Miles Edwards, ’18, attends Santa Clara University. He is majoring in communications and minoring in entrepreneurship and real estate.
Q: What classes are you taking?
A: Next quarter, I’m taking Spanish 3; Religion and Ideas, a course required by the school; and English Critical Thinking and Writing 12A.
Q: What is your favorite class?
A: Probably my religion class because of the thought-provoking conversations. The class is about religion in general but mainly focuses on Islam. We talk about the homework we read the night before, and then we have group discussions on different viewpoints people have. Then we develop arguments on why we feel a certain way, and we present those (arguments) to other groups.
Q: What’s your least favorite class?
A: I don’t have a least favorite class, honestly.
Q: What is your workload?
A: Most of my classes have one to two hours of homework a day, so a total of four to six hours of homework a day. It’s a lot, but it’s also coupled with a lot less time (spent) in class. When I was going to (go to) college, I was like “That sounds like a lot of work,” but it’s really not that bad. Especially (on) the weekends, you’re completely free if you devote just a couple of hours to studying.
Q: How long are your classes?
A: About an hour and 10 minutes to about two hours.
Q: How large are your classes?
A: About 20 students in a class.
Q: How is the campus?
A: The campus is really pretty; they keep it very well-manicured. It’s also small — my farthest class was a five- to seven-minute walk. The campus size is perfect for me.
Q: How is your living situation?
A: I’m in a freshman dorm (in a) standard double.
Q: How is your roommate?
A: He’s good. I did a random roommate selection, and I just happened to get really lucky. (My roommate) and I are very close.
Q: How is the campus food?
A: It’s actually not too bad. They just renovated the cafeteria this year, so the food is pretty good.
Q: What is your favorite part about college?
A: Definitely the people you meet. The friends you make are really close friends, and I can already tell they’re going to be lifelong friends.
Q: What is your least favorite part about college?
A: I don’t necessarily have a part that I really don’t like, but it is a big adjustment coming (from high school) to college. The living situation is different. You’re all on your own all of a sudden, and you have to take care of your stuff. You just have to do your own thing and figure it out, but everyone eventually does.
Q: Does going to a Jesuit school affect your studies, other than the required religion course?
A: No, it doesn’t.
Q: What is it like living in Silicon Valley?
A: The location and job opportunities are great. (It’s) very exciting.
Q: Did you make any freshman mistakes?
A: I (had) a lack of sleep during the first few weeks of college. There was a lot of stuff going on, a lot of things happening, so I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
Q: How well did Country Day prepare you for college?
A: Academically, it was pretty smooth. I do feel that Country Day, especially its (English and) writing classes, really got me ready for college.
Q: What do you miss about Country Day?
A: I appreciate Country Day for the really close friends I made being there for 13 years. And though my class sizes are small at Santa Clara, I will never have as close of a relationship with the teachers as I did at Country Day.
Q: Do you have any advice for the class of 2019?
A: Everyone is so excited to go to college, like, “I cannot wait to leave.” But you should just enjoy the time you have right now with your friends. Just enjoy the moment.
Five star or subpar?
Food: ☆☆☆☆
School Spirit: ☆☆☆☆
Location: ☆☆☆☆☆
Clubs: ☆☆☆☆☆
Student/Teacher Interactions: ☆☆☆☆
