In today’s post, I’m going to reflect on my past two years of college. It’s crazy to think I was just buying stuff for my dorm room in Summer ’17 and now I’m looking at graduate schools to apply to next year.
In the first draft I wrote of this post, I spent two paragraphs explaining my college application process and the reason why I chose the University of Minnesota. It was honestly way too long and I didn’t expect any of you to read it, so if you’d like a separate post about it, let me know.
Of course, no experience is perfect, so it’s only right that I break down the pros and cons of my college experience at the half-way mark. I hope that prospective students can get insight from my perspective and that current students can relate to my sentiments.
For context: The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is a renowned, large, public research institution located in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. It is a PWI (predominately White Institution) with about 70% of the student population being White/Caucasian. The U of M mainly pumps out research to improve the state of Minnesota, and it gives out degrees to its undergraduates during its free time (at least this is how the students feel). Here are some quick pros and cons of the school.
Cons:
Small fish. Big pond.
Of course, I had to mention this. You can’t talk about UMN without mentioning it’s size. If you didn’t know, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is one of the top ten largest schools in the U.S. by enrollment (top five or even three depending on your source) which puts us neck and neck with Ohio State University and the University of Florida. Since the school has such a large population, it’s easy to feel like a small fish in a gigantic pond because you actually are. There are many ways this takes into place. For example:
1.) I walk up to my research methods professor to talk to him almost once a week, and I’ve had him for two semesters now but I’ll bet money he doesn’t remember my name…or maybe it’s because my name is foreign and people struggle to remember it anyway.
2.) You’ll be sent from one office and department to the next, and the next, and then the next next just to get help or get a question answered. And sometimes the person that’s supposed to know the answer to your question gives you the wrong information, so then you’re forced to go back to the first office, or drop a class, or study abroad next year, or like me, change your major.
3.) My biggest classes tend to be 600 people deep, which is my high school class multiplied by 4. Yet sometimes when you’re a black girl that sits towards the front of your classes (and you’re one of the only cocoa puffs in the bowl of milk), the professor can tell when you’re not in lecture.
Lowkey Highkey Racist
What did you expect?? C’mon now. They may not call me the N word with a hard -er to my face, but some of my encounters with white students at this school entail subliminal racism and implicit biases that ultimately communicate to me that I’m just another affirmative action case. Whether thats:
1.) Ignoring me when I give ideas to a solution in chemistry lab then saying exactly what I said in a different way
2.) Erasing the work that I did in a group project to rewrite it
3.) “Where are you from from?” I mean I was born in St. Louis Park, MN if that’s what you mean.
4.) Saying the N word in a song at a party when you know you can’t fight them because you’re outnumbered
5.) I’ll be blunt. The majority of Brads and Chads have NO desire to interact with people of color when they can go befriend David. Just the fact of the matter.
6.) My favorite form of racism is when no one wants to sit next to you on a crowded campus bus. More room for me.
7.) Minnesota is a yee-haw state once you leave the city believe it or not, so some of these people have never seen a black person in real-life before coming to the city for college. Bless their little souls.
Pros:
Networking
There’s this saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Actually, I can confirm that BOTH are very important to make the most out of your degree. Some of my professors are trailblazers in their fields, so having the opportunity to get to know them is definitely a pro. It’s a huge school, so getting to know other students of all walks of life will surely help you find study buddies to pass your classes, make informed decisions, get a job/internship, and more!
Resources
Even though the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota was literally my last choice of all circumstances, it actually worked out for me perfectly. Psychology turned out to be a better choice for me than Biology. CLA turned out to be a better college for me than CBS. The U of M has one of the highest ranked Psychology programs in the country. It also has a top ten public health school in the country. Anything you could possibly think related to college life has an office, department, center, student group, and more. There’s so many people employed here that want to help you.
POC communities
The benefits of a big PWI include more people of color (even if we’re the minority because…ya know, fractions). I never planned to find the community that I have found in the Black Student Union, and I’m forever grateful. There are so many other entities at this school specific to people of color, first-generation college students, low-modest income, immigrant, LGBT+, and more that other schools in Minnesota do not offer. If it weren’t for these entities, I would be a completely different person, nothing like my true self.
These few pros completely make up the cons, in my experience. If even one of these pros were absent, I wouldn’t like UMN and would’ve transferred elsewhere.
Now, I’ll leave you with words of advice, specifically for underclassmen and soon-to-be high school graduates.
Befriend Upperclassmen
I cannot stress this one enough. Especially upperclassmen that are in the same major or field as you. They will guild you through your studies by advising you better than your academic advisors. What to major in for certain careers, which classes to take, which professors to avoid, whatever you could possibly need. They know what it’s like to be a student at your school because they’re currently living it, meanwhile your advisors haven’t been in college in years and probably went to a different school. *
*Disclaimer: This isn’t meant to shade academic advisors. Remember, they each work with 500+ students and your friends actually know who you are, what you can handle, and what your goals are *shrugs*
Allow yourself to be Uncomfortable
My first semester of college was torture. I hated the school, I felt so out of place, and I missed the home-feeling that my high school gave me. Everything that I’d done to get to where I am now was done in fear, reluctance, and discomfort. Everything. It has been more than worth it because I’m so proud of the person I’ve become. The best things lay on the opposite side of fear. A saying that every person of color at the U of M lives by is *say it with me MCAE*
“There’s no growth in the comfort zone, and there’s no comfort in the growth zone.”
Network!
Personally, I’ve always hated the idea of getting to know people to eventually gain something from them, but it’s actually not that black-and-white. Networking can be the stereotypical dress-up in business casual and go to a career fair with 10 print outs of your resume, but it can also be starting a conversation with the person behind you in the Starbucks line, or your friends introducing you to other people at a party because you have something in common. I got the best opportunities handed to me because I knew the right people (and because I had the academic credentials to back myself up). Get to know the people around you, and maintain relationships that are genuine. Those people may be able to bring you up the ladder. It’s only insincere if you don’t show your gratitude after they help you.
Don’t wear yourself down
I’m so incredibly fortunate to get a college education, and I’m getting my degree not only for myself, but for my family here in the U.S., my family back home, my whole country, and every little black girl that could look up to me. Obtaining my degree means undoing generational curses, and I don’t take it lightly. However, I constantly have to remind myself that I am human so I am not immune to mistakes. As long as you are doing the best that you can in all of your endeavors, you can never do wrong. Don’t compare yourself to anybody but the person you were yesterday. And this is not meant to be a cheesy motivational speech to conclude this blog post. I mean this with every inch of my heart.
If you could relate to any of my experiences or have any specific questions you’d like me to answer, leave a comment below or reach me by any of my social media handles!
Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!
Manyi.