Is Michigan weak in any way? - Page 37

SBDad · 06-04-2009, 09:23 AM

Now that DS has finished his 2nd year, I need to list a clear weakness - advising.

I have read many times that advising is generally weak, but now have first hand knowledge. DS sought out academic advising and was given startlingly bad advice on a number of occasions. The real kicker is that we read that the professor giving the advice recently received an award for his advising (math department).

I'm not really sure what advice to give others to avoid this problem. If you can't get decent direction from an award winning advisor, where are you supposed to go? Buyer beware.

All that said, DS still loves UM.

ali of arabia · 07-04-2009, 01:11 PM

Michigan did pretty well in the latest USN+QS world rankings, although I know many don't put faith in it.

There's a .2 difference between Stanford and Michigan's score (basically indifferent), and Michigan is ranked 1'st for public uni's in the u.s.

World's Best Colleges: Top 400 - US News and World Report

DarkKnight666 · 08-07-2009, 04:39 PM

I think Michigan's a good deal overall: good tuition and not very high standards. But I was wondering if you know anyone who went to michigan but didn't get very high SATs, which seems to be pretty important nowadays for getting into a high-raning college.

yosup · 08-07-2009, 06:39 PM

Who's DS? o_O

Entertainer · 08-09-2009, 04:09 PM

In response to Dark Knight. I got in with pretty low SAT's(1590). I'm also an out of state resident and an African American male. Even though I will be attending Michigan this year, I think the University is great in terms of academics and organizational involvement. I also think the campus boasts in athletic and academic facilities. People keep saying that advising is bad, but I think it depends on who your advisor is. Like I met with my advisor not too long ago and she has already provided a wealth of information and knowledge about succeeding at U-M as well as what it takes to get into the nations top Medical schools. She has provided me information about my learning habits and how to succeed in conceptual subjects like Organic Chemistry and Biology. She has given me advice about affiliating with CSP so I can take advantage of their tutoring services. She is just a great person. She also has helped me with the concerns that I had about Michigan. What's good about my advisor is that she is also the Pre-health advisor for the school. It makes my life easier because I can go to one person for all my academic and organizational needs.

That being said, I have no first hand experience because I haven't started classes yet. I will have to see how it goes, but I'm trying to keep in touch with her over the summer and everything. Creating relationships with teachers, advisors, GSI's and other things is a great way to share interests and learn about yourself and potentially excel in academic studies.

The University has excellent departments. Most of them rank in the top 10. I visited the new Stephen M. Ross building and I have to say it is unreal. The architecture is excellent. The interior of the building is very modern and comfortable.

The school is crazy about sports and I love that. Michigan's hate for Ohio State is hilarious, but very serious. The campus is really big. It can be hard navigating around and finding where your classes are supposed to be. It can also be frustrating circling around to find a building when in fact the building you might be looking for is behind the building thats in front of you.

The campus is looks very nice, but there is a load of construction projects going on, which can be a nuisance for drivers. The weather was pretty nice, but the mornings are sort of chilly. I would have to say that Ann Arbor is the quintessential college city. Bars, movie theaters, good restaurants, and diversity really make the city shine. It is similar to NYC in some ways. People walk the streets at 1 am just having fun, relaxing and socializing. Relationships are abundant across campus and the vibe is positive.

Parking sucks at Michigan. Greek life is amazing. When it comes to football no school compares to the excitement of Michigan football games. Average attendance for each game is about 110,000 students. Capacity of the actual stadium is 107,501. I must say that the hotel prices for people spending the night at Michigan for football games is pretty extreme. Cheap hotels that normally charge 70 dollars a night on a regular basis will charge 170-200 dollars a night on or near important football game days. Tuition is expensive for out of state students, but I think its worth it. If you compare Michigan to privates like Cornell, Duke, Carnegie Mellon and NYU, I think Michigan is well worth the money. It could be cheaper, but due to certain circumstances that our out of Michigan's control, tuition will always be expensive.

People like to say that Michigan is a safety for those qualified students that didn't get into Ivy league schools, but Michigan will challenge every student academically, socially, mentally and physically. It will be hard to get used to the school at first, but after that its a really fun and exciting place to learn, meet new friends, experience new lifestyles and backgrounds and create a wealth of memories.

Michigan WOLVERINES!
GO BLUE!

Alexandre · 08-09-2009, 10:52 PM

Great post Entertainer. With that attitude, I am sure you will do great at Michigan.

tetrahedr0n · 08-09-2009, 11:34 PM

Quote:

. The real kicker is that we read that the professor giving the advice recently received an award for his advising (math department).

May I ask who this was? I know a few of the advising folks in the Math department, so I'm kind of curious.

SBDad · 08-10-2009, 09:50 AM

DS is short hand here for "dear son".

fledgling · 10-28-2009, 06:34 PM

People here brag about the school a lot. I mean, it's an excellent school, but I don't think it merits all the bragging it gets. I currently live with my aunt and uncle, and their older son (my cousin) graduated from the U of M this past May with a degree in engineering. My uncle actually works at the U of M himself, in the IT department. Since I'm a junior this year, college visits are playing a significantly more important role in my life than they ever did, and when the day came for the U of M to visit, my aunt practically FORCED me to go. She kept saying, "You definitely cannot miss out on it!" Then when I got home from school the day of the meeting, the first thing she did was to ask me how it went. I shrugged and replied, "Eh, it was alright." (Which was the truth anyway - I like Michigan, but I'm not super thrilled about it.) She looked quite disappointed and said, "That doesn't sound too good." I responded, "Well, that's because it really didn't impress me that much. I'd be glad to go there, but it's definitely not going to be my first choice school." She then engaged me in this LONG speech about how awesome and amazing Michigan was, and how it was always ranked so highly and whatnot. The only way I could get her to stop talking was by telling her that I'd definitely apply, but she couldn't expect me to use it as my first choice. (I had to stick to my guns to get her to accept the second fact haha)

But yeah. Bottom line: Michigan is not Harvard, yet everyone around me brags about it so much, even more than the Harvard students I daresay lol!

Alexandre · 10-28-2009, 09:47 PM

fledgling, I suspect what you see is school pride and spirit. Michigan students and aliums love their school. There is nothing wrong with that, but I can see how it can be annoying! hehe!

But one thing I should clear up is your comment at the end of your post. Nobody here claimed Michigan was Harvard. In fact, the Michigan loyal would generally not consider Michigan a top 5 university, although we do believe it affords its students the best college experience overall. But as an academic institution, we would typically rate Michigan among the nation's top 20 universities, but not among its top 5.

As a resident of Ann Arbor, I can see how you aren't impressed by the school. One of my cousins was raised in Ann Arbor (her father is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Michigan), and groing up, she too never thought Michigan was "all that". Of course, that all changed when she went to a top 5 program for her MBA and realized how special Michigan really was. Academically, she could see how Michigan was no better than other elite universities, but in terms of enviroment and campus life, she finally appreciated how special the Michigan experience really was.

Now, as a resident of the state of Michigan, you are guaranteed low tuition (including R&B) roughly 50% the cost of any university that is comparable, unless those schools give you a hefty scholarship or unless your financial situation warrants need-based aid, although given the current economic situation, most universities are cutting back on their financial aid offerings.