College and Video Gaming - Research Memo

Main: How are students attending an undergraduate or postgraduate school affected by the expansive world of video gaming?

1. Of course, not everyone enjoys playing video games. Do you notice any difference in the characteristics of those that do play video games and those that don't; such as age, major, sex, status in community?
2. Occasionally, a highly anticipated game is released and normally this occurs towards the end of the year. It is known that their is a large number of students (or non-students for that matter) that tend to stay home the next day so they can stay up all night, plying into the next day. A perfect example would be Grand Theft Auto 5, a game receiving high ratings (rated at a 96%), just released August 17th. Do you notice a change in your fellow students in areas such as topics they discuss during/before class, sleeping patterns, study habits, ability to complete assignments on-time?

Liberal Arts Research Interview

For this interview, I was paired with a fellow CIS classmate, Lauren Joyce.

Lauren responded to the first research question regarding liberal arts--

"How do undergraduate students attending a liberal arts college describe their decision in choosing to attend their college?"--with a list of pros and cons.

Pros

• Exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, beyond their major
• Small class sizes
• Relationship with professors, rather than just a number
• More help when needed – Professors are willing to make other accommodations for the student
• The professors actually teach the course – not a TA
• Live on campus or near campus – creates a sense of community
• Two-year exploration before declaring major

Cons

• Could be as much as 4x’s (or more) more expensive than public school in the same state
• Usually smaller - Less options for living situation/meal plans

"How do undergraduate students attending a liberal arts college describe the benefits they expect, as a result of attending their college?"

• Provides an excellent foundation for graduate study
• Prepares students to work in a variety of jobs
• Degree is appealing to employers.
• May have better company connections because of the smaller college community – or internship opportunity
• Creates graduates who are equipped with the skills to become valuable community members
• Learned more while enrolled from small class sizes & professor (instead of TA) that they were better prepared for a job in their field
• Internships – were able to get a job at the same company or gained experience in the internship that helped land a job in their field easier than an applicant that didn’t.

"How does attending a liberal arts college change undergraduate students?"

Enables students to:

• Be more reflective about what they believe
• Be more conscience of their choices
• Be more creative and able to solve critical problems
• Be more conscience of their feelings and emotions
• Think for themselves
• Open their minds up to learning new things
• Be more socially effective
• Look at the larger picture

“It heightens students' awareness of the human and natural worlds they inhabit” Harvard Admissions.