University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Top Questions

My school is a large university with students in many areas of study. In that way, the school is diverse. However, the university is quite limited in its racial diversity. Though the international students are very present on campus, the school's overall population is made up of over 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white students. This was disappointing to me, since I expected more visual diversity from such a large campus. Thankfully, student organizations around campus do a great job of throwing events to raise cultural awareness and education of peoples from around the world.

The worst part of my school is how many students on campus will continually boast about how superior the University of Micigan is in comparison to other schools. While I do believe we have some highly ranked programs, I don't agree with the students who find the need to shove it in front of other people's faces all the time. Having school pride is great; but that does not mean we need to belittle other students and assert our so called "superiority" over them. Other people should be allowed to love their school without another group's influence.

My first year of college was difficult. I started the year bumpy. Trying to understand who I was made things so complicated. I did not want the choices of the past to affect my future. It’s strange grasping the idea that the person I was before is not the person I am now. Michigan is a phenomenal school with amazing people and a diverse culture. However, it my be the most competitive and outrageously difficult thing I have ever experienced. There is so much going on at once and without money things can be difficult.

It's a very large school, and sometimes I get caught up in my own little bubble of friends. Sometimes I wish it was easier to get to know more people across campus from different backgrounds and cultures.

For me, the worst thing about coming to school here is being so far from home. This doesn't apply to everyone, obviously, but being a 6 hour flight from home all the time after spending my entire life there was a big change, and usually not a fun one for me. I wished many times that I could go visit home on weekends like some of the more local students here. I still firmly believe I made the right choice of school, but being so far from home is certainly not fun.

Everything is up to you. This is a wonderful opportunity, but it is also a problem with attending such a large school. Michigan has a niche for everyone, academically, extra-curricularly, and socially, but, to find your niche, you must actively pursue your interests and likeminded individuals. Academically, there are many options you must explore and yet quickly choose a direction. There are as many extra-curricular options as academic, which can bolster one's experience. Finally, finding a social group is difficult, but being actively involed in the aforementioned extra-curriculars can lead to a strong group of friends.

The cost to attend. It's not as if the tuition is extremely high, but coupled with the high off campus housing rates, attending U of M definitely requires a significant amount of money.

The University of Michigan is a wonderful school with an amazing campus and amazing students to match. At the same time, those can be the worst things about the school. With so many students on a big campus it’s easy to feel like another face. This fact being, it’s important for anyone at the University of Michigan to find their place, their community, where they can avoid a sense of mediocrity. This can make a big school a little less intimidating by helping us recognize that we’re all unique and not just another face in the crowd.

The worst thing about Michigan was the lack of pushing to use the resources. If you knew what was available, it was easy to take advantage, but if you didn't actively seek them out they would be easy to miss. I wish there was more mentoring or reminders about what resources are available so they would be more accessible to those who needed them.

The worst thing about my school is that it is really hard to get involved in extracrurricular activities. It is harder to find a place to fit in, which is definately overwhelming as a freshman, but is earier to adjust to over time.

The worst thing about UM-Ann Arbor is the lack of initial guidance for students. When I first arrived as an undergraduate student, I did not have an assigned advisor, and I felt a bit lost. It was not until my junior year, when a fellow student recommended her personal advisor, that I finally felt like I had a guide to help navigate my coursework. In such a large school with so many avenues to pursue, guidance to young students is key and I wished for more.

Self Segregation between races

The worst thing I consider about my school is the cost of tuition, which focuses on funding the pay checks of school executives more so than it ever will on educational programs.

Large lecture classes are unavoidable, especially as a freshman. It may be difficult to get into the habit of starting good relationships with professors because it's so easy to be lost in the crowd.

The worst thing about my school is how far away from home it is. I get homesick a lot.

There's sometimes an air of smug superiority here that annoys me, and it follows a divide between people who are very career and success driven and people who are more enjoying the experience.

Very little financial aid. Money is important.

I honestly can't think of the worst thing about my campus. I truly love everything about it. I did have to live on a seperate campus freshman year that was about a 15 minute bus ride away, which has been the worst part of my experience here. But each year I have come to love the school more and more and now that it is time to graduate I don't want to leave!

The worst about my school is that the transportation system is often difficult to deal with. Being an engineer, I live on Northern campus of Michigan. Since my humanities classes are on Central campus, however, I must regularly commute to Central campus using the school bus system. Even though the bus system runs at regular intervals on weekdays, the buses are often quite crowded when they arrive, especially later in the morning and afternoon. I thus am often forced to wait for another bus, and often end up later to class than I woud like.

Since the University of Michigan is such a huge school I feel that sometimes they forget to help out some students. For example, I have been the victim of a lack of help with finances from the financial aid office. This is one of the problems with going to a big college.