ladyconfused

The title says it all

dstark

How are the academics at the school? Are you challenged?

Does most of the social activity take place on campus or nearby areas?

Overall, are you happy there?

ladyconfused

How are the academics at the school? Are you challenged?
The academics are fairly tough but it all depends on what you are majoring in.... Pre-law and business (any B.A.) is fairly easy and you'll be able to get A's with little effort... Science degrees are very challenging (I'm a chemistry major), and students in the Marine Science program are required to choose a second major so they are probably the busiest ones...

Does most of the social activity take place on campus or nearby areas?
It's pretty much split. There's a lot of social stuff happening on campus at the Rat, and school sponsored stuff like movies on the green, there was a concert last semester on the green of one of Bob Marley's kids, they have a midnight breakfast on the rock every now and then.... and then there's a ton of people who go to the Grove over the weekend to go clubbing or just to go to restaurants... a fair amount of people also go to Sunset Grove to go and eat and see movies... some go to the beach... There are also house parties held by the frat every weekend....and then house parties at the Boom Boom Hizzy that are really popular.

Overall, are you happy there?
Hah, happiness is subjective. Right now I am, for most of last semester I was except for the final stretch right before Christmas break. Academically, I'm happy and challenged. Socially it's also a challenge to find genuine people who won't back stab you but that's pretty much the case everywhere. Once you have your core group of people you're pretty much set.

acarta07

What about for freshman? I mean, do they go clubbing at Coco? all of em are gonna be under 21 so wats the deal with them? do they get fake ID's or they just suck it up till their 21 and stay on campus and go to greek parties?

my-3-sons

In Florida, possessing a fake ID is a felony!

kcalli25

Do you know anything about the waiting list? Do you know how many kids they take from it?

acarta07

There is no way of telling. every year is different. I heard from someone last year nobody got it. Though this year i saw in a thread someone write that they overheard they would take a few.

acarta07

Ladyconfused sorry for all the questions, im sure its annoying but i got a few.

since ur a student, i wanted to know if most ppl have cars. will it feel weird to not have a car. I would be a freshman. I will probably not have a car till second semester of freshman year.

Jeremybeach

Ladyconfused, is there much of a prominent gay community at U of M? This is a HUGE deciding factor between my family and I.

SoCal18

Same question as acarta07, about the fake id's and such.

But I have a few.

Are there a lot of students from California? or is it mostly east coasters.

And school spirit. I know everyone loves football, but what about other sports like basketball, soccer, and volleyball. are those games attended regularly?

ladyconfused

What about for freshman? I mean, do they go clubbing at Coco? all of em are gonna be under 21 so wats the deal with them? do they get fake ID's or they just suck it up till their 21 and stay on campus and go to greek parties?

Being under 21 isn't that big of a problem for most (ESPECIALLY if you're a girl)... it's all about getting a wristband for the club and those aren't that hard to get, especially for "Mansion".......

I personally don't know of anyone who has a fake ID, there are posters ALL over campus talking about how you get time in jail, hefty fines, etc... so it's not exactly seen as a cool thing to have, more of a stupid thing...

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Ladyconfused, is there much of a prominent gay community at U of M? This is a HUGE deciding factor between my family and I.

Yes, there is. This week and next week is actually gay awareness week on campus. There are "pro-gay" posters at all the elevators, and little "campaign like signs" in the grass on the way to class... there's also gay acceptance movies showing at the Cosford Cinema this week as well as a ton of other things... It's of course not always like this, but there is definitely an active gay community (It is Miami after all)

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since ur a student, i wanted to know if most ppl have cars. will it feel weird to not have a car. I would be a freshman. I will probably not have a car till second semester of freshman year.

I have a car, most people don't. It's probably about 50/50. It won't be weird if you don't have one, although having one is certainly more convenient. They have shuttles that go to Sunset, the Grove, Publix and a few other places so you'll definitely have transportation.... and I'm sure you'll have at least one friend with a car.... to take you places that the shuttle doesn't.

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Do you know anything about the waiting list? Do you know how many kids they take from it?

I have absolutely no idea. I personally don't know of anyone who got in from the waitlist last year, although I doubt that's something that someone would advertise. Your best bet would be to contact the admissions office and to become "the squeaky wheel" and let them know how much you want to go here.... take the tour, get someone to write on your behalf (like an extra letter of rec), try to be creative.

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Are there a lot of students from California? or is it mostly east coasters.

Ummm there's a fair amount. I just did a facebook search for you, and there are 402 students on facebook that list their home state as California... hope that gives you an idea ............ for comparison, there are 363 from Illinois, 51 from DC, tons from Florida lol, 289 from Texas... just for a rough idea
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And school spirit. I know everyone loves football, but what about other sports like basketball, soccer, and volleyball. are those games attended regularly?

I don't know about soccer or volleyball, but basketball games are also pretty big (because they are held in the bank united center which is basically a 2min walk from the freshman dorms).... Innermural sports are also HUGE.

ladyconfused

Ladyconfused, is there much of a prominent gay community at U of M? This is a HUGE deciding factor between my family and I.

oh, I just wanted to add that two of the resident families in Stanford Residential college are gay (well the one couple is gay and the other one is a lesbian couple).... and then the third resident family in Stanford are two married doctors who are heterosexual. Oh, and the resident coordinater is also gay. (just a little fyi)

SoCal18

ladyconfused, so for the clubs are they like 18+, or are they just not very strict about age?

Do most students go to the Grove or South beach?

my-3-sons

SoCal-Baseball is another popular sport and the Canes have won the college World Series 4 times. They are completeing an upgrade to the stadium in part due to a major donation from Alex Rodriguez and will rename the park after him. It will be a state of the art facility and is located on the east end of the campus just passed the Wellness Center and freshmen towers.

Ladyconfused-You are doing a great job helping the new prospective students! I must say, your experiences are echoing my S's exactly.

ladyconfused

Do most students go to the Grove or South beach?

I'd say it's an even split.

Basically if you're a pretty girl, you can get in anywhere. Most of the places in the Grove are easy to get into if you're underage (I don't go clubbing btw so this is just based on what my friends tell me). However, the clubs on South Beach are VERY difficult to get into if you're a guy whose underage (no problem if you're a girl)... most nights in South Beach are 18+ for girls and 21+ for guys.... so if you're a guy who wants to get into a club in South Beach you either need to know the bouncer, or a club promoter (plenty of students at UM promote clubs), or someone who knows someone.