Over the summer, sophomore Sara Rasmussen was chosen as one of College Prowler’s Whitman interns, helping to produce a candid, accurate resource for prospective and incoming first-year students about the less-publicized aspects of Whitman. Here, she writes a personal narrative detailing her experience working for College Prowler and shares her discoveries about Whitman.

“Choosing a college is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make,” they say. At the right school, “it will be the best four years of your life.”

Such is the mantra for College Prowler, a resource for high school students and college first-years seeking the “inside scoop” on the university of their choice. “We let the students tell it how it is,” the publication’s web site, collegeprowler.com, boasts.

Unlike many other guides, College Prowler is written primarily by current students and recent alums, comprised of a range of student quotations and editorials on topics ranging from academics to night life. College Prowler recruits student interns from campuses across the country to contribute candid information and statistics about their respective colleges. Contributing students serve as College Prowler’s primary source of information.

In the case of College Prowler’s guide to Whitman, I am one of those contributing student interns. Over the first five weeks of summer vacation, I worked from my home in Salem, Ore. to revise the out-of-date “College Prowler: Whitman edition.”

The task set before me entailed providing my perspective on 19 letter-graded categories as well as additional sections ranging from the “Best and Worst of Whitman” to “Words to Know on Campus.” The internship required that I collect surveys from fellow students, which served as a resource for the many candid student quotations provided throughout the book.

In the course of my research, partially a reflection on my first year at Whitman and partially a compilation of other students’ surveys, I drew a few conclusions about the college. With the ups and downs I have experienced in the past year, I occasionally thought of transferring to another college. Exploring Whitman in depth simultaneously revived these ideas and helped me discover why, in the end, I’m still here, and will certainly graduate from the school.

Choosing one’s undergraduate college, I have found, is not one of the biggest decisions of one’s life. One may or may not experience the best four years of their life there. Many liberal arts colleges are similar, and it often comes down to arbitrary differences that impact the decision of where to attend. Each school has its difficulties, and there is no perfect school for anyone. The experience, rather, is both fantastic and tumultuous, regardless.

Another important discovery about Whitman is less about the institution as it is the students: Whitties are quite the complainers, myself included. In most of the student surveys I collected, where questions ranged from “How’s the food?” to “What is a typical Whittie?” or “How are the guys and girls?”   it was easy to spot student frustrations. We criticize far more than the school probably actually merits. From Walla Walla and its weather to Bon Appétit and campus security, we could all really use a moment to step back and appreciate the school’s strengths and its weaknesses in context.

Such revelations made working for College Prowler worth the experience. The book does contain some great lists, if I do say so myself, such as the “Whitman Traditions” and “Things I wish I knew before coming to Whitman.” They provide a good laugh for the upperclassmen or some quality reading for first-years that doesn’t come across as propaganda. Alternately, a student could skip the $16.95 price tag and maybe just learn it all for themselves.