Explo at Yale: Manish from New York

How has your Explo experience been overall?
I have really enjoyed this time. I feel like it went by really quickly. I definitely am going to come back next year because I really enjoyed it. There are a lot of new people to meet. I was afraid when I came here that I wouldn't make any friends, but I made friends literally the moment I stepped through the gate. People just start talking to each other. Everyone is so nice and everyone wants to make friends here — I thought Explo would be a bit more "formal" so to say, but I am really glad it isn't because you have a lot of freedom. Also, I thought that the courses would be a lot more like school courses, but I am really glad they are not. You get more control over what you want to study and you can learn in a much more relaxed environment. School classes are a lot more serious and there is a lot of extra work involved. Here, you still learn a lot but you have fun while you do it.

How was your first year of high school?
High school was a different experience form middle school. It's a completely different environment. More people than I was used to, but I liked it. I like to do science subjects, a little bit of math. Especially history. I like global history.

What courses are you taking — or I guess did you take — here at Explo?
I know, I can't believe it's technically over. I took Model UN and Creative Writing. Creative Writing, I picked because I do enjoy writing, and I want to be a better writer. I picked Model UN because I enjoy politics and studying other countries. In Model UN, we simulated the UN, we pretended to be countries, and we had to interact with each other and solve crises or create policies. We did this one simulation that I liked a lot where we had to resolve a drug crisis in a country. In Creative Writing, we wrote a lot of different things — fiction, poetry, non-fiction. I think I liked writing fiction the best. And I also took the SAT prep course. I enjoyed it. I feel like I really did improve and I learned a lot of helpful tips.

Oh that's good! Do you think Explo in general has prepared you for the college process?
Explo has definitely prepared me for college. Just the whole experience of staying in dorms, walking to classes, having a lot of freedom. I like it here. I would like to go to a school like Yale or Princeton. I think I want to study economics, but I've been changing my mind a lot lately.

You still have time! What do you do during your free time?
I got to the gym, and my friends and I go to the shops and restaurants around campus. I've tried some of the activities during the day. There are a lot of those that go on and it is nice to try something new. I've been to all of the Main Events, except one when it was raining. They are really nice. They have people who are well-known — some students know of them before and get so excited about seeing them finally. They are all really entertaining. I don't think I have a favorite because they are all so different. I liked Carnival Night a lot because it was a very social event. I also liked the dances. The college fair was a great way to check out colleges I was interested in and to learn about more.

Did you go on a college tour on E=MC2?
I actually did community service that day. I did stuffed animal-making for dogs. We made a bunch of toys. It was a lot of fun. That morning, I saw Dr. Jordan, the criminologist. She had a very interesting way of telling a story, and I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time.

So was I! What weekend trips did you go on?
First week I went to Central Park — I've been to Central Park before, but it's always nice to go back. And then the second weekend I went to Six Flags and the beach. I love the beach! [Laughs.] Six Flags was a lot of fun. I hadn't been to the one in New England before, so it is fun to go on new rides.

What has been your favorite part of Explo?
I enjoyed meeting a lot of new people. I met a ton on the first day and kept meeting more and more as the weeks went on. I love how there are so many people from around the world — my roommate is from China, I met people from Turkey and Venezuela. And I really like how I got to meet people from all over the US as well. That has definitely been a highlight.

Do you like your living group?
I love my living group. We formed a very tight bond over those first two days, and now we all hang out with each other. I really like my RAs, too. They are really nice guys. They come and talk and hang out with us outside of living group times and check-ins.

What will you miss most about Explo?
I will definitely miss all of Explo. I loved my classes, all my friends here. The environment is such a nice environment. It is just so different from school; I kind of wish school was like this.

Explo in one word. Go!
Explo is "amazing."