University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Top Questions

This school is an excellent institution, it has a very high standard and comprehensive education programs. However, there is very little student faculty interaction and it does not seem to be encouraged by the professors. If you are a parent, there is very little readily available support and it takes extensive digging to find the resources for student parents. I have not had a single good experience with this University and would not recommend it to anyone.

I think that one of the best things about the University of Minnesota is its size. I have always gone to big schools, and I am comfortable with it. The U of M is unique, though, because there is so much individualized attention and support even with the insane amount of students attending. The campus is big enough to get lost in, but easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. Coffman is a popular place for students to meet, but Nicollet Mall is a great place to study on the grass and take in the nice view.

For a school of 25,000 undergrads, it seems much smaller. The people I met living in the Superblock are still some of my best friends, and they are truly the highlight of the U. Stumbling back home through Dinkytown, too drunk to feel the cold does a lot for group unity. The campus is in a great location, right on the Mississippi and close to downtown Minneapolis. There are distinctly 'college' neighborhoods, but they blend seamlessly into the rest of Minneapolis. Mesa Pizza on 4th Street is the Center of the Universe on Friday nights.

I love the size of the University of Minnesota. For me it is perfect. There are so many places to go and things to do. It is never dull. There are three parts to the university. The West bank is for business, law and the arts. It has a nifty little museum full of the art of traveling artists as well as exhibitions by students. It's pretty nice. The st.paul campus is a quite a distance from the rest of campus and is most easily accessible by bus. It's like a whole other world there. This is where the school of design is, as well as all the animal and most of the biology classes are. It's so quiet and peaceful here. While the East and West bank are full of hustle and bustle the st. paul campus is very calm and laid back. The gym on this campus has a rock climbing wall that is lots of fun. The East bank which is my favorite holds most of the restaurants and frat row. University ave. is almost only fraternities for quite a ways. Coffman Union is on this bank and there are protests, demonstrations and performances all the time in front of it. Most of the student organizations have a room in this building. I think it's safe to say that everyone will have at least one course on this bank. Almost all the buildings are connected underground by tunnels. These are awesome for the wintertime so you never have to go above ground. Gophers after Dark are activities run by students at Coffman that are always a lot of fun. Nearby restaurants will bring in free food, bowling will be free, there are hypnotists and other performers usually. My favorite time was when they had giant inflatables and my friend and I had a gladiator match. We stood on pedestals and tried to knock each other off. I lost but made myself feel better by getting a free air brush tattoo. If you want to get away from all the study and work of college the city is just a couple minutes away by bus. The metrodome is very close to the city and here you can see the Gophers though it will be far more amazing when they play at the new stadium being built on campus. There are also tons of amazing clubs, malls, museums and restaurants downtown. The U of M is next to Minneapolis and anyone with common sense will not travel alone after dark. There have been muggings and sexual assault reported to people who do. But there are campus escorts available for anyone needing to get anywhere and neither I nor my friends have ever had a problem with that. The U of M is full of so many different types of people. Different races and religions and they are everywhere, talking about themselves, drinking coffee and studying just like all the other students. At the U of M it's a gurantee that you'll find someone who your share interests and perspectives on if you just look.

I went from a high school where there was no school spirit, to a college expecting there to be no school spirit. And even though that school spirit never formulated around a sports team (except maybe hockey!) there was definitely a pride in going to the University of Minnesota because of its world class engineering research facilities, and the associated extracurricular activities that gave us the chance to compete against other schools in a different way. For civil engineering there is steel bridge and concrete canoe; mechanical engineering has solar car and formula competitions, etc.

The best thing about UMN is the endless help and availability of opportunities. It is amazing how many people are there to help you succeed and what opportunities can arise. I also enjoy the amount of people because you get to meet so many different people and open yourself up to new experiences.

I love the University of Minnesota. It is located in Minneapolis and it has everything to offer: music, food, concerts, the Mall of America, many different cultures, volunteering opportunities, outdoor activities, and many more things. You can get to them all on public transportation by purchasing a buss pass for less than $70 a month which saves a lot of money because you don't need a car to get around near campus or far away from campus. Many of the popular sports you have to buy tickets for because of the high demand, but there are also sports that are free for all students. The campus is really large and confusing at first but there are buses that students can take between all three campuses and it's really easy to use. There are hundreds of clubs on campus and they are all open to new students joinging in. One of the best things about the University of Minnesota is that there are hundreds of majors. Many students end up changing their major in their first year or two, but people rarely have to change schools because the UofM offers so many majors and minors that you are likley to find somethign to fit you. There are a lot of research opportunities for undergraduate students and it's a good way to gain experience.

The University of Minnesota is the second largest university in the country; largest by student body and campus area (at least it was when I started 2 years ago). I came from a small community college in California and to be at the second largest University in the country is awesome, especially when it's in the midwest. I love big cities and this is a good place. Most of my time is spent in "Dinkytown" which is the best place for college parties, bar hopping, and just hanging out. On campus, I spend a lot of time at "Rapson Hall" which is the college of design building. It seems that people have more respect for me when they realize that I go to the U of M. Our sports teams are in the big 10 but we suck. I don't go to the football or basketball games cause we usually lose. I'd rather go to the Minnesota Twins games, which is just a short bus ride from campus (about 5 minutes). For some reason, I think the hottest girls in Minnesota all go to the twins games. It is unreal. We like to call them Twin honey's. Anyways, most of the schools administration is good, there's always a few professors that suck hard, but you can find that info on rate my professor.

The University of Minnesota is a perfect size. Yes, it is the third largest school in the country but the teachers, administration, and orientation officers do a wonderful job of encouraging students to get involved and to be active in their college community. If you are not involved in student groups or rec activities, I could see how one would feel they were just a number, but for me, I enjoy that I don't know most of the people that go to my school. The school pride is not what I expected at a large university. I feel as if Madison does a better job at school spirit then we do at most every sport, especially football. Once we get the stadium on campus, I believe that will change. The things to do around or on campus is vital to a students experience at that school. Sure, academics is what you are going to school for, but without a social life with social activies it can become draining. The U of M has thousands of things to do everynight of the week from free movies, to huge shopping trips at the major target dowtown, two huge cities fifteen minutes away, three malls within 10 minutes including the biggest one in American! There are so many places to explore, resteraunts to try, music to listen to, and clubs to dance in. The variety of activies in and around campus is a huge turn on to any student. The weather is a little harsh but the U's unusual underground tunnel system called the gopher way makes the campus weather friendly which I used more than I expected. The gopher way is a wonderful name for that system.

The best "thing" about the UMN is that it is in Minneapolis/St. Paul. These are two wonderful cities that need to be explored. There is a lot to see and do outside of "campus life". People here often fall into the trap of not exploring the city or surrounding areas at all. This is a shame. The administration also falls into this same trap of trying to sell itself as a place to enter in order to receive an education. However, the administration here is hypocritical. It is just like any other "big business" in capitalist America or elsewhere and concerned only with its own bottom line. This capitalism is evident in classes too. It all trickles down. However, as a student of the UMN, we need to pick our battles. Thus, in attending a "big name" school we are forced to make sacrifices, suck up our pride, and all of our beliefs and do the work in order to graduate. We do this because we know that in the end we need to make a living and through a bit of suffering, we are awarded our degree so that we can enter the workforce.