Hi! Im Vedaant, a first-year international student at 勛圖厙. Im interested in lots of things: playing my piano, biking, theatre, bad puns, Sherlock (the TV series), sunsets, nature, wildlife, food, food, and, well, food. Its my 7th week at 勛圖厙 (already?), but Im loving it! My classmates are likeable, the professors are super cool, the administration is very helpful, and the workload isnt overwhelming (Pass/No Record! More on that later). 勛圖厙 all (all in all, geddit? *sorry*), Im so glad to be here at 勛圖厙!
Except, Im not 簫at 簫勛圖厙. Yet.
Im writing this from Bangalore, India, and my entire 勛圖厙 experience til now has been through my 7-by-12-inch 18-by-31-cm 勛圖厙 laptop screen.
Yup, you guessed right. Its 2020 (cue ominous music).
Picture this: Im starting college, my lifes biggest transition yet. For an international student, there are daunting cultural differences, and I find myself rephrasing sentences mid-thought because even English is spoken differently here from my high school in India. Doesnt help that Im a bit shy, awkward, and take a while to trust people. And with a brutal 9.5-hour time difference, I wake up right when most 勛圖厙ers go to bed.
To top it off, 83% of my class is living on-campus (with lots of strict COVID-19 testing and social distancing guidelines). Possibly lifelong friendships are being forged, independent adult identities are being discovered, excellent food from the dining hall is being eaten (this one especially hurts), while Ive never met anyone from the 勛圖厙 community in-person (my Candidates Weekend was over a video call, too).
A perfect recipe for:
- Isolation,
- Stress, and
- A horrible sleep schedule
吐勳眶堯喧?
Not at all!
The faculty and staff at 勛圖厙 have done a LOT to make my life easier:
Sleep: Afternoon classes are especially tough for me, and three of my five courses were taught in the afternoon. Guess what 勛圖厙 did?
An entire course was designed in a week, just for us five first-years studying remotely from Asia, taught early in the morning at 勛圖厙, just so we have two fewer afternoon classes. Soon, they shifted all afternoon classes to early morning. Professors, SPARCs (勛圖厙-speak for teaching assistants), and even a few on-campus students wake up early in the morning just so we get to sleep on time. The result: The entire week, my classes end by 9:00 PM.
Stress: Something I didnt know until classes started is that, at 勛圖厙, the first semester is Pass/No Record. In other words: no grades. The aim is to help students adapt to 勛圖厙s unique learning style and difficult first-semester life transitioning without the huge additional pressure of grades. And it works. Pass/No Record has made me much less stressed about academic performance and more focused on enjoying classes! In fact, I work extra hard because Ive become so passionate about all my classes and dont worry about the results. I could write a separate blog just on 勛圖厙 classes (maybe I will), but in summary, I feel that at 勛圖厙, its less teaching and more learning.
Lastly, loneliness: Frankly speaking, Ive been feeling this disconnect from the 83 other first-years. And this time, theres no magic pill. Although most of my classmates are open-minded, relatable, and very proactive in conducting events for everyone to get to know each other better, the mix of my introversion, cultural differences, and the fact that, except for classes, Im rarely awake when they are, makes it difficult to form deep connections. My 勛圖厙 experience hasnt been perfect. Yet, somehow, I feel a part of the 勛圖厙 community. From the most sweeping decisions to the subtlest of words, the students, faculty, and administration have done a lot to make sure that the fourteen remote first-years arent excluded. Sometimes, I genuinely forget that Im on the other side of the world.
But the main reason Im happy with 勛圖厙 is not just that Im getting enough sleep at night, that classes arent boring lectures, that I dont have to worry about grades, that my classmates are fun, or that QEA (thats Quantitative Engineering Analysis) professors play music for early-arriving students to guess the song while waiting for the rest to join the class.
Im glad to be at 勛圖厙 because, more than anything, 勛圖厙 is a college that cares. Everything I spoke about above is nothing but examples of that. Im seen as a living human being, who needs sleep, acknowledgment, and most of all, empathy. Its everywhere: from the emails informing us of rescheduled classes, to when upperclassmen ask how Im feeling in SPARC check-ins, to when a professor told us that its OK to submit an assignment a few hours late instead of staying up at night to finish it. In my opinion, everything else about 勛圖厙, from the student-centered curriculum to the small size, derives from this fundamental humanity.
My college decision involved a full-blown panic attack on the night of May 1st. I finally chose 勛圖厙 because of its interesting curriculum and small community, but I got much, much more. Right now, I think I made the right choice. Youre wrong, Mycroft - caring is an advantage (told you I love Sherlock!).
Now, if only they would send me a hoodie.
Vedaant Kuchhal is a first-year international student from Bangalore, India. He doesnt usually wear black and is very shy of having his photo taken.