the stentorian | ncssm
fea tures
Grand-Senior Interviews cont’d
march 2004 3
North Carolina State
University
Raleigh, NC
really far (like me).
Heather Carroll
What are things you like
most/least about your school?
Most: independenee,
close food locations, tons and
tons and tons of fun classes to
take. Least: huge size, distance
from classes, still some dumb
"no boys" rule after 1 or 2 am
(this only matters if you get
stuck in an RA suite, like I
did).
Is there a big former S&M
population at your school (or
do you hang out with mostly
S&Mers? Do you like that?)
I do mainly hang out with
former S&Mers, but it is hard
to make new friends at such a
large university.
What are some advan-
tages/disavantages to your
school's location/size?
State's big. Depending
how far you live away from
classes, you could be close or
Do you know what your
major will be? If so, did some
thing at the school make you
pick that? Is there a depart
ment at your school that you
think is awesome that the
school isn't well known for?
State has an awesome
English program that nobody
knows about because it doesn't
have the money to advertise. I
mean, did you know that State
has more undergraduate
options in English (World
Literature, Creative Writing,
General, Teacher’s Education,
Language/W riting/Rhetoric)
than UNC does? I think that's
pretty interesting. I'm told our
History department is awe
some, too. My dual degree
program degrees are Chemical
Engineering and World
Literature. I really hadn't
thought about pursuing
English until I got to State and
had an awesome advisor tell
me how there were about 30
other kooks like me who were
getting two degrees- one in
engineering and one in
humanities/social sciences and
that they got money for it. So
it all worked out.
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California
Edwin Smolski
Describe your feelings
about your college experience
I love the weather, and the
campus is incredibly gorgeous
here at Stanford -1 won't lie -
that definitely was a factor in
my wanting to go here. I real
ly chose this school because I
am a science person who's also
interested in the humanities,
and I couldn't find a school
that appeared to have a better
mix. After being here. I'm
even more impressed than
before I came. I'm majoring in
Chemistry, but I've decided to
double major in a humanities
area (Linguistics . or
Psychology or...), which is
something 1 never conceived
of doing before I got here. I
miss NCSSMcrs - there is one
other one here, whom I sec
Virginia Tech
1-'
Robin Mays
What are three things you
like most/least about your
school?
1 -1 really love the engi
neering department. They def
initely know what they're
doing and can prepare you for
getting a job. 2-1 really love
the campus and surrounding
area--so pretty!! There are
mountains and rivers and all
Blacksburg, VA
kinds of fun things to do. 3 -1
don't like all the alcohol, even
a lot of people who came to
college with absolutely no
^ intention of drinking end up
drinking.
Is there a big former S&M
population at your school (or
do you hang out with mostly
S&Mers? Do you like that?
There is only one s&mer
at my school; I like the small
population now, because it
means that I've met lots of new
people, but at the beginning of
school (when I didn't know
anyone) it would have been
nice for there to be more
familiar faces. In the long run,
though. I'm glad I didn't know
lots of people before coming
here.
What are some advan-
tages/disavantages to your
school's location/size?
Location - there aren't
many big cities around, but
there are plenty of activities to
do outdoors. Size - A big stu
dent population has a lot of
advantages because it means
that the college can do a lot of
really diverse activities. Also,
even though it is a big campus,
I still tend to run into all the
people I know, so I don't find
the size intimidating.
Princeton University
Vera Dadok
often - but I really feel that
going to a new area with new
people is a great thing for any
one. This school is diverse in
any way you could possibly
measure it, and there are
opportunities to do things that
I never thought I would get to
do. One extremely interesting
and little-known department
here at Stanford is "Symbolic
Systems", which focuses on
learning and artificial intelli
gence. I suppose it's best
described as the boundary
between computer science and
psychology. I have nothing
but positive things to say about
Stanford. It will expand any
one's horizons not just aca
demically, but in all aspects of
their lives.
Advice to current
S&Mers:
Relax - almost any place
you go will be amazing. But
most of all, don't ever let oth
ers choose for you. Pick the
college that feels right for you
- where you can pursue, but
not be limited to. what you're
interested to doing. Chances
are, what you'll want to do will
change.
How did NCSSM prepare
you for Princeton?
Living at school for two
years really prepared me for
college. The workload at col
lege is comparable to at S&M.
However, at Science and Math
there are a lot more rules, but
along with those rules, the per-
Princeton, NJ
sonal attention is greater. Of
course, you can always find
help if you need it at college,
but there aren't any mandatory
bonding activities at the begin
ning of the year, so you have to
take initiative to join clubs and
meet people.
Do you have any advice
for NCSSM students?
Have lots of fiin and par
ticipate in many activities
while keeping up with their
work until second semester
Senior year. Then they should
just concentrate on having fun
and not failing. Also, I'd tell
them to be careful in high
school-don't screw up and get
yourself kicked out or on pro
bation. It is only 2 years until
there are not any real rules to
break!
Any advice do for seniors
deciding on college?
I'd advise seniors to think
about where they'd have the
most opportunities, where they
would enjoy living. Because
college is not just about the
classroom education, it is
about ALL the experiences
and interactions. Don't get me
wrong, make sure academics
come first, or at least almost
first, but no matter where you
go, you'll learn a lot if you
want to.
Goucher College
Baltimore, Maryland
Pat Videau
What are three things you
like most/least about your
school?
1.1 love the close atmos
phere of the people and the
teachers. Everyone is ready
and waiting to help you. 2. I
love the ability to do ANY
THING you want here. If you
have a dream you want to pur
sue, go for it and you will have
many people who arc more
than willing to help you. 3. I
love the fact that we have no
frats...if that is your thing, go
to a state school.
Goucher is small and
closely knit. Sometimes it
freaks me out how similar it is
to s&m in that respect.
Even though I went here
because of money, it has all
worked out for the best. I
wanted to study bio and there
is a good bio program here. It
focuses a lot on molecular and
cellular bio and genetics. It has
some amazing lab stuff like
squid eyes from the mid
1800's. Crazy stuff like that. I
really do like it here. Also, the
education program (my 2nd
major) is fabulous here. From
the moment you start classes,
you MUST have classroom
experience. They get you in
the classroom from the begin
ning.
Is there a big former S&M
population at your school (or
do you hang out with mostly
S&Mers? Do you like that?
I am the sole S&Mer here.
There are no others. It is easy
to find people you can talk to
but they never quite under
stand what S&M is all about. 1
wish there were more here but
e'est la vie.
What are some advan-
tages/disavantages to your
school's location/size?
We are in the outskirts of
Baltimore (big city). We are
not in the suburbs but not
downtown either. We are 8
miles from downtown
Baltimore which means every
thing is close to us. Everything
is within easy walking dis
tance and we have an awesome
bus system, especially com
pared to Durham. The selec
tion of food in Baltimore is the
best I have ever found (excep
tion of NYC and Atlanta).
There is SOOOOOO much
amazing and tasty food.
Disadvantage is that Baltimore
is ringed by intense ghetto
areas.
The school is 1250 under
grads 2100 with grad students
(most are education or creative
writing masters candidates).