Student Conversations: Looking Forward to Sophomore Year at Syracuse

We recently caught up with Maya, who is loving Syracuse University where she is starting her sophomore year. Read more about her experience with College Solutions and during her freshman year at Syracuse.

How are you finding college? 

I loved it. I think my second semester was definitely better socially than my first. But I loved the classes. It wasn’t as hard a transition as I thought it was going to be academic-wise and finding my way around. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The classes at the start were very similar to high school – there were so many people that wanted to help and that were willing to work with you to kind of understand – like professors and the older students on campus who were happy to tell you where a building was or help with homework.

Was Syracuse on your radar from the beginning?

Yes. My dad went there, so I’d always known about it. When I started to look into schools, it was a good size and had the atmosphere I was looking for and a lot of the majors I was looking for. AT the beginning I was leaning toward tech theater or just communications in general. Larry explained Syracuse had a really good communications school which was intriguing. I had done tech theatre in high school. That interest started to switch to other areas in communications.

What are you enjoying most at Syracuse?

The communication classes I took. I went in undecided into the communications school, so they put me in a bunch of the required freshman classes the first semester. I took a video and storytelling class. It wasn’t a class I would have chosen otherwise, but it was one of my favorites. During second semester, I joined the professional communications fraternity. I was able to meet a bunch of people, and it kept me busy more socially.

I know a lot of other people in the organization, too, are not interested in the environment of the social fraternities and sororities. The communications fraternity is more professional, so not as intense as social sororities.

What has surprised you about college? 

How much smaller the campus felt as I felt more comfortable with it. Going into it – I thought ‘I don’t know where anything is,’ but now it feels so much smaller.

Is your college experience what you expected?  

I thought I was going to be going to games and having to go out all the time, but I realized you can go over to a friend’s dorm and have a lot more fun than having to go to a frat or a party every weekend. There are so many things going on, but nobody really cares what you do.

Which of your classes did you enjoy the most? 

Video and Storytelling. We made short films and worked in groups. We had a fiction project where we had to come up with a short story and then a nonfiction project where we had to interview someone about a struggle they faced. We also had to make a public service announcement.

What other extracurriculars have you gotten involved in?

I joined Asian Students in America club because I felt like it would be a good way to meet a lot of people at once. First semester, they did Big-Little matchups, and I was able to get a ‘Big’ in that club who I love. It was really helpful to have an older student who helped guide me and just to hang out with. It made me feel more comfortable in the beginning.

Do you know yet what you want to major in?

Communications, specifically Photography.

I am super interested in portraiture and concert photography. I don’t know exactly what I want to do or how. I took a photo class my last semester, and the professor has a lot of experience taking portraits of people. I might reach out to him when I go back to school.

Is it easy to talk to and connect with professors?

Yes, very easy. I found office hours very helpful. I took a graphic design class which was learning a bunch of new software. It wasn’t something I was familiar with, so I became close with my professor, and I was able to stay after class a lot. She was super helpful and just wanted to help. If she didn’t know how how to do something, she’d try to help me, and we’d figure it out together.

What did you find most helpful in researching and applying to colleges? 

Looking into the classes and majors helped a lot. And then when I went to visit, it felt comfortable (at Syracuse). It felt like the right place. I went on some tours when my brother was looking at schools, and a lot of them were a lot smaller which I realized I didn’t like. So, I think I was leaning more toward mid-size schools.

You got applications done early – was that as helpful as we always tell students it is?

I think it was super helpful because I didn’t have to worry about it with all the other senior-year high school stuff. It was nice to have it out of the way. I started the process a lot earlier than some of my friends. A bunch of them were having trouble organizing all the essays and stuff they had to do during the year.

What do you know now that you didn’t know then?

I learned about meeting people. I was worried it would be awkward to go up to people and just introduce yourself. I realized that people want to meet you and get to know you. Everyone’s new. It’s not as nerve-wracking as I thought it was going to be.

Advice for those going through the process now?

I would tell them to get their essays done early. That was really helpful. And not to be scared to reach out and ask questions from people at the colleges. I found a lot of people just wanted to help.

When I was first looking into the school, I was thinking of maybe minoring in Psych. I reached out to the head of the department and was able to meet her. She was excited to talk about psychology and all the classes and tracks. When we visited, I realized there are just a lot of people who love what they are doing there and who just want you to have the best experience.

What are you doing for the summer?

I’m working for my town’s park and recreation summer camps. I have been volunteering there since I was in 5th grade.