’d like to have a positive impact.
I made the switch and chose to study English literature. I picked this because it was truly the subject that I’ve always been curious about since my formative years. It’s also my second language, so the constant challenge is, for lack of better term, fun. The word “literature” is rich to me, like a bar of chocolate or a latte with extra foam. Every word I read clings to every fiber of my being and I am comfortably swaddled by the pursuit of knowledge. I took on a minor in philosophy, which is also a special challenge. I enjoy philosophy because I always learn something new. Even though the readings from my classes may result in me having an existential crisis, that in and of itself is a reason for me to keep going. Philosophy always reminds me that life is short, that we’re just specks compared to the universe, but it simultaneously reminds me that we’re here, we’re present, and we need to make something meaningful out of life.
What has surprised you about college?
The lack of parties there really are, or maybe I’m just not in the right crowd. American movies tend to depict college as a nonstop party with booze and love, but I find that may not be so true. At least, it may not be true if the student would like to maintain a GPA that allows them to graduate with Latin honors.
How has college changed you?
I’ve become more considerate and sensitive to the needs of others. Like I said, I used to be an angsty teenager and rather arrogant. Going to college has allowed me to meet people from all walks of life and I try to put forth my best effort in understanding that learning is a collective effort, not just this individualist solo project that only benefits me.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Yes, and I am not just saying this because I am a humanities student. Learning subjects within the humanities allows for robust discussions and gives students the space to practice critical thinking skills. Agreements are important, but disagreements are even more important because they allow us to step back and say, “Okay, but why do you see it that way?” Depending on the answer, we may be able to reach a new consensus, and that is so important for the advancement of a civilized society.
What is college for?
College is for the pursuit of knowledge, but also for finding our purpose for existence.
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JULIAN KRUSIC O’DONNELL
Rhode Island School of Design, Class of 2022
Industrial Design
Why did you choose to go to college?
I couldn’t wait to be out of school and move on with my “real” education. It goes without saying that there was no talk of my not going to college, as I attended a serious college-preparatory secondary school where my parents were both instructors, and before that, independent schools ostensibly geared to getting me into that secondary school. However, my parent-educators—English, philosophy—both with graduate degrees—M.A., J.D., Ed.M.—encouraged me to pursue my passion, as the expression goes, and so in spite of the myriad challenges generated by my round-peg-ness, though really of my having been somewhat on the inside from the get-go, I always kept my hands in the “visual” arts and in “making,” and my mind occupied with the history and theory around that. They coached me to “do” school rather than be identified by school, or, as my mother put it, to be “in the system, not of the system,” which was hard to do given the prevailing ethos of the institutions that raised me.
What is the best part of college? What is the worst or most difficult part?
The best part of my college experience is “the studio,” one of the benefits of attending a so-called “art school,” a powerful learning space that would do well reimagined in other contexts. Classes meet from four to six hours once or twice a week, with the interim discretionary time to continue to pursue the topics and questions in your work, to collaborate with peers (when that was still possible in the studio, there is nothing like that). The key to that working is the fact that most of my peers are at least equally motivated in this process-oriented, iterative existence we lead. They are not neurotic or fiercely competitive, as I found many of my peers to be in high school, but so authentically devoted, as if in pursuit of truth, motivated in a way that my college peers in other institutions are not so much.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
It is often called anti-intellectualism, at least in the way I’m thinking of education and what it means to “get” one (which is not necessarily associated with institutions); it’s unfortunate we cannot employ the label without being judged unfairly. Not unlike most labels, it is an imperfect expression of the complexity of the challenge. But, there are related challenges, again, frequently tagged imperfectly: “elitism,” “meritocracy”… Maybe the biggest challenge is the allure and distraction, attention hijacking, metrics sales and echo chambers created by our platforms, their algorithms and networks. Students may not know what else to do with the leisure our country’s history “purchased” for them. Could also be an incentives problem.
What is college for?
To become wise.
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SAGE RHYS
Swarthmore College, class of 2021
Philosophy Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I decided to go to college for two different reasons. The first is that my parents are very, very poor. They work low-skilled jobs under the table since that’s what’s available to them as immigrants. Growing up, they always showed me their hands and feet and would sigh from a long day’s work and would tell me that I ought to do well in school in order to not end up like them. I was raised to despise my parents’ lifestyle for myself and encouraged to identify with academics. Despite the fact that my parents encouraged me to identify with academics as a way to have a white-collar job, I never gained a serious interest in any particular career. I remember setting my aspirations from movie director to plastic surgeon to mathematician simply based on what gave me joy to study. So eventually I came to terms with the fact that I simply enjoy learning and studying a wide variety of academic subjects.
This leads to my second reason for deciding to go to college. I figured since I loved the subjects I study so much, I might as well give it a shot to see if I can stay in that environment professionally. It goes without saying that to become an academic, one must go to college and then grad school, and then a fellowship… So for now, I am in college in order to try to become an academic.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
The best part is having a sense of independence. It’s definitely not on par with living alone in an apartment, but having a space to myself which I have claim to is very nice. The schedule is also ideal. I like having minimal time commitments for classes and being able to decide how to get my work done.
I find the most difficult part to be living in close quarters with people. At the very least before coming to college, I got to go back home with the expectation of not seeing anyone I knew from school around where I live.
What has surprised you most about college?
Just how wealthy some people are and the cognitive dissonance that comes from it. You’ll hear a lot of lefty students repeat platitudes, whether jokingly or seriously, like “eat the rich.” But if you confront them about the influence they can have in their own household by simply being honest with their parents about their disgusting wealth and telling them to give some away, they will get uncomfortable. And it’s a collective problem because at an institution like Swarthmore, well over half of the students have parents who make enough so that the students do not receive any financial aid. The amount a family has to make in order for that to be the case is a lot. So you have these heirs to a very wealthy family walking around acting as though they are on the same level as poor students because everyone in college is broke, but then they go on breaks to international vacations. And people just allow it as if it’s nothing because it’s impolite to talk about money, even when it’s to confront someone about their wealth. That’s just slightly annoying, but mostly funny to me because I have no stake in the campus political climate which is notoriously toxic.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
I think the way access to quality education is distributed is probably the biggest hurdle. It’s no surprise that educational attainment is so difficult for people from poor areas, since their taxes fund their local schools. I lucked out and had parents who were willing to drive me around to apply to magnet schools in order to avoid my local schools, but I know that the majority of people who would benefit from this do not have the same circumstances. If kids don’t receive a quality basic education, they will have a very difficult time receiving a specialized education in any academic subject.
How has college changed you?
College has made me more socially anxious and apathetic. Being around other students all the time contributes to the feeling that there are strange social expectations, and college has made me intellectualize things to death. Luckily philosophy is so dry and precise that I get to retain my emotions for myself and I am allowed to feel them, so long as my argument is good. But I cannot imagine taking a literature class or a media studies class and learning theories that simply do not speak to my truth as to what it is about art that moves me.
I also no longer panic if I don’t have a definite answer to a question. I used to be so worried about the possibility that moral realism was false because I could not imagine that value could exist without it, and for the sake of not making my depression worse I didn’t read anything that could lead me to believe that. But I developed better coping skills as a philosophy student, and I started to see the various merits of moral relativism. It’s served me well and I genuinely feel like the distance I am able to take from issues of great weight has made life more enjoyable for me.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Absolutely. I’ll provide a biased answer, as a philosophy bitch. I believe all disciplines have something valuable to offer. However, the humanities really encourage people to think well about normative questions. The utter disregard some people have for aesthetic and moral discourse in fields like say, economics, I believe is a product of the fact that these fields don’t find moral and aesthetic questions to be as important as questions of scarcity (or whatever variable applies). But these questions inform judgments everyone takes for granted. We say things are good or bad all day, every day. We say things are beautiful or ugly or disgusting every day, all day. I just cannot imagine living life not being curious about what it is that we mean when we make these kinds of judgments. At the very least, a humanities education helps people entertain very important and interesting thoughts that live right under their noses. At best, a humanities education provides people with a sense that life is worth living, and encourages them to spread the virus to others, so that they too may see the point of living.
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HALEY DAMMAR
St. Catherine University, Class of 2021
Chemistry Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I chose to go to college because I am fascinated by all of the things I don’t know. I strive to learn something new and exciting every single day. I am fascinated by the knowledge that has been accumulated over years and years of research and I want to make my own contribution to that knowledge. By furthering my education I am actively taking the steps to enhance my knowledge of how the world works and why.
What are you studying and why did you pick that concentration?
I am finishing up my B.S. in chemistry after which I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in organic chemistry. I picked chemistry because I love learning about how the world works on such a fundamental level. Chemistry and physics are the basis of everything we know in the world, even things we don’t yet know.
What has surprised you the most about college?
What surprised me most about college is that many of the students are actually interested in learning the material being presented to them. It’s like all of my favorite people from grade school all in one place.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
The lack of social interaction, the nonverbal cues that go along with learning a new concept, and most importantly the lab time have been increasingly harmful to my education. As a STEM major, lab time is the thing I have missed the most.
How has college changed you?
If one thing is for sure, college has matured me. I am so much more aware of the effect my actions have on the rest of the world and I have never been more aware of how much I don’t know.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
While I don’t personally enjoy the humanities classes I understand why they are important to a college education. They are fundamental in understanding the world almost (I said almost) as much as STEM research.
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LEVI FREEDMAN
Deep Springs College, Class of 2021
Why did you choose to go to college?
Going to college didn’t seem like a choice in itself—I went to high school in a college-preparatory environment where it was simply the norm. I chose to go to Deep Springs in particular, however, because I knew that it would push me to demand intellectual, moral and practical courage of myself. I was also excited about living and learning in a place where students assumed a good deal of responsibility for the material and bureaucratic aspects of the college.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
There are so many. One, although perhaps not the biggest, is the notion that an education is something one gets. Perhaps I’m reading too much into the phrase, but I do think that the consumer model of higher education invites all involved to treat school as a large-scale knowledge transaction: You pay for an education, and you expect a set of stuff in return. There’s a different mood that is possible at Deep Springs, where every student receives a full scholarship. Students are active members, not passive customers, of the institution. It turns out that becoming educated and taking responsibility for one’s education are deeply intertwined. The structure of Deep Springs makes it possible to treat education as a sort of mutual project and not as a consumer product.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
I ended up doing a few months of my second year at Deep Springs remotely, from my home in Washington, D.C. For a college so rooted in isolation and in shared working and living, an arrangement like this fundamentally altered the experience. I actually found that I had a lot more time for my academic work, simply because I didn’t have to milk the cows or sort the mail. This felt more like a loss than a gift, however.
How has college changed you?
A lot. I appreciate deep disagreement in a way I only hypothetically grasped before. Working with my hands has become a much more important part of my life. I see beauty where I didn’t before. I enjoy reading more widely. I feel a bit more clear-eyed about what’s important to me and what isn’t.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Immensely so. Studying the humanities affords us the opportunity to reflect on the content of our lives, and they can inform our living in turn.
Of course it’s possible to interact with the humanities without doing any of this and to instead treat it all as an abstracted academic exercise. At Deep Springs, the demands of manual labor and student governance helped serve as constant touchstones for the actual challenges and questions of life, and therefore as a sort of anchoring force to aspects of the academic program. But I’d like to think that the humanities on their own can offer us the language with which to approach our roots, if we’re willing to listen.
What is college for?
The phrase “critical thinking” is tossed around a lot, but I think it’s half of the goal, at best. College should aim to help people become critical and generous—critically generous and generously critical—in their understanding of themselves, those around them and the world. Some think college ought to prepare students for “democratic citizenship,” but this concept is easily calcified into measurable and spiritless learning outcomes. Perhaps college ought to help students grow up into a democratic way of thinking, acting and being.
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NICOLE WONG
Wellesley College, Class of 2023
Political Science Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I don’t know what I’m doing with my life, so college seems like a good place to not know things.
What is the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
Best parts: being able to pick classes that are very specific to my interests. In high school, I got “Biology” and “Mathematics,” but here I’m studying things like literature from the AIDS epidemic and Chinese political philosophy. Also, because I’m not a nerd, I love the freedom college affords me. I can go to frat parties I’ll hate, eat an entire party-size bag of snacks in the back of the Zipcar, do my laundry way later than I should without my mom reaming me out for it.
But the worst and most difficult part is the freedom and the horrifying feeling that I need to know what I’m doing with my life. No one’s telling me what to do the way they would when I was in high school. What am I supposed to do now? What about tomorrow? What about after I graduate? I don’t know! No one knows! I don’t want to look at my bank account, and I don’t want to declare my major, and I know I need to do my laundry, get my life together, make my own appointments, but God, no thanks. (Also, the food is terrible. They serve us raw chicken sometimes.)
What has surprised you the most about college?
The sheer amount of emails and walking around and refilling of water bottles.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
Money. The biggest challenge to doing anything these days is money, I think. Not to go socialist on you, but how do you expect my friends who work two jobs, majoring in a STEM subject, to do as well as the kid with tutors for every subject and an allowance? I’m sure you’ve already heard a good amount about this.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
Zoom school at 1 a.m., last class ends at 8 a.m., the burnout is so real. It feels bad because I want good grades but I also want to stay sane and healthy. Sometimes I’ll wake up spooning my laptop, staring my GCal in the face, anxiety bubbling up at the realization that my professor ended the Zoom call during my impromptu nap and so they definitely know I wasn’t sticking around after for office hours. It’s not like I’m super healthy during in-person college, but I always have the choice to go out and study on the grass with my friends. Now, it’s just me and my classes. If I’m lucky my freshman-year dorm neighbor will be in the breakout room and I won’t have to feel too awkward.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Yes. I think those subjects teach us about critical thought in ways that other subjects can’t—deep reading, logic, etc., for the fake news. College education is, among other things, supposed to help me become a functional adult (as much as human beings can be functional).
What is college for?
Opportunities. And to provide a space for teenagers to transition into adulthood.
No symposium about what college is for would be complete without the perspectives of those for whom the question is most immediate: college students. This past spring, we asked undergraduates from a range of schools—liberal arts colleges and research universities, community colleges and state schools, religious institutions and labor colleges—to tell us about their experience of higher education. We received over a hundred responses and have reprinted a selection of them here.
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LILY CUELLARSOLA
Wellesley College, Class of 2022
Philosophy Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
This question sounds so simple, but it feels so loaded to me. I grew up in a very abusive environment and would escape through school. In high school, I made it my life’s mission to get into a college far from home where I could study in peace. I think I really romanticized the idea of college and saw it as the only way for me to truly be independent and free. Alongside that, I think I was also heavily influenced by the idea that a college degree was the only way to have a good job that pays a good wage. I really wanted to break out of the cycle of poverty I grew up in. College became the answer to all of my problems.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
The biggest challenge is access to accurate and reliable information. I grew up knowing I wanted to go to college but had no idea how to do it. I was constantly told that college was expensive and that because I was poor I would leave with tons of debt, which terrified me. In my junior year in high school, a woman who ran a nonprofit reached out to me and other students at my school and told us that she would provide us with free test prep and mentoring to apply to college. I had never had an adult provide such an amazing gift and demystify all of my preconceived notions of college. If it weren’t for her, I would not have gotten into a top institution with full financial aid. I didn’t even know that was a possibility.
What is college for?
I ask myself this question a lot. Now that I am in a safe environment where I am excited about life and the people around me, I can clearly see that I want this for the rest of my life. I don’t think that necessarily means I want to pursue a life of academia, but that I want a life where I am excited about what I am doing and the people I am around. For me, college is for growth and coming into understanding who I am and what I want for my life. The philosopher in me wants to argue that that answer could apply to a lot of experiences, but I know that college has definitely been that for me.
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OLIVIA PITTARD
St. John’s College, Class of 2022
Why did you choose to go to college?
I wanted an education that would serve me for my whole life. I wasn’t interested in becoming hyper-specialized. I don’t believe that college is for specialized skills unless you want to be an engineer.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
Best part is the small intellectual community and getting to see your friends all of the time. Life is so integrated. It’s not fragmented like it is in adulthood. We all play sports, go to class, eat, drink, laugh together. I don’t think you get that anywhere else. The course material is brutal. And it really hurts to do some of the readings (like Calvin for instance). But that’s why I’m here. It’s supposed to be brutal.
What has surprised you most about college?
How immature people are.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
Mentality. People don’t think of education like they should. They take it as a given that they should go to college and major in something banal. That’s not what it’s for but that’s also what most high schools prepare you for these days. There’s not enough of an emphasis on being well-rounded as a person, not simply as a bundle of extracurriculars.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
It sucks. I hate being online for everything. I feel robbed.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Haha, yes. Essential. College is for self-reformation and learning. You’re shaping your mind into something that will best serve you no matter what you do. The humanities are an incredible way to do that. But math is also essential in that project. Being able to think logically and follow an argument is critical and it will never be unhelpful.
What is college for?
Self-reformation.
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MEADOW TREADWELL
University of Memphis, Transferring elsewhere
Photography Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
In my junior year of high school, I dropped out. Due to a combination of familial issues and mental-health difficulties, high school seemed like the last thing I wanted to engage in. I regret it every day, but I didn’t let it stop me from attending college. While working to obtain my GED in what would have been my senior year of high school, I applied to the University of Memphis as a non-degree-seeking student so that I could collect credit hours which would then transfer once I was enrolled as a degree-seeking student.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
My favorite part of college is the difference in the environment from what we’ve been used to for our whole school lives. I’m able to casually talk with my professors, dive deeper into discussions/assignments more than I would’ve been allowed to in high school, and experiment within (albeit loose) parameters. The worst or most difficult part for me was the transition to online coursework. I attended an online high school, and if I had decided to switch to a physical brick-and-mortar school, I don’t think I would have dropped out. So when the COVID lockdown struck us in March and we suddenly transitioned into all online courses, I was both devastated and unmotivated.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
The biggest challenge to getting an education nowadays is without a doubt tuition costs. I know intelligent, interested (which many college students are not) people who would thrive in college, but who cannot attend because they cannot afford it and have no other financial support. I can attest to this. My family is supportive and is not bad off financially but I couldn’t attend an out-of-state school unless I had a scholarship or applied for federal loans. I’ve made it a goal to not rely on federal/educational loans for college because I’ve witnessed the devastation of debt. My response to the ridiculousness of tuition for a decent education is to attend Santa Fe Community College for two years, become a resident of New Mexico, and then transfer to the University of New Mexico, which has one of the best photography programs in the country and would have affordable tuition for an in-state student.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
I’m probably biased, considering that is all I like to read. But I remember when attending the in-person philosophy class at university, many of the students would become very engaged in the subjects addressed, even those questions that seemed a bit dated or arbitrary. I was surprised by who would comment and how invested people would become during these discussion periods. You don’t get that experience in economics classes or biology or whatever people deem more important academically than the humanities. Every humanities course I’ve taken has been about testing one’s ability to rationalize, argue, question your own assumptions and engage with those who differ from you as a person and in opinion.
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AVERY NGUYEN
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Class of 2022
Chemical Engineering Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I wanted training that college offered, so I went. More practically, I would say that I’m someone who has historically been good at school; people who are good at school don’t generally stop at high school, even if college isn’t strictly necessary. There’s a huge bubble of social pressure that colored my decision to go to college, such that it didn’t necessarily feel like a decision either way. But I had my reasons (I wanted to be an engineer, I wanted to solve problems, I wanted to help people), and everyone else had their reasons to expect college of me (I got good grades, mostly), so things mostly aligned.
What are studying? Why did you pick that concentration?
I’m studying chemical engineering, with a concentration in materials process and design, and I’m studying literature. I picked the first because I’m one of those real save-the-world types, even if it feels increasingly futile with time, and I don’t know if anyone has noticed lately, but the world is kind of on fire. I thought—and think, sometimes—chemicals might be able to help fix that, even if only a little bit. I’m studying literature because it is life-giving and life-sustaining, on a more micro level. Stories are powerful. I know this firsthand, but also secondhand, and thirdhand, and so on. I don’t think I could have a life without literature, so I don’t.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
This is a place filled to the brim with lovely, bright, impassioned students, and I am so incredibly privileged to think and feel and live and breathe alongside these people.
But it’s hard, of course. My mental health is a little bit in shambles, and I don’t honestly think it will get better over the remainder of my time here. I unironically schedule my complete collapses in my calendar, because I know I can’t go that long without melting down, but I also know that I have to have myself pulled together. It’s not just the work—it’s the stress, the pressure, the anxiety that I feel about pretty much everything.
What has surprised you most about college?
I was a little too idealistic going in. I thought maybe everyone wanted to save the world. I know, now, that it’s okay to not want to save the world. Necessary, even, for people to feel that way. I used to feel a bit betrayed, though, that not everyone had the same hero complex I did. I’m a little better about it now, but I’m still adjusting to a frame of mind in which I acknowledge, respect and even appreciate the myriad things people wish to do with their lives.
There’s nothing wrong with financial technology, or investment banking, or software over and over. My sense of morality and social responsibility can’t be extrapolated to everyone, and it shouldn’t be.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
Doing school digitally is horrendous regardless of how you spin it. Being on endless video calls is exhausting. Completing problem sets and essays alone is exhausting. Remaining in the same room for hours and hours on end is exhausting. An experience that was once draining but fulfilling is now pretty much only draining.
Mostly I miss my friends.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
The humanities are approximately responsible for keeping me sane and alive, so I’m slightly biased in my thought that the humanities are essential.
But still, I do. Think that the humanities are essential, I mean. Partially I think this because I have to, as someone who is being kept alive by a sense of art and humanity in the world. Mostly, though, I think this because the technical is rendered incredibly empty without the humanities.
Nothing exists in a vacuum, especially not science and engineering. It is critical to understand the people we engineer things for, and the contexts we engineer things in.
What is college for?
College is, almost inevitably, training of a kind, for the rest of your life. And that life might be the sort of life that demands learning and growing, but it might also be a life that really just wants you to have learned a lot of thermodynamics, or a lot about signal processing and circuits, or a lot about pipetting.
These senses aren’t mutually exclusive, but ultimately I think it varies a lot, from person to person, and I think you do discover where on the spectrum of practicality your college education falls.
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KEZIA VELISTA
Baruch College, Class of 2021
English Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
It was just the thing I felt like I had to do. When I was sixteen years old and looking at potential universities to go to, I asked my mother about my choices. All she said was, “Of course you should get a higher education, but you’re just going to get married anyway, so you need to focus on that too.” As you can probably imagine, this dismissive response made me boil as an already angsty teenager who regularly listened to bands like Joy Division and The Clash. I found comfort in attending school, because I could build a sense of camaraderie with teachers who were interested in the subjects I was curious about. School to me really became a home when home didn’t feel much like one. From my mother’s response about my aspirations, I saw going to college and succeeding at it as the ultimate act of rebellion.
What are you studying? Why did you pick that concentration?
I am from Jakarta, Indonesia and my family immigrated to the suburbs of Georgia when I was ten years old. We were of modest means, and when it came to choosing a major, my options were to either study business administration or something related to nursing. My first semester of college, I was taking accounting and business classes; I ended the semester with a 2.5 GPA.
After seeing my grades dwindle, I decided I couldn’t just be one of those students who merely cruised through college. I am a DACA recipient, so there’s much more pressure applied when it comes to my personal identity as an immigrant. It’s as if whatever I do, I am also representing other dreamers in the entirety of the U.S., and I’d like to have a positive impact.
I made the switch and chose to study English literature. I picked this because it was truly the subject that I’ve always been curious about since my formative years. It’s also my second language, so the constant challenge is, for lack of better term, fun. The word “literature” is rich to me, like a bar of chocolate or a latte with extra foam. Every word I read clings to every fiber of my being and I am comfortably swaddled by the pursuit of knowledge. I took on a minor in philosophy, which is also a special challenge. I enjoy philosophy because I always learn something new. Even though the readings from my classes may result in me having an existential crisis, that in and of itself is a reason for me to keep going. Philosophy always reminds me that life is short, that we’re just specks compared to the universe, but it simultaneously reminds me that we’re here, we’re present, and we need to make something meaningful out of life.
What has surprised you about college?
The lack of parties there really are, or maybe I’m just not in the right crowd. American movies tend to depict college as a nonstop party with booze and love, but I find that may not be so true. At least, it may not be true if the student would like to maintain a GPA that allows them to graduate with Latin honors.
How has college changed you?
I’ve become more considerate and sensitive to the needs of others. Like I said, I used to be an angsty teenager and rather arrogant. Going to college has allowed me to meet people from all walks of life and I try to put forth my best effort in understanding that learning is a collective effort, not just this individualist solo project that only benefits me.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Yes, and I am not just saying this because I am a humanities student. Learning subjects within the humanities allows for robust discussions and gives students the space to practice critical thinking skills. Agreements are important, but disagreements are even more important because they allow us to step back and say, “Okay, but why do you see it that way?” Depending on the answer, we may be able to reach a new consensus, and that is so important for the advancement of a civilized society.
What is college for?
College is for the pursuit of knowledge, but also for finding our purpose for existence.
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JULIAN KRUSIC O’DONNELL
Rhode Island School of Design, Class of 2022
Industrial Design
Why did you choose to go to college?
I couldn’t wait to be out of school and move on with my “real” education. It goes without saying that there was no talk of my not going to college, as I attended a serious college-preparatory secondary school where my parents were both instructors, and before that, independent schools ostensibly geared to getting me into that secondary school. However, my parent-educators—English, philosophy—both with graduate degrees—M.A., J.D., Ed.M.—encouraged me to pursue my passion, as the expression goes, and so in spite of the myriad challenges generated by my round-peg-ness, though really of my having been somewhat on the inside from the get-go, I always kept my hands in the “visual” arts and in “making,” and my mind occupied with the history and theory around that. They coached me to “do” school rather than be identified by school, or, as my mother put it, to be “in the system, not of the system,” which was hard to do given the prevailing ethos of the institutions that raised me.
What is the best part of college? What is the worst or most difficult part?
The best part of my college experience is “the studio,” one of the benefits of attending a so-called “art school,” a powerful learning space that would do well reimagined in other contexts. Classes meet from four to six hours once or twice a week, with the interim discretionary time to continue to pursue the topics and questions in your work, to collaborate with peers (when that was still possible in the studio, there is nothing like that). The key to that working is the fact that most of my peers are at least equally motivated in this process-oriented, iterative existence we lead. They are not neurotic or fiercely competitive, as I found many of my peers to be in high school, but so authentically devoted, as if in pursuit of truth, motivated in a way that my college peers in other institutions are not so much.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
It is often called anti-intellectualism, at least in the way I’m thinking of education and what it means to “get” one (which is not necessarily associated with institutions); it’s unfortunate we cannot employ the label without being judged unfairly. Not unlike most labels, it is an imperfect expression of the complexity of the challenge. But, there are related challenges, again, frequently tagged imperfectly: “elitism,” “meritocracy”… Maybe the biggest challenge is the allure and distraction, attention hijacking, metrics sales and echo chambers created by our platforms, their algorithms and networks. Students may not know what else to do with the leisure our country’s history “purchased” for them. Could also be an incentives problem.
What is college for?
To become wise.
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SAGE RHYS
Swarthmore College, class of 2021
Philosophy Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I decided to go to college for two different reasons. The first is that my parents are very, very poor. They work low-skilled jobs under the table since that’s what’s available to them as immigrants. Growing up, they always showed me their hands and feet and would sigh from a long day’s work and would tell me that I ought to do well in school in order to not end up like them. I was raised to despise my parents’ lifestyle for myself and encouraged to identify with academics. Despite the fact that my parents encouraged me to identify with academics as a way to have a white-collar job, I never gained a serious interest in any particular career. I remember setting my aspirations from movie director to plastic surgeon to mathematician simply based on what gave me joy to study. So eventually I came to terms with the fact that I simply enjoy learning and studying a wide variety of academic subjects.
This leads to my second reason for deciding to go to college. I figured since I loved the subjects I study so much, I might as well give it a shot to see if I can stay in that environment professionally. It goes without saying that to become an academic, one must go to college and then grad school, and then a fellowship… So for now, I am in college in order to try to become an academic.
What’s the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
The best part is having a sense of independence. It’s definitely not on par with living alone in an apartment, but having a space to myself which I have claim to is very nice. The schedule is also ideal. I like having minimal time commitments for classes and being able to decide how to get my work done.
I find the most difficult part to be living in close quarters with people. At the very least before coming to college, I got to go back home with the expectation of not seeing anyone I knew from school around where I live.
What has surprised you most about college?
Just how wealthy some people are and the cognitive dissonance that comes from it. You’ll hear a lot of lefty students repeat platitudes, whether jokingly or seriously, like “eat the rich.” But if you confront them about the influence they can have in their own household by simply being honest with their parents about their disgusting wealth and telling them to give some away, they will get uncomfortable. And it’s a collective problem because at an institution like Swarthmore, well over half of the students have parents who make enough so that the students do not receive any financial aid. The amount a family has to make in order for that to be the case is a lot. So you have these heirs to a very wealthy family walking around acting as though they are on the same level as poor students because everyone in college is broke, but then they go on breaks to international vacations. And people just allow it as if it’s nothing because it’s impolite to talk about money, even when it’s to confront someone about their wealth. That’s just slightly annoying, but mostly funny to me because I have no stake in the campus political climate which is notoriously toxic.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
I think the way access to quality education is distributed is probably the biggest hurdle. It’s no surprise that educational attainment is so difficult for people from poor areas, since their taxes fund their local schools. I lucked out and had parents who were willing to drive me around to apply to magnet schools in order to avoid my local schools, but I know that the majority of people who would benefit from this do not have the same circumstances. If kids don’t receive a quality basic education, they will have a very difficult time receiving a specialized education in any academic subject.
How has college changed you?
College has made me more socially anxious and apathetic. Being around other students all the time contributes to the feeling that there are strange social expectations, and college has made me intellectualize things to death. Luckily philosophy is so dry and precise that I get to retain my emotions for myself and I am allowed to feel them, so long as my argument is good. But I cannot imagine taking a literature class or a media studies class and learning theories that simply do not speak to my truth as to what it is about art that moves me.
I also no longer panic if I don’t have a definite answer to a question. I used to be so worried about the possibility that moral realism was false because I could not imagine that value could exist without it, and for the sake of not making my depression worse I didn’t read anything that could lead me to believe that. But I developed better coping skills as a philosophy student, and I started to see the various merits of moral relativism. It’s served me well and I genuinely feel like the distance I am able to take from issues of great weight has made life more enjoyable for me.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Absolutely. I’ll provide a biased answer, as a philosophy bitch. I believe all disciplines have something valuable to offer. However, the humanities really encourage people to think well about normative questions. The utter disregard some people have for aesthetic and moral discourse in fields like say, economics, I believe is a product of the fact that these fields don’t find moral and aesthetic questions to be as important as questions of scarcity (or whatever variable applies). But these questions inform judgments everyone takes for granted. We say things are good or bad all day, every day. We say things are beautiful or ugly or disgusting every day, all day. I just cannot imagine living life not being curious about what it is that we mean when we make these kinds of judgments. At the very least, a humanities education helps people entertain very important and interesting thoughts that live right under their noses. At best, a humanities education provides people with a sense that life is worth living, and encourages them to spread the virus to others, so that they too may see the point of living.
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HALEY DAMMAR
St. Catherine University, Class of 2021
Chemistry Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I chose to go to college because I am fascinated by all of the things I don’t know. I strive to learn something new and exciting every single day. I am fascinated by the knowledge that has been accumulated over years and years of research and I want to make my own contribution to that knowledge. By furthering my education I am actively taking the steps to enhance my knowledge of how the world works and why.
What are you studying and why did you pick that concentration?
I am finishing up my B.S. in chemistry after which I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in organic chemistry. I picked chemistry because I love learning about how the world works on such a fundamental level. Chemistry and physics are the basis of everything we know in the world, even things we don’t yet know.
What has surprised you the most about college?
What surprised me most about college is that many of the students are actually interested in learning the material being presented to them. It’s like all of my favorite people from grade school all in one place.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
The lack of social interaction, the nonverbal cues that go along with learning a new concept, and most importantly the lab time have been increasingly harmful to my education. As a STEM major, lab time is the thing I have missed the most.
How has college changed you?
If one thing is for sure, college has matured me. I am so much more aware of the effect my actions have on the rest of the world and I have never been more aware of how much I don’t know.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
While I don’t personally enjoy the humanities classes I understand why they are important to a college education. They are fundamental in understanding the world almost (I said almost) as much as STEM research.
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LEVI FREEDMAN
Deep Springs College, Class of 2021
Why did you choose to go to college?
Going to college didn’t seem like a choice in itself—I went to high school in a college-preparatory environment where it was simply the norm. I chose to go to Deep Springs in particular, however, because I knew that it would push me to demand intellectual, moral and practical courage of myself. I was also excited about living and learning in a place where students assumed a good deal of responsibility for the material and bureaucratic aspects of the college.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
There are so many. One, although perhaps not the biggest, is the notion that an education is something one gets. Perhaps I’m reading too much into the phrase, but I do think that the consumer model of higher education invites all involved to treat school as a large-scale knowledge transaction: You pay for an education, and you expect a set of stuff in return. There’s a different mood that is possible at Deep Springs, where every student receives a full scholarship. Students are active members, not passive customers, of the institution. It turns out that becoming educated and taking responsibility for one’s education are deeply intertwined. The structure of Deep Springs makes it possible to treat education as a sort of mutual project and not as a consumer product.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
I ended up doing a few months of my second year at Deep Springs remotely, from my home in Washington, D.C. For a college so rooted in isolation and in shared working and living, an arrangement like this fundamentally altered the experience. I actually found that I had a lot more time for my academic work, simply because I didn’t have to milk the cows or sort the mail. This felt more like a loss than a gift, however.
How has college changed you?
A lot. I appreciate deep disagreement in a way I only hypothetically grasped before. Working with my hands has become a much more important part of my life. I see beauty where I didn’t before. I enjoy reading more widely. I feel a bit more clear-eyed about what’s important to me and what isn’t.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Immensely so. Studying the humanities affords us the opportunity to reflect on the content of our lives, and they can inform our living in turn.
Of course it’s possible to interact with the humanities without doing any of this and to instead treat it all as an abstracted academic exercise. At Deep Springs, the demands of manual labor and student governance helped serve as constant touchstones for the actual challenges and questions of life, and therefore as a sort of anchoring force to aspects of the academic program. But I’d like to think that the humanities on their own can offer us the language with which to approach our roots, if we’re willing to listen.
What is college for?
The phrase “critical thinking” is tossed around a lot, but I think it’s half of the goal, at best. College should aim to help people become critical and generous—critically generous and generously critical—in their understanding of themselves, those around them and the world. Some think college ought to prepare students for “democratic citizenship,” but this concept is easily calcified into measurable and spiritless learning outcomes. Perhaps college ought to help students grow up into a democratic way of thinking, acting and being.
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NICOLE WONG
Wellesley College, Class of 2023
Political Science Major
Why did you choose to go to college?
I don’t know what I’m doing with my life, so college seems like a good place to not know things.
What is the best part of college? What’s the worst or most difficult part?
Best parts: being able to pick classes that are very specific to my interests. In high school, I got “Biology” and “Mathematics,” but here I’m studying things like literature from the AIDS epidemic and Chinese political philosophy. Also, because I’m not a nerd, I love the freedom college affords me. I can go to frat parties I’ll hate, eat an entire party-size bag of snacks in the back of the Zipcar, do my laundry way later than I should without my mom reaming me out for it.
But the worst and most difficult part is the freedom and the horrifying feeling that I need to know what I’m doing with my life. No one’s telling me what to do the way they would when I was in high school. What am I supposed to do now? What about tomorrow? What about after I graduate? I don’t know! No one knows! I don’t want to look at my bank account, and I don’t want to declare my major, and I know I need to do my laundry, get my life together, make my own appointments, but God, no thanks. (Also, the food is terrible. They serve us raw chicken sometimes.)
What has surprised you the most about college?
The sheer amount of emails and walking around and refilling of water bottles.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or barrier to getting an education today?
Money. The biggest challenge to doing anything these days is money, I think. Not to go socialist on you, but how do you expect my friends who work two jobs, majoring in a STEM subject, to do as well as the kid with tutors for every subject and an allowance? I’m sure you’ve already heard a good amount about this.
How has the pandemic affected your college experience?
Zoom school at 1 a.m., last class ends at 8 a.m., the burnout is so real. It feels bad because I want good grades but I also want to stay sane and healthy. Sometimes I’ll wake up spooning my laptop, staring my GCal in the face, anxiety bubbling up at the realization that my professor ended the Zoom call during my impromptu nap and so they definitely know I wasn’t sticking around after for office hours. It’s not like I’m super healthy during in-person college, but I always have the choice to go out and study on the grass with my friends. Now, it’s just me and my classes. If I’m lucky my freshman-year dorm neighbor will be in the breakout room and I won’t have to feel too awkward.
Do you think the humanities are important to a college education?
Yes. I think those subjects teach us about critical thought in ways that other subjects can’t—deep reading, logic, etc., for the fake news. College education is, among other things, supposed to help me become a functional adult (as much as human beings can be functional).
What is college for?
Opportunities. And to provide a space for teenagers to transition into adulthood.
If you liked this essay, you’ll love reading The Point in print.