University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Top Questions

I think academics are what you make them. It is important to take classes that interest you otherwise classes can be really boring, hard, and not enjoyable. There is some classes that I would never take because I have no interest, but like Chem and Econ seem pretty intimidating (fortunately I have no need for them). It is important to get help if you are struggling, and there are so many resources for this like peer tutoring, office hours, etc. The big lectures were hard for me at first, but discussion sections create an atmosphere for close relationships.

very challenging, they make you want to give up at times, but if you stick with it you will be such a better person because of it

There aren't that many LSA majors to choose from, like there isn't Journalism or Pre-Med. The Business School focuses mostly on finance/number type things such as accounting, etc. and is extremely hard.

At the RC my professors know my name. In LSA I usually feel like a number. In the RC, class participation is common. We study a lot and also have intellectual conversations outside of class. The most unique class was called Cultures in Dialoge: Crossing Internal and External Boundaries. We studied "the other," and immigration issues.... We studied the Turkish immigrants and the Jewish history in Germany, and the Gypsy experience and Morrocan immigration in Spain. Then we had a class trip to Berlin and Granada. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

Professors are hit or miss. There are some really good professors at U of M. There are also some professors that can take a fascinating subject and make it amazingly mind-numbing. I took a class called "The Politics and Culture of the 1960s." Cool, right? I stopped going to lecture after three weeks because the professor made it impossible for me to stay awake longer than 15 minutes after sitting down.

the intelligent professors take the time to know my name. favorite class is a class on religion and diversity (definitely one of the better taught classes here). students are ALWAYS doing work, they study a lot, avg 3 hours a day, more if theres an exam. class participation is the same as you had it in high school. RARELY an intellectual conversations outside of class, very very rare. students are very competitive. the culture classes are very unique. professors will meet with you outside of class, but not rreally on a friendship level, usually strictly business, they dont have time for anything else. academic requirements are normal. education is geared toward getting a job and learning.

Michigan has great classes and great professors--- but a lot of shitty ones as well. I think the most common complain I hear is "My GSI (graduate student instructor) doesn't speak english." I've also taken some really great classes... usually by talking to upperclassmen you can find out what classes to take, what professors to avoid, etc.

In really large lectures, the professors won't know your name. however, some professors do make an effort to know their students. my organic chemistry professor makes an effort to get to know her students if they have ever come to her office hours. when people have questions in lecture, she always addresses them by name. most other professors will probably not care unless you make an effort to develop a relationship. Students study a lot. The library is always filled with people studying. students form study groups and study with friends for exams. Class participation is up to the professor. Some professors will ask questions in lecture, but usually only if the lecture is small (<200). in discussion, participation is extremely important because it is usually what makes up most of the grade for that portion of the class. Students are definitely not competitive. Students are collaborative and work together on homework and studying. Students have intellectual conversations outside of class, especially now because of the upcoming election. Students also talk about things relevant to the university, and those are conversations that are made of substance. Some professors will schedule to meet with students outside of class if they are interested in getting to know their students. I think michigan has very fair academic requirements. in LSA they require that students take credits in subjects that would create a liberal arts education, and the amount of credits for these requirements are not very demanding. There is definitely enough room for students to take the classes they want to take while still being able to easily fulfill the requirements. I think the education at michigan is geared towards learning, and that it is a student's responsibility to realize that. It then becomes the student's responsibility to be mature in his/her decision and gear him/herself for a job, while appreciating the fact that this institution is a learning environment

I am an English major so my classes are all very small so my professors have to know my name. But in the larger classes I have taken in the past the professors absolutely didn't know who I was. My favorite class was English 140 because it had 7 people in it. Least favorite was Communications 102 because Comm sucks. No, I don't think students are too competitive. Most unique is Tibetan. That is the language I am studying. English department is great, and yeah every once in a while I'll meet with a professor outside of class. I think the requirements here are fine. The education is probably more geared toward learning for learning's sake.

I fell through the cracks freshmen and sophomore year and struggled to find a major. I finally chose history because it is not only my passion but a more intimate department at Michigan. Some may think I chose an obsolete or unpopular major, but it fits me.

Some professors know my name if I have attended office hours. I think it is crucial to meet with professors every other week just to check up on yourself and make sure you're understanding the material. Also getting to know them on a name-basis will help with applications and recommendations for internships, grad school, etc.

Professors don't know my name My favorite class is Creative Writing or Developmental Psychology Students study everyday I have observed that a few students from each class always participate Students are pretty competitive but it's mostly students challenging themselves to do better My major is psychology The education at Michigan is a mix between getting a job and making students more well rounded.

Most professors do learn my name before the end of the term. My favorite class is my Econ game theory class. It's really tough, and the professor is a genius, but I enjoy the challenge. My least favorite class is my operations management class. I don't like learning about wait times, manufacturing, etc., it just doesn't interest me. Students study all the time, there's too much work not to. Most of the work can be done during the week though, leaving plenty of time for fun on the weekends. Class participation is pretty common, though it varies a great deal from class to class and major to major. Definitely the smaller the class the greater the participation. Some students discuss intellectual topics outside of class, but this seems to be more prevalent amongst liberal arts students than business school students. We just want a break when we're not working or in class. Students at U of M are very competitive. These are all smart students, and pretty much everything is graded on a curve. The most unique class I've taken is probably the game theory class I mentioned. The business school is probably the most prestigious individual school in the University. It attracts very intelligent students, and becomes extremely competitive. Despite the competitiveness, we are a small community, and it's not uncommon to make a lot of friends inside the business school. I do not spend time with professors outside of class. The academic requirements are challenging, but that's a good thing; it keeps us on the map in terms of academic rankings and job placement after graduation. Business school education is definitely geared toward getting a job. I believe other departments are much more geared toward pure education/learning.

As an English and Political Science double major, I get to experience small and intimate classes as well as large lectures. In English classes, participation is both encouraged and expected. Because of this i have developed strong relationships with both professors and students in my class. Large lectures are a great way to hear an acclaimed faculty member lecture on what they're an expert in. Discussion sections allow students to gain further clarification and practice with the themes lectured. Both professors and Grad Student Instructors (GSIs) make themselves available for individual help. The academics are rigorous here, and students do have to invest a lot of time and effort to earn good grades. During Midterms and Finals students really buckle down, but in-between much of the work assigned is manageable.

I have to say, the differences between Residential College courses and LS&A lectures are extreme. In the RC there will only be 12-17 other students, you WILL be called on regularly by name, and you're expected to know what you're talking about. With LS&A classes I've experienced a wide range of teaching styles and requirements. If its a 100 or 200 level class, you might not be expected to participate, depending on the number of students. This is foolish. You'll only do well if you keep up with the reading, try to be engaged, and actually go to the prof's office hours. Its not so hard to fail, trust me. Other students WILL do what you aren't doing, and you'll suffer for it. Some classes take attendance, almost all 300-400 level courses will do so. I do not feel that my public high school gave me adequate preparation for the amount of discipline this school requires. All of that said, I am not doing poorly. I care about school, I do the work, so I'm doing pretty well. That's what the English major is about: doing it yourself. Very rarely did I ever have group projects; I'd say 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my homework has been writing analytical essays. That's not the most exciting assignment for a creative writer, but it definitely works to sharpen your communication skills as well as your ability to think critically. Planners saved my life, because I'd never be able to remember everything I needed to get done otherwise. If you learn this early I think you'll be in good shape. Do students have intellectual conversations outside of class? Well let me put it this way: for Psych 111- heck no. They high-tailed it out of discussion section the moment the clock hit the hour. For a Film/Video course on Stanley Kubrick? Yes, we certainly discussed a lot outside of class hours. I think the level of student interest completely determines the level of thinking, and the desire to know more. As a disclaimer I should probably add that there will always be 1-2 students in the least who are very interested in any given subject. I've never been in a class completely full of bored students. Any intellectual matter I've ever wanted to pursue I've been able to find others to bounce my ideas off. That is one of the best parts about going to school here, I think. I never got to do that sort of stuff in high school.

I absolutely know my professors' names. If you come to Professor's office hours and make the effort to get to know them, class becomes that much better. I try to study every day but the least I do it is about 3-4 nights a week. Class participation is very common - both in lecture and in section. I have had some of my best intellectual conversations outside the classroom and have learned a lot. Students are extremely competitive and will always give you a run for your money, no matter the subject or class. There is even a program here that allows you take your professor out to lunch at the expense of the University, precisely so that a big place like this becomes that much smaller, not only socially, but also academically. Intergroup Relations is the most unique class that I have taken. It is a social justice class in dialogue, topic-specific format - where each dialogue is on a given issue - e.g. race & ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc. Dialogues are student facilitated and in order to be a facilitator, a student has to train for a semester. I am now facilitating with a partner a dialgoue on religion. My other favorite class was Econ 101 because I love the logic behind economics and this is why I decided to be an econ major. The education at Michigan is actually pretty versatile and so I would really be narrowing the focus if I said that it is either toward a job or for learning's sake. There are classes for both.

Classes at Michigan are definitely a change from high school. I'm a freshman, so I'm taking a lot of intro courses, so I had to get used to the idea of having 300 people in class pretty quickly. But the quality of instruction is still very good. Many professors are willing to answer questions in huge lectures (as long as you're not intimidated to ask one!), which is definitely not something I would have expected at a school as big as Michigan.

Academics at the University of Michigan is rigorous and it forces you to develop your time management skills efficiently. Although professor's might not know your name, the GSI's certainly do. The opportunities are there for both personalized and group learning if you choose to take advantage of them.

There is definitely a lack of professor-student relationships, mainly because the classes are huge. However, even in my smaller classes, I did not find (most) of the professors to be that engaging. But I have heard of students eating dinner at their professors houses, etc. It is definitely a very competitive school - in my organic chemistry class they had to bring a fire marshall into the class because it was so overcrowded that kids were sitting on the stairs.

My chemistry, biology, European history, African history, and classic literature professors definitely don't know my name, because they had dozens or sometimes hundreds of students, but almost every other professor or graduate student instructor I've had has learned my name, and some of them would still know it if I went to their office hours to say hello. Favorite classes ever: a Russian Witchcraft seminar (History 197), a Slavic Folklore course (Slavic 240), a Central European film course (Slavic 312), a literature course on different incarnations of the Faust legend (German 243), a course on Victorian literature (English 431), and an introductory poetry course (English 240), although the introductory biology class was also pretty amazing. Mostly, the instructors made these courses: the course subject matter itself just sweetened the experience. (Sometimes, the instructors were the only things that made the course material bearable.) Class participation completely varies from class to class: in my first Spanish class, there was dead silence every time our poor GSI asked questions, and in my Victorian lit class, people actively competed for speaking time. Michigan students definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class, although whenever I find myself in one, it feels a little forced, maybe because I don't think enough outside of class requirements. I do spend time with professors out of class, both to catch up on missed material and discuss papers or to do things like take a field trip to a Russian Orthodox church and have an end-of-the-year tea party in their house. I don't know a lot about my chosen department (English), because I have only just entered it, but I hear that it is one of the largest departments on campus. The Undergraduate English Association, which is a student group of English concentrators, sends out spontaneous emails all the time inviting people to things like Scrabble tournaments, film screenings, and midnight sledding in the Arb. I go starry-eyed whenever I think about the English department. Michigan's academic requirements are kind of tedious, but all of them will get you to take courses you might not otherwise have considered taking, and some of these courses might prove to be fascinating experiences. Some of my Social Sciences and Natural Sciences classes were amazing; some were not. Calculus Two was a walking nightmare, but then there are a lot of other courses offered to cover your Quantitative Reasoning requirement, so unless you plan to major in math or science, or apply to medical school, or you just really like math, I would recommend that you take something else: it turns out that everyone I've spoken to says they've heard that Calculus Two is one of the most painful courses the university offers. I think education at Michigan is geared toward getting a job, but I don't know.