The stretch of Maggie Walker’s legacy is wider than you think. Each year, a new class of Dragons spreads across the globe, becoming everything under the sun from engineers to photographers to doctors. With so many opportunities, how are students supposed to know which schools are the best for them? This article compiles the experiences of six different alumni and five different academic institutions. The interviewees share their insights on their school’s campus culture, initial appeal (the reason he/she applied), internship opportunities, and one thing he/she would change about the school. Hopefully, you can glean something useful!

Silky Hou (‘19) - Yale-NUS College

Location: Singapore

Can you describe the campus culture and social scene?

“As a small liberal arts college in Singapore, we were truly able to foster a community unlike those in the US. Everyone truly knew each other because of how small our population was, and being a residential school. With regards to the social scene, it wasn’t unlike that of your traditional college- although we did have a lot more school sponsored mixers or school-funded events (like Taylor Swift nights and Tape Days). People were always keen to open their suites to others, but it was also very common for students to go out, either to bars or even to another country.”

What was initially appealing?

“I knew I wanted to be abroad, though I wasn’t entirely sure where during my senior year. Ultimately, it was when YNC flew us out to Singapore that really cemented my decision. I got to meet the kindest people during that short weekend and realize there was still so much about the world that I wanted to experience and learn. (Also YNC gave a extremely generous financial aid package)”

How easy or challenging is it to secure internships or research opportunities?

“It was very easy to find research opportunities, given that we had such devoted faculty. I was working in an environmental science lab my freshman year first semester, though I changed majors afterwards. I had the opportunity to work in cancer research starting the summer after my second year, just by having a coffee chat with my professor. This later became my senior year research project. Our school provided us with ample opportunities and connections to various industries both in Singapore and abroad. Outside of my YNC research, I was also fortunate to partake in a Harvard summer research program that I wouldn’t have known existed if my advisor hadn’t encouraged me to apply.”

If you could change one thing about the Yale-NUS, what would it be?

“I wish our school hadn’t been closed by NUS, the Singaporean government. This was ultimately a decision that upset not only the students, but also took the YNC administration by surprise. But truthfully, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am incredibly grateful for the community and friendships I made, that I otherwise would never have met.”

Madelyn Bradley (‘19)

Macalester College

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota

Campus culture and social scene

“The campus culture was very accepting. There are no fraternities or sororities so social activity was based around school clubs.”

What was initially appealing?

“I liked the international focus, and its wide range of majors, as well as the liberal arts college experience.”

How easy or challenging is it to secure internships or research opportunities?

“I personally didn’t do research, but had a lot of classmates who did. Since Macalester didn’t have a grad school, professors would often have undergrads assist with research. I was able to secure an internship between my junior and senior year. The school also had a program where it would pay students if they received an unpaid internship, which made it easier for students to take internships in their desired field instead of needing a job. So overall I would say it was pretty easy to secure internships or research.”

If you could change one thing about Macalester, what would it be?

“I think the one thing I didn’t like and is the nature of a liberal arts school is a lack of career based training programs. Which in my opinion created an over emphasis on the value of academia pursuits and undervalued professional programs like (nursing, accounting, business, etc).”

Madeline Foster (‘21) - Elon University

Location: Elon, North Carolina

Campus culture and social scene

“At Elon, the majority of students are incredibly involved. Most people are very active in several student orgs and find a lot of their friends there. It has a similar social scene to that of many smaller, private Northeastern colleges as that is where the majority of the student population draws from. We have an active Greek life scene and being a smaller school, it feels like everybody knows everybody.”

What was initially appealing?

“Elon initially appealed to me because of its study abroad and internship opportunities that are highly encouraged for students to participate in. I also found the campus to be beautiful and a perfect distance from Richmond. The high ranking school of Communications also piqued my interest early on.”

How easy or challenging is it to secure internships or research opportunities?

“The majority of majors at Elon require students to complete at least one internship during their time there. Because of this, these opportunities are very easy to come by as there are plenty of faculty at the school who work tirelessly to present students with these opportunities. Undergraduate research is another one of Elon’s incredibly important pillars and because of this research is very common to partake in and professors are often pitching students on the research projects looking for people to join them.”

If you could change one thing about Elon University, what would it be?

“The one thing I might change about Elon would be the student culture of over commitment. As I mentioned earlier, most students are involved in multiple orgs, and at times, there can be a lot of pressure in the campus culture to over involve yourself.”

Andrew Vallent (‘22) - Stevens Institute of Technology

Location: Hoboken, New Jersey

Campus culture and social scene

“The campus culture is very academically focused, most people spend lots of their time focusing on school and career development. However, there are lots of opportunities for socialization (i.e. parties, club sports, greek life) Almost everyone I know is a member of greek life or a club/varsity sport.”

What was initially appealing?

“I really liked the location. The campus has easy access to New York City and I really wanted that experience in my life. Additionally, the school was mostly filled with students majoring in STEM fields.”

How easy or challenging is it to secure internships or research opportunities?

“In my experience, most of the students pursuing research opportunities have succeeded, and the school has a well-developed Co-op program that a large portion of the student body utilizes. However, I have noticed that the ease of securing an internship very much depends on the field of study.”

If you could change one thing about Stevens, what would it be?

“I wish it were more affordable.”

Ala Killen (‘23) and Kaysen Mills (‘23) - Savannah College of Art and Design, GradPath

Location: Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France

Campus culture and social scene

“The campus culture is eclectic. Whatever it is you're interested in, you'll find someone here who's into that subject/hobby/sport/etc too. People take a lot of pride in their creativity and individuality, so you can be exposed to a lot of different, and incredibly interesting personalities and lifestyles within a single class or day at SCAD.”

What was initially appealing?

“[We’re] creators, and [we’ve] always been drawn to the coast/warm weather and beaches. This school combines a beautiful city (near a beach) with an intense art program, which is exactly what I wanted to experience.” 

How easy or challenging is it to secure internships or research opportunities?

“[We] think that internships are definitely bigger here than straight up research opportunities, though [we’re] sure both are out there. SCAD is an amazing place to find internships with top brands and companies, and get your portfolios out to the people with power within those companies.”

If you could change one thing about SCAD, what would it be?

“It's price. They offer plenty of scholarship opportunities if you are the kind of person who wants to, and can, put in a little extra effort to get them, but the price has definitely made deciding to go here more challenging.”