Bard College: Duhita’s experience

In part of the interview with Duhita she will share her experience of studying at Bard College.

Part 1 is here.

Transcription

Kamila
Hey college kids, welcome back to my podcast. Who cares about college? This is part two of my interview with do heater. So if you have not checked out part one, make sure to do that subscribe and enjoy

I’m really interested because you know, I’ve never really talked to anybody who goes to a liberal arts college, and you didn’t really know what it was either. So when you entered in, of course, you don’t have any university to compare it to. But how different Do you think it is from an actual university? Because I know they focus a lot on the humanities, it’s definitely much smaller than most schools are, like, focused on discussion based. And from what I’ve heard, it’s some more have you learned about a broad range of topics instead of like narrowing down on one field? Like I’m sure you can do that? Because you’re an economics. So how was how do you think it’s different from a university?

Duhita
It’s definitely very different. So there are a lot of like, there’s no such thing as like pre med, pre law, really, there also aren’t majors like business or engineering and things like that. We have more of the liberal arts humanities subjects. So we have economics, instead, we have the bio, the cam, the physics, the computer science rather than engineering. And so in that way, in that way, liberal arts education is very different. I think that I don’t think that’s the case with every single liberal arts college, I know of some that have business programs and things like that, but Bard doesn’t. And at Bard, we are required to take 10 classes from 10 to in total 10 different classes from 10 distributions. So distributions are just different areas of academia. So you have to take a math class, you have to take a science class, you have to take a literature, class, humanities and social analysis class there, there are 10 of those, which I really, really value. I think, having a well rounded education is something that I probably wouldn’t have gotten at a bigger university. Also, my class sizes are like 10 to 20 people, they’re really small, I think my biggest class was 25. Students, I’m very close with my professors, which allows me to personally learn more, I feel like, I’m way more comfortable going to them for help for advice for really anything. But also, I was able to get a more well rounded education because I am able to connect the dots a little bit more like, I am an econ major, but I really love taking history classes. There’s a lot of aspects of history that really intrigued me. And I’ll be writing a senior thesis at Bard, which is also really great, because my, I think I’ll be writing like around 100 pages. Have a have a thesis, yeah, it’s really, um, but the school really does equip you to have the ability to do that. So learning from, it’s also a break from your major. So I enjoy not always talking about economic policy and theories and things like that. So I like to take an art class here and there and it’s accepted like you, you have to take an art class. And I think that’s really great, and allows you to learn about different disciplines, different fields, that you might not get the chance to do at a bigger university. It’s still really intensive, you have I have a lot of work and have a ton a ton of work all the time. But I think it’s also what you make of it, it’s, if you choose to have a really like Courseload, you can totally do that. But if you choose to challenge yourself, there’s definitely the opportunity to do that, especially with taking classes in different fields.

Kamila
Okay, so once you declared your major as economics, how much of because in a regular university, once you declare a major, a lot of your classes, at least the majority of them are dedicated to your major. So how much do you think you spent on your actual major versus taking different classes like you said, art or history?

Duhita
So Bard has something called a moderation. So there are requirements, the moderation is like applying into the major. And usually you’re accepted if you apply, but there are a number of requirements that you need to take before this moderation process. And I can’t exactly remember how many requirements that is, but you do it at the end of your sophomore year. And you’re expected to take the basics. You’re supposed to take Principles of Economics, you’re supposed to take, I want to say to 200 level courses, and I think it’s about like six, five or six classes. You need to take I haven’t been back at Bard in a long time. So now I’m forgetting is you have to take like six classes before moderating. Linear accepted into the major, I took a lot more than that, I want to say I was really interested in the subject. So I was taking other than my freshman year, I was taking two to three economics courses each semester. And I just wanted to get my economics requirements done, I knew I was going to major in it. So I was basically done with my requirements. By the end of my sophomore year, early junior year, I was done with all of my econ requirements. So I was still taking other classes. But we typically take four or five. And I would usually take two, econ and two others. So I would try to fulfill two distribution requirements each semester, and take two econ courses. The great thing about econ is that there’s a lot of crossover with lots of different other subjects. So I was able to crossover with one of the distribution requirements, which is like a human rights type of requirement. So I was able to do my social analysis along with this human rights requirement, history classes, which is also a requirement. There’s a lot of crossover. So math, I did a lot of math. And, yeah, I recommend to people taking try to do as much as their major as possible your freshman and sophomore year, that’s a personal preference of mine, kind of getting the hard classes and poor classes out of the way. And so you have the freedom to take whatever you really want to take your junior and senior year. So that’s what I did this year. I took my most of my core classes freshman sophomore year. Other classes junior and senior year.

Kamila
I see okay, so if the education the way they at least like show presented to you in a liberal arts college is much different. But what about other aspects of life? dorms are there like sororities and fraternities? I don’t know anything about liberal arts colleges. So are there like sororities, fraternities, you know, dorms dining halls? So how does it work out that way, you know, more like your social life.

Duhita
Okay, so we do not my particular school does not have Greek life. Um, we are a very, very, very progressive school. So they don’t believe in Greek life. But I know that there are a liberal arts schools that definitely do have it. So I would just say it’s not as big because liberal arts schools are typically smaller. So it’s just smaller in general. We have, I’m on an athletic sports team. So my like social circle kind of comes out of athletics, which can be very similar to having Greek life, like, there are certain houses for certain teams, and I enjoy it, I don’t mind being a part of the athletic community, I really do love it, my my best friends have come out of it. And also gives it add structure to my day. So I’m glad I was able to walk on to a team, I definitely recommend getting involved in things. That’s cool, or else. I mean, it’s not like high school at all, when you’re in college. It’s not like high school at all, you’re only taking a couple classes a day, and you have the rest of your day free. And I always need to have something to do I always need to do, I always need to be doing something. So I decided to walk onto a team. I joined a couple of extracurriculars like steel project was, which is an organization in Iran, and I also run the economics club. It adds a lot of structure to my day, it also allows me to meet people, which is something I really love. So that’s where a lot of the social aspect comes in, through like clubs, extracurriculars. My athletics team and my dining hall, our campus is relatively small, but really spaced out. It’s really, it’s small in terms of kids, but it’s pretty large in terms of land. There are two main dining halls, a lot of students live off campus, it’s in a really rural part of upstate, so there’s not like a McDonald’s down the road. It’s pretty far it’s like 20 minutes away. And the biggest city, like a closest like we call civilization is like 15. But like, you can’t like really walk anywhere. There’s not really public transportation. So people have a lot of cars and stuff. makes life very difficult because things are not openly like it’s very rural town. There’s no like McDonald’s or fast food that’s only for people that are out like partying and stuff.

Kamila
We’re just like a city to you know, hang out with your friends.

Duhita
Yeah, it’s very different. It’s really small, but I like it. I think that it’s a night I’m from New York City, so it’s nice to get away from that and have a little bit of the countryside in my life. We have a great view of the mountains, the Hudson, Hudson River, so I really love that the school is only two hours. way from New York City two hours north. So I come home a lot, just to visit my parents. They’re on the older side. So I like to see them, you know, once a month or so. And yeah, my social circle, I would say, it’s what you make of it. There are definitely different groups on campus. There are the athletes and then there were kind of like the very artsy drama, heavy kids, film kids. And then there’s like, it’s a very wide mix. i There’s no word to describe everyone, but it’s definitely very alternative. And it’s not for everyone. But I really do like my friends, I feel like we’re at a nice in between. What I’ve noticed is that everyone is very, very smart. Everyone at my school is very intelligent. And I constantly learning from them. Partying is not as big of a scene for me in my life. I think I did a good amount of going to parties and stuff, freshmen and sophomore year, but they’re not as huge as other big schools. So it’s not like Greek life. It’s not like huge day parties or anything. They’re like, pretty normal size, like people at a party type of thing. not overwhelming, really. So I do get to visit my friends that go to bigger state schools. My best friend goes to Delaware’s my other friends go to temple. So I do visit them get my like, fix in if I want to go to like a big school for a weekend. But I really like coming back to school. It’d be quiet. And I can go out if I want. And I don’t have to if I don’t want to.

Kamila
So you were saying earlier in the, in our conversation how your first year was kind of like if he was with like making friends. And I kind of noticed this pattern with other people I interview. The last girl I interviewed She said her first year when it came to you know, social life. It was just, it was so terrible for her. She considered, you know, transferring somewhere else because of that. So how did you deal with your first year? And what was it like?

Duhita
So my first year was definitely very tough, I would say we had like a summer orientation program was a couple of weeks. And I think I was going through a hard time. Like in my personal life, I had a couple of deaths in my family. So that was really, really, really hard on me. So I think I, I was just going home a lot every weekend to visit family and stuff. So I missed out on a lot of the opportunities to socialize. And I think a lot of people make their initial friend groups very, very early on, like the first couple days of college. And I didn’t get that opportunity. So that was really hard for me. I mean, I was not happy. Like, I was not happy at all. And the people that I did meet, were not my cup of tea, as I said before. I met students that like do drugs and party a lot. And it’s not something I’m looking that I’m really into. So that was really hard on me, I had a roommate that was also had a history of depression and anxiety. So I just spent a lot of time in a bad place, I think. And then I made a couple friends. And then finally I decided that I was keeping to myself a lot like I am a very social person, I clearly talk a lot. And I wasn’t doing that. And I was like I need my mom was kind of like, if you don’t go to Tulane because I was kind of thinking like I’m just going to transfer anyway. She was like, if you don’t go to Tulane, if they don’t give you an aid package, you’re gonna have to stay there. And that kind of hit me. I think we have that conversation around like October or November. And I was like, I need to make friends like I need to make friends and not just sit around my room and kind of sulk. And I think I was in a relationship going into college too. So I didn’t I wasn’t putting as much of an emphasis on making friends because I was in a relationship kind of relationship. I don’t really know what was happening. And so I just really had to pull myself out and tell myself fajita, if you don’t put yourself out there, you will be miserable for the three and a half years. And so I just started reaching out to girls in my class and guys I knew and I started creating a friend group. And I kind of was going back into my personality. I think I was finally falling back into where I normally was I think I just really had a bad few months. That want made me want to transfer already had the option of transferring I knew I’d get into another school. But that’s when I started seeing the light of my college and I was like oh, this is a good school. I am surrounded by very intelligent kids. I’m surrounded by a lot of opportunities. And my second semester of college. Once I put myself out there I signed up for some clubs I I walked onto the tennis team, I finally began to, to re acclimate, readjust and have a much better time. Just a much better time.

Kamila
Okay, so once you did create the social circle of yours, and this question applies to freshmen, sophomore and junior year, how did you balance the academic rigor with your social life and just having time to yourself.

Duhita
So I think that I do a lot outside of academics, and I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself, for my academics. I mentioned before that my GPA, my grades in high school were like 8990, in college, I felt like I finally found something that I really loved, I really loved economics, I really loved Like, my classes, and again, doing a lot better, I was getting a lot more as consistently, they I was just in a better place. And I definitely am a social butterflies. So I have to really tell myself that, you know, certain hours are meant for studying. And as I said, before, I’m a bad test taker, I really have to, I think I learned how my brain works. And my brain works by spending hours in the library, literally hours in the library, going, you know, going to the dining hall, seeing some friends hanging out them for a little bit, but then going back to the library, and really, really just focusing on my work, so I’m not gonna lie. I spend like almost every single night, in the library doing my work. It’s where I study best. Also, I try to study with friends, if I can to like, have my friends around. I have a good amount of friends, I would say. But I think my mentality around academics also shifted. So I was able to become more comfortable with my studying habits. And so I try to leave like an hour two, I live with four other girls this year. And I will again next year, hopefully, yes, yeah. And we’re planning on going back, but I hope Fingers crossed. And so I like to keep my social. They know, I told them, I spent a lot of time doing work, and I’ll come hang out with them at night, maybe. But I’m also going to be exhausted, I am an athlete, I do all these things. I take a lot of classes, I’m going to be exhausted. So I spend I try to spend Friday and Saturday with friends hanging out with them. At Bard people still do work on the weekends. So I’m usually in the library in the morning of Friday and Saturday, but I’ll hang out with my friends at night, we’ll go out to dinner. We’ll like have a dinner party ourselves or we’ll go to a friend’s house, go to a party, whatever. On the nights, but Sunday through Thursday, or like, work all the way. It’s hard. But when you’re an athlete too, because you’re spending two hours a day minimum working out at the gym, playing, practicing. So most of my days doing

Kamila
work you you said the minimum is like two hours a day. How? How do you think you you said athletics has helped you develop like a social circle? But did you ever find like oh my god, I have to go to tennis practice. Now. I wish I didn’t have to like do you ever find it too much?

Duhita
Yeah, and I’m lucky because tennis has shorter seasons. So you’re actually only spending those two hours a day when you’re in season, which is about like three or four months for me. But we still have other commitments other practices throughout the year. So it’s not two hours a day, every single day for the whole year, just for a couple months of the year. But yeah, there are times when we’re in a match and tennis isn’t timed. I don’t know if you know, but matches can go on for hours, if they do. So there have been times where I wish I had my laptop to write that paper or study for a test. So a lot of studying is done on the bus. And like in between practice, sometimes on the bleachers. If you’re watching your teammates play like our coach will let us read, which a lot of people don’t a lot of coaches don’t let you do that. But education is also academics are very highly prioritized at my school. So it’s always academics first athletics second, that’s what we always say. So, yeah, it’s been hard. It’s definitely been very, very hard and it gets easier. I think when you find the rhythm of how things work, like I know that when I’m in season, I’m not going to have as much time as when I’m out of season. Luckily for me, I’m out of season by the time midterms and finals, come around, thank God because I’m locked in the library at that point. But everyone’s very accommodating. Like if you have a test coming up and or like you have an extra office HOURS session with a professor. Coaches will likely let you leave practice, go to that and be flexible. So that’s good. That’s a good thing about bar.

Kamila
And then I have a kind of high school connection here. How did you address from high school to college because they’re obviously not the same thing. And you have a lot more responsibility on your shoulders. So how did you adjust.

Duhita
So, because I went to a boarding school, I was accustomed to living on my own. So I’m glad that that piece was out of the way. I think, in high school, I had so many rules living at my college, going to boarding school is very well heavy your child basically, and you’re living on your own with strangers. But I was also really good at time management because of my schedule in high school. So I got to learn, keep a lot of those experiences and dress them in college. But I think it’s really what I wanted, I knew that I really value academics, and I have been trying to get this internship that I have for a long time now. And what needed to be first was my academic. So I really just needed to tell myself that no matter how much I wanted to go out one night, if I have a test coming up, and I don’t have time to do that, I don’t have time to do that. And I also it was about my support system, my friends in college really do understand, I put a lot of pressure on myself definitely to do well, in everything I do. And that is very time consuming. So I think my friends are really great support system for me, my family is. And that was my adjustment really just, you know, having no more rules anymore, but telling myself that I still hold myself accountable for a lot of things. And it took a lot of discipline to get to that right now. I definitely have FOMO fear of missing out. But like, I get my social fix in, I’m a social person, I hang out with my friends, and I’ll study with them and their dorm by me too, if I want to be surrounded by people. But also I will go into the library and lock myself in there for 10 hours if I need to also. So like, and I know that might sound crazy. I know you’re in high school and you’re like, oh my god, 10 hours in the library. Yes, it happens. Sometimes it’s like 12 1314 hours. And I it takes me a long time to concentrate. So I think a lot of it is that it’s not always like me studying for 10 hours straight. It’s a lot of like, me reading and getting organized. And like, it’s kind of my like, so. But it’s a lot of discipline to do that. And it’s definitely hard. So I give myself a break. Like I let myself go out with my friends and stuff on the weekends.

Kamila
Okay, and you were also saying how your high school was predominantly white, and then going into college, it was still predominantly white, but they were also like really rich as well. So did you find it really, really disheartening or annoying that you were kind of isolated, you’re part of a group and you were not like accepted? So that’s kind of like my main question here. Did you ever feel left out or not accepted, just because you didn’t come from the top 1% And that you were not white?

Duhita
I think there are definitely moments. And I think that being at white institutions for so long, I’ve almost gotten used to it. I don’t, I’m Indian, I don’t have a ton of Indian friends being at the schools. And so my Indian friends are really from my childhood. And I’m not in touch with them as much anymore. And it’s something I really regret because I feel like I don’t have that connection and those ties to my roots. And not everyone understands what I’m going through I mean, their conversations and foods and, and just so many things that my white peers and friends that I consider to be very close to me and near and dear to my heart that will never understand. And so I can be very isolating. And I luckily I have friends that are people of color, and have been such a great support system and really have heard me out. And I think that’s not something I really had in high school, which I wish I did. And I didn’t have it in the first year ish of Bard, either. So this past year, I was able to kind of find that in those connections. But it’s hard because I feel like there’s a lot of performative allyship and that’s a term that’s going around a lot now. And it’s that, you know, if you’re a white student or person, you might say you’re an ally, but at the end of the day, like I see a lot of hypocrisy and I see that within some of my friends and I see that hear people that I’ve known for a long time and people that I’ve never met. And I think a lot of what I’m learning now is to have those difficult conversations and be more honest. I think sometimes I shy out of those conversations or just don’t want to get into it because it’s too stressful. And I just want to have, I don’t like conflict. And I think that that’s something I’ve kind of gotten over. Because I’m like, if it’s a racial conflict, and you don’t, you know, if you’re saying something that’s offensive, or blatantly racist, I’m going to call you out. And I think that’s something that’s more learned of me in the past few months, kind of brought it out there, because I was never vocal about these things or not that I never was, but I wasn’t as vocal as I could have been. And that’s definitely something I regret. And it’s something I’ve learned from, and something I want to get better at. And being a part of the scale project works on equity, that allows me to give voices to students of color and minorities, especially black students, right now, the the platform that they deserve, and I don’t think that, you know, if you’re a student of color, or you have to be the one teaching others about it, I think that’s completely ridiculous. I don’t think that because you are our that you have to teach others. And so providing resources through scale. And having an open conversation has really allowed me to kind of combat that recently. But it’s an uphill battle for sure.

Kamila
So we’re coming to an end here. And there’s something I asked almost everybody, what in high school do you think prepared you the most for college? That can be anything with as in your no academics? Or how much like stuff you had in boarding school? Because it seems like you were really packed up? Or to just basically, what do you think prepared you to prepare to you the most for college?

Duhita
Yeah, I think what prepared me the most was having so many things on my schedule, and having that discipline and time management, those time management skills, because, and like self care skills, because I was able to transition in that way really smoothly into college. And I think that’s something a lot of people struggle with. So I mean, you don’t have to go to boarding school to learn time management skills. But I think, really, what I like to do is do the most important things of the day and the beginning of the day, or else, I get lazy throughout the day and don’t want to do it as much same here. Yeah, so that’s something I’ve learned and works really well I try to wake up, like, do my workout, do my main work, and then, you know, kind of go through it. Even though I like to study at night. I like doing the most important things in the morning. And that’s something that I did learn a lot. And I think also just the emphasis on academics, and how important they really are. I think that was a privilege. I had going to a prep school, I was surrounded by people, you know, doctors and lawyers and like, bankers, and all these kids, parents were all these crazy things. And I knew how hard you would have to work to get there. And that’s something I’ve never forgotten. And, you know, conversations I’ve had with my peers and their parents, especially, I’ve heard how much not all of them, but a lot of them have had to work to where they are right now. And it’s something I’ve always aspired to do. I’ve, like I said before, I want to be good at everything I do. And I know that’s not possible. But it’s something that I strive for. And I set myself goals. And I think that’s something I also learned at school, in high school, setting goals for yourself and trying to follow through, or at least trying your hardest to attain a little bit of that goal, like working towards it, and not giving up but readjusting as needed, and things like that. So I learned a lot about hard work and determination and time management, especially in high school.

Kamila
So is that like the most important piece of advice you would give for high school students now, like, manage your time and set goals?

Duhita
I think I think it’s a good starting place. I think that’s something that motivated me, like having specific goals. And if I can’t meet them, you know, re adjusting them and kind of tweaking them, but also doing your research, like not everyone knows what they want to do. Not everyone knows what they want it where do they want to go to college, whether they do want to go to college, but I think start research early. See what’s out there, know that some kids have an unfair advantage, and that is messed up. But that’s how life is. And I wish I had told myself that earlier that people have unfair advantages and I might not have it as easy as some other kids. that come from wealthy, well connected families. So I would say that to my like, first gen low income folk, but I’d say, you know, yeah, do your research, be well organized and know that not everything will work out, but never stop trying to attain something, you know, like never stop aspiring to something. Yeah, that’s what I would say.

Kamila
And you are talking, you were talking about how you did not receive the financial package to go to Tulane University? Do you wish that you had gone to Tulane? Or are you content with where you are now? Like, do you think you would have more opportunities at Tulane? Do you think it would be a better fit for you?

Duhita
I am very content with where I am now. I think I did make the most out of my situation. It’s definitely not the best fit for me. I don’t know what school is. I’m sure there’s one out there. But I’m happy to be a part of a small community. And I don’t think I would have gotten that at Tulane. It’s a much bigger Greek Life School. And that’s not something I really wanted. I think it’s something I thought I wanted. But the end of the day, it’s not. And I really do value, my education, my close connections with my faculty at Bard. And I think in that way, it was much better suited for me. That type of environment.

Kamila
I think that’s good. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for coming today. And thank you for being interviewed you. You gave a lot of information, which is really good.

Duhita
Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much. Have a great rest of your summer.

Kamila
Have a great year. You too, and I’m very happy that you have an internship and it’s paid

Duhita
me Thank you. Thank you. I mean, best of luck to you and everything that you do. Bye. Have a good night you too.

Kamila
That’s the end of my interview with de hita. If you enjoyed that, please subscribe. Next I’ll be dropping an interview with the high school senior who just got into NYU. You do not want to miss that. I hope to see you