Advice for Freshman Self (01:01)

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Interviewers ask college seniors what advice they would give themselves as college freshmen.

Credits: Seniors: Four Years in Retrospect (00:08)

Credits: Seniors: Four Years in Retrospect

Introduction: Seniors: Four Years in Retrospect (00:43)

Several years ago, the film "Frosh" followed Stanford students. We return to campus when the students were seniors.

Monique (03:04)

Monique grew up in Oakland. Her mother turned to drugs. She excelled in high school, but soon showed lack of enthusiasm for college classes.

Interventions (01:59)

Monique dropped two of her three classes in her first quarter. The resident's dean attempts to intervene, as does her roommate.

Mentor (01:33)

The residents' dean decide Monique needed a mentor and got her a job, given as a favor.

Accomplishments (01:40)

Monique recalls her psychological unpreparedness for college during freshman year. In her senior year, she was appointed student administrator. She performs community services.

Teaching Class (03:43)

Monique became academically focused. During her senior year, she was the only undergraduate to teach a Stanford class, in African-American Women's History.

Debbie (01:18)

Debbie wants to be a doctor. She lacked a strong science background and is intimidated by the intelligence of her Stanford classmates.

Discouraged by Grades (02:48)

Freshman Debbie studied hard but got D's in chemistry. She is under stress; her boyfriend, Elliot, gets similar grades but is more relaxed.

Rushing (02:46)

Debbie rushes for sororities; this decision contributes to her worries that she is inauthentic.

Feminist Studies (02:35)

Debbie dropped pre-med for feminist studies after getting involved in a date rape awareness program. She talks about rejecting objectivity and binary systems.

Quitting Sorority (01:46)

After taking up feminist studies, Debbie's grades improved. She quit her sorority after reexamining her priorities.

Cheng (03:09)

Cheng came into college with the goal of getting into Harvard law school. Pressure to compete often replaces learning for ambitious students, including Cheng.

Parents (01:36)

Cheng talks about academic pressure from Asian parents, including his. He worries he is not living up to their achievements.

Economics and Libertarianism (01:56)

Cheng turned the corner academically when he began taking economics. He started a libertarian advocacy group on campus.

Interviews (02:25)

Cheng interviews with Wall Street firms; he is apprehensive. Coming out of one interview, he concludes the interviewer didn't like him.

Worries (01:38)

Cheng did well at Stanford but isn't happy about his reception at investment banking interviews. His advisor tries to reassure him.

Sam (02:51)

Sam attended an all-boys Catholic school in New Jersey and played basketball. He hoped to leave behind social and girl-related insecurities of high school.

Assistant Manager (01:54)

Sam took the position of assistant manager with the basketball team. He fantasizes about becoming an NBA general manager.

Fraternity (01:17)

Sam got accepted into an athletic fraternity. He knows his decision to join will be unpopular with some.

Multiculturalism (01:38)

A girl asks Sam how he feels being a white male at Stanford with all the identity group movements going on. He says none of it bothers him.

Social Success (02:38)

Sam became the President of his fraternity and basketball head manager. He talks about his social growth in college. Many students change in college; he stuck to his plan.

Brandi (02:21)

Brandi talks about her feelings about college on her first day. After classes begin, she finds herself unsure what her plans are, and realizes she has approached college differently from high school.

Philosophy Class (01:23)

As a freshman, Brandi stumbled on a philosophy class taught by a provocative grad student, who engaged her intellectually. He emphasizes mechanisms of social control.

African-American Studies (01:14)

Brandi took up African-American studies. She says this field helps us understand human nature, which we can't do scientifically.

Background (00:53)

Growing up in a middle-class, white Indiana neighborhood, she was often considered "white on the inside" and didn't have black friends. She makes black friends at Stanford.

Black Sorority (01:30)

Brandi joined a black sorority in her junior year. She talks about this.

Anxieties (03:00)

With graduation approaching, Brandi that she went to college only because she was expected to and took a two-year leave of absence to go to work. She returned to complete her degree.

Plans (02:24)

Learn about the future path and plans of the Stanford graduates we have followed.

Credits: Seniors: Four Years in Retrospect (00:51)

Credits: Seniors: Four Years in Retrospect