University of Miami Top Questions

I would say the most popular student groups are the Greeks! Haha. But seriously, the greeks know how to have fun, the student government is pretty active and successful, U R Awesome goes around giving people high-fives and smiles (and umbrellas to those without when it randomly rains), Hurricane Productions occasionally brings cool performances like Ludacris, Wiz Khalifa, NERD (but they could do more and bring better... we are The "U" after all)...oh any anyone who knows how to throw an awesome tailgate on game day is popular!

I would say the most popular student groups are the Greeks! Haha. But seriously, the greeks know how to have fun, the student government is pretty active and successful, U R Awesome goes around giving people high-fives and smiles (and umbrellas to those without when it randomly rains), Hurricane Productions occasionally brings cool performances like Ludacris, Wiz Khalifa, NERD (but they could do more and bring better... we are The "U" after all)...

There are thousands of universities and hundreds of D1 athletic programs but only one can be called the []_[]. D1 sports games are a ton of fun and are huge social events. The milkshakes at the baseball games are to die for and football tailgates are so fun alumni come back every year to join in on the festivities. Greek life isn't that big but most students that are a part of it really take it seriously. Frats host a lot of parties but they aren't the main event. Sororities dont have houses so their presence is even smaller but most charity events on campus are sponsored by some greek organization. The biggest party night is Thursdays in the grove but you can find ways to go out almost every night here. Most students go off campus on the weekends since there are so many things to do. The best thing to do is go to the beach. Crandon Park in Key Biscayne is a beautiful beach perfect for hanging out and grilling. Frats often host beach days and take buses out to the beach bringing soccer balls,plenty of food, and music. The biggest event of the year is Ultra in march. Everyone gets dressed up in neon, rave attire and cleans out American Apparel every year to rock out to some the worlds best techno music.

Greek life is terrible. HAZING DOES HAPPEN. Sammy (the Frat) made the guys that rushed last year eat live gold fish. They say that UM has an absolute no hazing policy but that is absolutely, absolutely not true. Also, it is all based on who you know. Unless you have a friend in a certain frat or sorority, you are likely not to get in. Also, all the sororities have superficial steryotype. Like the Kappa Kappa Gammas are known as having the ugly girls, others were known for having the stupid blond girls, the rich stuck up girls (DG), etc. It was all very fake and not a welcoming environment. In terms of diversity, you can meet people from all around the world, but apart from that EVERYONE is the same. Every girl has the same shoes, shorts, bag, sweatshirt, hair style, personality, etc. A lot of times I felt I was walking through a crowd of clones. At first I liked it, because I felt like I fit in. But once I realized that there was literally no one that was different, I started to get bored and annoyed with the student body. There are a lot of foreign kids, but they all stick together. Those who are from China are often made fun of by UM students which I thought was very cruel. The campus tries to keep students safe by making you scan your Cane card at every turn, but I would still not walk alone there past 9 PM. There is some drug use that goes on here, but the more prevalent problem is the heavy, almost disgusting drinking that goes on all the time (not only on weekends, but every night). I think its fine to drink and have a good time, but when people are drinking so much they black out all the time, its no longer fun. Alchohal posioning is a regular occurance here. It's not the fun, typical college atmosphere. It's cut throat, all based on looks, and if you're not completely trashed before you go out, you likely will taking care of all your horribly drunk friends who are. As a girl, I must also mention that you nearly have to sell yourself to get into a lot of parties, etc. Everyone dresses like a slut, and is done up to the nines every time they go out and night. If you're not, you can be turned away, even from frat parties. Looks are all that matter here, so if you don't look good, you're not allowed to have a good time. You are literally stuck on campus, where nothing happens, unless you get a cab, which to south beach can cost up to $42. My dorm had bugs, though I knew people who had worse. A couple girls I knew switched rooms because of cocroches. Also, ALOT of people got sick because of the A/C being on full blast all the time. It is also way to easy to get a roommate switch. All it took was the signing of a form. People switched roommates multiple times during the year only so that they could room with whom ever they were friends with for that month. I couldn't believe it was allowed. My RA was also very unqualified. He was an overall nice guy, but often hit on a lot of the girls and would just be inappropriate. I didn't feel comfortable going to him for any problem since he had already picked out who on the floor he like and who on the floor he didn't.

the freshman dorms are a great first experience at UM. they are really social and make it super easy to make friends. athletics are pretty popular here, especially the football games. the U also offers intramurals and club teams in pretty much every sport...from volleyball to water polo to dodgeball to flag football to table tennis. when people party here, there is a lot of beer pong action and flip cup. also, a lot people go to the bars in coconut grove or the clubs on south beach.

football, baseball, and basketball teams are popular and have large fan base. like i said earlier... greek life is a disappointment. everyone seems to be in it for the wrong reasons (at least the sororities). sororities&frats are not that important - it does not determine social life it's more like an extracurricular optional thing that not that many ppl get involved in football games are HUGE and lots of fun and extremely popular lots of big guest speakers that are usually through pres. donna shalala with all her amazing connections at 2am on a tuesday, i would be at tavern - this packed crappy little college bar in the grove. met friends thru sorority great concerts - this year we had afroman, girl talk, talib kweli ppl party all of the time, u can always find someone partying each night of the week. like tues&thurs are cocunut grove/bar nights, fri&sat are house parties, frat parties, or south beach, sun&mon&wed south beach or chill party off campus - shopping is amazing there are SO many places to go, tons of world famous restaurants and clubs, beaches are gorgeous, art district and design district are funky and interesting to explore, brickell/downtown has a little village area with great restaurants... so many places to explore and love in miami

I don't know about the dorms, but if you live off campus, it's jumping off! Throw a rock in any direction on a weekend and you hit a party. Greeks have events going on almost everyday! Miami girls are beautiful and there's just so many of them you won't know what to do! If you're sober, there's always the malls and the movies and likewise, they are always stocked full of hotties. On campus, we have world class speakers on an almost constant basis. The Dalai Llama, Al Gore, Ben Stien, corporate leaders, and many others are on heavy rotation at the U. When football season in on, it's on. The Orange Bowl maybe gone but that just means we take the party up north to Weston to cheer the Canes at Dolplhins Stadium!

Last weekend... On Thursday I went to the Grove with some of my fraternity brothers. On Friday I gave a tour of campus to prospective students, went to work, and drank some beer at the Rat. On Saturday I went to the beach during the day, and went to Swamp Stomp at Key Biscayne that night. Swamp Stomp is a concert held at an outdoor venue with a bunch of local bands and cheep beer. On Sunday I relaxed, did a little homework, and had some friends over for dinner. My typical weekend usually goes something like that.

There are tons of student organizations on campus and if you don't see what you want then you can start the group yourself! Sororities and fraternities are important on campus, but not in an overwhelming way. Greeks are involved everywhere on campus and make up most of student government. But, if going Greek isn't your thing, there are plenty of other ways to get involved. Students are typically friendly. Sporting events are packed with students (especially football -- it's a dynasty!). A typical student who goes out will typically do so from Thursday-Saturday (at least) while still making time for studies and other activities.