Temple University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Majors: Accounting & Legal Studies double major
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: African-American Straight Male

Summary

I [had a leadership position] on the Mock Trial team, I was involved in the Beta Alpha Psi accounting honors fraternity, I’m also a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: African-American
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public high school in the West Orange, NJ with a graduating class of about 500 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Accounting & Legal Studies double major
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I [had a leadership position] on the Mock Trial team, I was involved in the Beta Alpha Psi accounting honors fraternity, I’m also a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Beta Alpha Psi was instrumental. I was able to be exposed to a lot of recruiters in the public accounting industry. Through that, I was able to get an internship offer that translates into a fulltime offer.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
As a freshman in the business school, you won’t take your first Accounting class until your sophomore year. It’s usually made up of three weekly assignments. You’ll have a quiz, a regular chapter homework assignment, and a practice assessment to test your knowledge. When you get into the more upper-level accounting courses it’ll be only people majoring in Accounting. Depending on how the class is structured, you’ll have homework assignments, a midterm, and a final. A project is usually included too.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
One thing they do really well is that they help you find a job. If you put in the effort and make it known that you’re looking for a job but haven’t had luck finding an internship or fulltime offer, most of the professors who work in the industry have connections at different firms and can help you land a job. You have to put yourself out there and talk to the professors. They only help you if you ask for help.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
For my senior class specifically, it has a tendency of being competitive. I don’t know if that was necessary because of the classes, I think it was because the people in the class was competitive. Everyone was constantly trying to one-up each other. When talking with people in the class under me they say it’s the complete opposite and that everyone works together. It really depends on who is in your class.
How accessible are your professors?
They are all practically begging you to come to their office hours. The Accounting courses that everyone has to take has a tutoring center, or you can set up appointments with the professor because there are around 500 students taking that class at once. Once you get into the upper-level accounting courses, the professors are very easy to reach.
What has been your favorite part of Temple academically?
Studying in the business school has opened my eyes to all other aspects of business that I wasn’t focused on when coming to school. I came in as an Economics major, but after one class I realized I didn’t like it and I switched into Accounting. Being in the business school, you have to take the 101 courses for every major the business school offers because they want us to come out being well-rounded.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
Coming into school, I wanted to be a political science major because I aspired to be involved in politics. Business was another route I wanted to take, which my parents preferred. I was always good at accounting and liked it, so I choose it. I also have always wanted to go to law school, which made me pick legal studies as well.

Reasons to Attend

1) Philadelphia has a great culture and the city itself is really diverse.
2) Temple is very interested in study abroad, so if you want to use college to see other places in the world it’s good.
3) Temple has been instrumental in finding a job.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you went to a small high school there will definitely be an adjustment period.
2) If you commute, I think it’s a lot harder. You should live on campus your first year. The people I know that commuted didn’t necessarily have great experiences because all they did was come and go from school. [See The Temple News article, “Pay Attention to Commuters.”]

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: White Hall with one roommate and two suitemates
Sophomore: Apartment with three other roommates
Junior/Senior: Off-campus apartment with four roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown to living in Philadelphia?
It wasn’t too bad. Temple’s campus is about an hour and a half away from my hometown, so if I needed to go home for whatever reason it was fairly easy. I could take the train or drive if I had my car. A couple of people I graduated with in high school also came to Temple, so I had people to talk to.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
A lot of people like to say it’s in a bad area, however, if you live on campus, I think it’s really safe. They scan your ID if you want to walk into any dorm on campus. The only unsafe part is probably living off-campus. They have police patrolling, but I don’t think it’s that safe for females. I’ve caught myself looking over my shoulder at times and I’m a big guy, so I could only imagine how someone smaller than me would feel.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Going out to bars and parties. Temple has Greek life with rush and other events, but that’s usually reserved for freshmen. Once you turn 21, people usually go to bars and clubs in Center City. Before I turned 21, I’d only go out Friday and Saturday. Once I turned 21, it’s easier to go out and get a drink after class with your friends, so I’d go out on Wednesday nights and then Friday and Saturday. People branch out to Center City on the weekends but stay close during the week.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Greek life really only affects the freshmen and sophomores that can’t go out on their own, so Greek life is big for underclassmen. The fraternities check your Temple IDs at the door, so it’s a safer option. The fraternities are in the main part of campus, so a lot of students go there. Once you turn 21 or have a house you can throw a party at, you’re more likely to go there. As a guy, you have to pay money to get into the fraternities. You have the option to not be involved in a fraternity and still have a social life.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
An alternative is staying in with your friends. There have been countless weekends we don’t want to go out, so we’ll just stay in and hang out with each other, opposed to going out and spending money.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I think it’s pretty good. The one good thing about being in North Philadelphia is that you’re so close to Center City so you have so many options for activities.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I think I got lucky because I ended up liking my roommates. We formed a group of ten guys. We all went to football and basketball games, and then parties on the weekend. Once we left the dorm, we split up into groups of five and live across the street from each other.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Temple?
We have medium to large-sized campus and I think it’s pretty good. People meet up and talk by the Bell Tower in the spring. We call it the beach, where students can sunbath, there will be a DJ, and people can dance. There will also be food trucks sometimes. It’s a way for students to unload. Different clubs and organizations will have activities and social events, such as a mixer at a bar with another club.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I haven’t seen that much at Temple. We have clubs for people with different sexual orientations, but I wouldn’t say they mix with the rest of the people on campus that much. I’ve seen different races mix, but it’s never been organic. It is usually because we’re in the same club or on the same sports team. I have friends from all over the spectrum, but I also have a lot of Black friends who predominately have Black friends. [The undergraduate population is about 55% White, 13% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 12% Asian.]
How would you describe the Black community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s pretty strong. Coming in my freshman year, I didn’t feel a sense of the Black community on campus, but four years later I think it has gotten a lot stronger. You can feel its presence here on campus. Within each school there are more often than not a club dedicated to the Black community in that specific industry. For the accounting field, we have the National Association of Black Accountants.
How has the urban environment impacted your experience?
Temple students kind of live in a bubble, but once you live in the community off-campus you see lots of people are less fortunate and don’t have the same opportunities that we do. A lot of Temple students feel the need to give back to the community. Temple wanted to build a stadium and so many students were against it.
How do you like the size of Temple in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 29,000] students?
I came from a big high school, and I like the fact that every day I’m meeting someone new. It didn’t give me the opportunity to be complacent. As you grow and continue in college, you’ll have the same friends, but at the end of the day it was refreshing to have new experiences.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
For professional events with the Accounting and Legal Studies programs, companies would always send Temple alumni because they had the same experience we did so it would be easier to connect. When I went through the internship process trying to get an offer, the people I was in contact with at the different firms were usually Temple alumni.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
The Fox School of Business has its own career office which was really beneficial because I didn’t have to compete with the rest of the university to compete with its resources. They check your resume, hold career fairs, and will do mock interviews.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
You have to take an Excel course in business school. Through my accounting courses I’ve learned a lot of different data analytics programs. I’ve used Tableau because that is where the industry is moving and they want to make sure we’re well-versed in those areas.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
I’ve used financial aid. It’s a pretty easy process and helps us as much as they can. It’s easier to go there in person as opposed to talking on the phone, but they are pretty easy to work with.