Muhlenberg College

Date: Oct 26 2010
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
It's difficult to decode whether or not I like this school. The kosher cookies are delicious, the facilities are up to par and then some, my dorm is massive (huge), and the faculty is usually more than willing to help out when prompted to do so. It should be good, but then again?it really isn?t. Here's the thing: Muhlenberg is advertised as this college that fosters and accepts diversity, creating a student body that is friendly and understanding.

That being said, I have never felt so alone and uncomfortable in my life. Maybe it's because I'm not a theatre major- sometimes it seems as though 90% of the students here are. Maybe it is because I'm not part of the religious majority-there is so much emphasis placed on being religious [Jewish] here that it can be a little overwhelming/intimidating. But what bothers me the most about this place is how fake and devoid of depth the kids here really are. I've never been so afraid to speak out because, despite the description given during tours, the students here aren?t accepting of diversity of thought. In fact, they are more close-minded than most. The Mules resemble scared high-schoolers in both appearance and personality, and they can only be described as awkward socially. They are ostensibly friendly, but that doesn?t discount the blanket of awkwardness and tacit rage that is flopped over the entire campus. The unspoken arrogance (or spoken- I had a girl tell me that she used to be the one who set the curve in all her high school classes…she looks like a squirrel) only grants seemingly passive debate over who took the most AP classes in high school or who spent the most hours studying . Honestly. I could care less, and frankly, it makes me want to take a pencil, gouge out my eye and then eat it.

I expected to grow as person upon coming to college, but this place is more constraining than high school; I have never felt so confined and I have to work to keep myself from losing stamina. Add this to the fact that leaving campus isn?t smart, not only because Allentown is boring but also dangerous (yes, we had three armed robberies on and nearby campus in one night). I?ve been considering transferring to another college next year just so I can finally get out of this high school lifestyle and feel like an independent adult