Major: Physics

Email: kjtom14@gmail.com

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Questions about Academics and COVID-19

 

What were your classes like in your first year or in your major/concentration, especially transitioning from Shen? 

Spending less time in a classroom than you did in high school is a pleasant surprise, but with this comes a more student-driven learning experience. Staying on top of homework, attending office hours, and maintaining a healthy study schedule are all necessary in order to succeed in a college classroom.

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What academic experiences have stood out to you at your college in either positive or negative ways?

Positive: Often times a concept won’t click right away, and this is why office hours are so useful. In one on one conversations with my professors, we were able to easily diagnose the nature of my misunderstandings and correct them.

 

Negative: Sometimes, especially as a freshman, you’ll get the short end of the stick when it comes to housing, class scheduling, etc.. You have to play the hand you’re dealt.

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How was your online learning experience at your college? What resources did your college provide you during this time?

Some professors made the transition to online seamless, others not so much. However, with the threat of COVID-19 not going away anytime soon, most universities have mobilized resources to make professors more comfortable with online teaching. In my particular case, my finals were either cancelled or open-note, deadlines became more flexible, and grading became more lenient.

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What did your college do well or poorly to support students and communities when COVID-19 first hit?

They didn’t bring us back from spring break and refunded our housing for the rest of the semester, which I guess is somewhat admirable. They also offered a free shipping service so students didn’t have to come back to retrieve items, but I heard that was a disaster.

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Questions about Student Life

 

If students are interested in your major/concentration, what extracurricular activities do you recommend they do at your college?

Every college has so many clubs, it’d be hard to find one that wasn’t related to you major. For example, if you’re a physics major at BU, we have a physics club and a math club.

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What are common things to do on weekends? Do students commute back home for the weekend or are there events on campus?

We’re in Boston baby. The city is your campus. I know almost no one who chooses to go home over spending the weekend in the city. Red Sox games, free museum access, and just exploring the city are all perks of going to school in Boston.

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Are you involved in athletics at your college? How do you balance sports, academics, and extracurricular activities?

I was going to play basketball at BU, but they lost my tapes. Now I’m a part of the running club, but I also spend a lot of time at our state-of-the-art fitness center. I’m sure everyone can create a schedule that works for them in balancing different areas of life. Remember: college is supposed to be fun.

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Do you have a job during the school year, or is it common for students to have on-campus jobs? What is that experience like?

I have an on-campus work-study at the BU Center for Space Physics. It’s pretty convenient since I can do my homework when I don’t have a task to complete. The university makes it very easy for students to find on-campus jobs.

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Extra Questions

 

What advice would you give to current Shen students when applying to your college?

BU will tell you to “be you”. Contrary to popular belief, GPA and SAT scores are not personality traits. In order to show BU who you really are, write your college essay about something that you are passionate about and captures the best parts of your character. Don’t let the college application process stress you out too much. I had a typo in my essay and apparently they didn’t care.

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What makes your college special to you?

Every evening on a clear day, the sun gets low in the western sky and the streets of the city turn gold. Complete with the city vibe, BU reminds my why I chose to attend. It’s just a really chill place to be.

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What do you wish you knew about your college when you were a senior at Shen?

I wish I knew that high school is just a warmup for college both academically and socially. College requires a lot of independent action, so just prepare yourself for that.

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Before COVID-19, what was the housing like at your college? What would you recommend to Shen seniors to find their roommates?

I met my roommate (another physics major) in the Facebook group. We quickly became best friends and maintained positive vibes with everyone in our corridor (except for the people who hotboxed it a few times a week). My RA was really relaxed and very approachable. Don’t go random for your roommate, it’s not worth the risk. I talked to 4-5 candidates before I found my roommate.

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How is the financial aid situation at your college?

It’s a private school, so it can get pricy. Luckily, if you’re an involved student in high school you can lock up some nice scholarships.

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Is there anything else you'd like to share about your college experience that hasn't been addressed yet in this questionnaire?

Stay safe and make sure you utilize university resources to do so. My BU Alert System will text me whenever there’s someone in proximity to our campus with a knife. But hey, that’s life in the big city.