Though Chung said her social life was unaffected by the thesis, she noted that most of her thesis-writing friends were not in her position. "For most of them, it'll be plug, plug, plug 'til it's due," she said.

Many seniors say they became virtual prisoners of their computers, remaining glued to the screen on weekend nights.

"It's taken a lot out of my social life," says Michael W. Narducci '97, a psychology concentrator.

Narducci is the only one of his 11 roommates writing a thesis. "It's kind of hard sometimes [because] I have to stay in and do this and I can't go out with them," he says.

"I want to be able to have a good time. I keep thinking it's senior year, and I won't get to hang around with these guys much longer," Narducci says.

The suffering is made more acute by the interminable length of the project. By the end, many students say their initial excitement about their topics is lost.

"I just kind of want to do it and get it over with," says Kolodner, who apparently does check his answering machine.

"From what I hear, you're happy after the fact," he adds.

Most seniors say there are ups and downs in the thesis process, with the majority of the ups coming after it's turned in.

"I'm not glad I did it now, but I think I will be in a couple of months," says Roy Astrachan '97, an Applied Math concentrator writing a thesis through the economics department.

"Right now, I'm not that unhappy that I'm writing it, [but] at various points I've been regretting it strongly," he said.

Though Astrachan is on the home stretch now, he says he went through a bad time in December and January.

"At that point, I lacked focus entirely. I had done a decent amount of work, but it wasn't coming together," he says.

Astrachan says a support network is invaluable in making it through the rough times. His father's ideas, his girlfriend's loving support and "bitching with [his] roommates" helped him keep going.

Academic Interest