Kalamazoo College
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Kalamazoo College - Comments and Student Experiences | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Disability Services is a disaster, to the point where I was told that my neurological disorder was not a disability, despite being medicated for it and it making me miss weeks of my class at a time. Not to mention that the school is on a hill, so if you use any assistive devices, look somewhere else. I even had one class where the professor basically told me that my disability was invalid and that I should have told her when I was in pain (even though that's literally every moment). I had a friend who lost points because she took her seizing boyfriend to the hospital, a friend who was accused of cheating because of her anxiety disorder, and the list goes on. This school has a major problem with its disabled students, and the intense coursework makes that even worse.
The other side of the coin is that the school is so politically one-sided. The school is so liberal that simply not knowing correct terminology will lead you to being immediately "called out" by people. The student body has a righteousness complex, and expects everyone to have the same passions as they do, and if you don't, you're considered a homophobic, ableist, sexist, etc. person (I've been called homophobic for saying gay culture even existed, and I am gay!). I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone even close to conservative. And this is coming from a very liberal, disabled, mentally ill LGBT woman.
On the flip side, if you are oppressed in some way, this college can be your safe space. LGBT students are absolutely accepted, to the degree where I felt no shame at my sexuality, and professors will respect they/them pronouns. Compared to my high school, this college is comparatively a lot nicer to students of color as well, though there is still a lot of work to be done with that. Casual -ist and -phobic remarks are not taken lightly at this school, and make of that as you will.Overall, I don't know what to say about this school. It's intense, but it works for some people. If you're looking into getting into activism in college, this might be the place for you. Just realize that your ideas will be put to the test, and this might not be in a comfortable, understanding way.
That said, I regret to say that "K" is not what it once was, especially for those of use who don't study math and science. Having talked to numerous alums who graduated in the '60s through the '80s, I have been amazed at the decrease in the level of expectations on "K" students. I think a lot of this is not specific to Kalamazoo, but is indicative of the larger trend toward "experiential learning." For someone who plans to go on to med-, law- or engineering school, I think that "K" probably provides a good, well-rounded education. However, for those of us who tried to take our experiential educations out into the workforce, we found that we had a whole lot of experiences and not a lot of practical skills and information.
The good news about this is that, for the most part, "K" grads are a pretty smart and resourceful group. Most of us have managed to find decent jobs, but for the majority of my peers, that meant going back to grad school. The bottom line: if you're going on to grad school immediately after undergrad, "K" is still a pretty good school. If you're not, get as much specific, hands-on experience as you can through internships, individualized studies and your SIP (if they still do those...). Please don't expect your "K" diploma to be a ticket to a great job. You'll either have to work for it while you're there or (like many of us) after you graduate.
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