Menlo College

Date: Apr 08 2013
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I attended Menlo my freshman year of college, and transferred to a state University after one year at Menlo. I?ve spent a lot of time reflecting my decision to attend Menlo and the experience that I had there. The school, as a whole, was a terrible place, but let me try to explain.

THE CAMPUS: is poorly maintained, and obviously second class compared to the high school adjacent (the high school actually owns the nicer of the two pools on campus, and their kids parade through campus daily to attend swimming and water polo classes). It?s not their fault, the high schoolers often have Stanford as their back-up school incase Yale or Harvard kicks. Menlo high school just has more money (and half of the cafeteria).

THE KIDS: When I was at Menlo in 2010, the students in attendance were the worst part of the school. Racism and homophobia plagued the student body, and tight knit clicks formed around the sports clubs and drugs (it felt a lot like high school). But, I can?t stress how shocked I was to find that racism and homophobia could be so openly accepted. On top of all that, the student body was objectively unintelligent, I had to take a basic grammar test in my history class because there were students who didn?t know what words like ?sovereign? meant, tests like these made me depressed and unmotivated.

THE TEACHERS: The poor instructors? Most of them hail from prestigious schools, and would love nothing more then to nurture brilliant young minds in this small intimate college setting. But instead they have to beg students to answer questions in class, and often offer study guides including actual questions from the tests, just so kids will pass. During my last semester at Menlo I had a professor show up drunk to a morning study session for a final. I thought it was pretty cool at the time, but now as I am building professional relationships with my professors in my later years of college, I?ve come to see this a grossly unacceptable. I will say though, there are a few professors that I met at Menlo whom I admire to this day for their knowledge, commitment, and personality. I genuinely miss their classes and seeing them around.

THE SOCIAL LIFE: There are no fraternal organizations on campus, the surrounding area is too expensive for students to live, and the community has passed local legislation so strict that the crowd at Menlo?s sporting events has been asked to ?keep it down? by cops after receiving noise complaints. There are no parties on campus because drinking in the dorms is forbidden. Almost all of the campus clears out on weekends. Take it from an out of state kid; it gets so boring you end up counting squirrels. One weekend, there were 36 squirrels on the quad and 13 people around campus (including staff, but not counting kids locked in their dorms). There were, of course, lots of little events organized by the RAs, they keep your interest as long as a bouncy castle on the quad possibly can.

WHAT I THINK: Menlo is trying to get better. It needs forward thinking students willing to be outgoing and accepting. It needs kids who do the assigned reading and engage in class. Menlo needs these kids to be partiers who demand more relaxed drinking standers, because college age kids need that release (especially their freshman year). The staff at Menlo recognizes this and is trying to make it a reality. My roommate from freshman year is still at Menlo, and he is changing things, he is making Menlo a better place. Attend Menlo if you want to make a difference at a small college, but know that it won?t be easy. You can make Menlo yours; I didn?t. I didn?t have the patients, and I didn?t want to be part of Menlo?s alum. I can honestly say my life is better for leaving. If you?re still interested in Menlo, I honestly wish you the best of luck, if my old roommate has taught me anything it is that Menlo can be a nice place, if you?re willing to work hard to make it yours.