Current Miami students:? about social life and classes

rankinr
Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:17:42 +0000

We need an FAQ sticky.

“In regards to being snobby, I’ll be honest. There is definitely that crowd. A lot of superficial people from the northeast attend UM. They are definitely the minority, but they stand out, so you notice them more. However, there is definitely a yappy high maintenance sorority crowd at UF (all schools have something of the sort). I do wish that UM was a bit less superficial (prob my biggest complaint), but I’ve made great genuine friends… I’m very happy with that.” - Banana321

“Miami has an extremely diverse student body (by one poll, the most diverse in the nation). Kids from almost all 50 state, foreign students, kids on scholarship and financial aid, rich kids that are snobby, rich kids that are great and down to earth, students involved in greek life, lots of different service clubs with kids who are dedicated to causes, music students, marine school students, etc…” - SVMMom

“The student body is very diverse, this is true. I hear so many different languages walking to and from class and it’s awesome. Many kids are wealthy, full-pay students, this is also true. Many can be snobby and many aren’t. I’ve seen Bentleys and Maseratis on campus so money here is prevalent. That said, I’ve met many cool people, both of the richer and less richer variety. At first I wasn’t too fond of the student body but I’ve come really to like them.” - Unoriginal

"I think SVMMom and Unoriginal summed it up very well. There are all types of kids at UM. Get involved in activities you love and you will find like-minded students.

“as a transfer and starting over freshman (cuz i’m in teh music school) I already am taken aback by the snottiness of the people here. It’s UNBELIEVABLE how superficial it is. Now, having said this, there are nice people who are superficial, but most are just vapid and drinking whores (or whores in general.)” - jeremybeach

"I never got the feeling that the kids were overly confident (negative), but confident (positive) is the word I have always used to describe UM students. They are confident in their ability to learn and succeed. UM is a work hard, play hard school. " - my-3-sons

"In a word…diverse. You will find snobs, down-to-earth types, partiers, abstainers, kids who graduated in the very top of their HS class, kids who didn’t, many ethnicities, religions, backgrounds. " -notan4me

“You get both, and a little in-between. I find that the down to earth type people tend to gravitate towards Stanford (dorm), and the flashy cars people tend to gravitate towards Hecht (dorm). But there are rich students who have the flashy clothes and cars that are also down to earth. I’ve only met one of the stereotypical “rich” people in my time here, but that’s OK because no one else in my class can stand her. Same as with the drunkenness, you can find it if you look for it, but it if you don’t want it, it’s easy to avoid.” - SVMMom

(just one thing I noticed while going through threads: "BTW–one day while studying, I figured out that many women like starbucks on campus, most of whom have a fresh latte in their hands with red painted nails… I don’t knwo why that is! If you visit, you’ll know what I mean lol. " - Jeremybeach. Just had to say - doesn’t everyone love starbucks everywhere? Lol. I’ve never lived in a town where they don’t!)

"Most Miami students are rich, and most of my friends at UM are wealthier than I am. But just because they’re rich doesn’t mean they’re snobs. I have some friends who are extremely nice and down-to-earth and you would never know they had money except for a nice apartment or a fancy car. I drive around in my 15-year-old car and live in a relatively cheap apartment and I’m not ashamed of it and none of my friends care that my car isn’t as nice as theirs. I’ve met rich snobby brats, yes, but you’ll find that at any private school. " - MiamiCane2010

"What I can tell you is this: yes, there are snobs. There are apathetic spoiled kids. There are people who flaunt their (parents) money all over the place and drive their Bentleys, Porches, and Benzs the entire half block from their dorm room to their class room buildings, then drive around for an hour and complain there is nowhere to park.

Then there’s (mostly) everyone else. Keep in mind, not every student from a wealthy family is going to be obnoxious. Often times, even rich people have far worse character flaws than having money. And don’t forget, the average Joe can be rude or worse. No matter where you end up, there’s going to be people you aren’t going to like.

But will these people add to your college experience? Absolutely. Are they all lost causes? Not even close. Eventually, it wears off. In the cases when it doesn’t, it’s just laughable. The good thing is that you’ll learn how to deal with these types of people (who you will encounter again and again in life, because they are everywhere). Maybe you’re one of them and haven’t realized it until you’re surrounded by them. Who knows? That’s the point of college - you experience and you learn. And that goes for every school. But you won’t know until you try. " - stillearning

“When it comes to money, not everyone is loaded. Yes there are those rich kids, but what I’ve found from my group of friends is that money is a complete non-issue. My view of this may be slightly scewed since I am currently living on a scholarship floor, so most of my friends in the dorms are on scholarships like me. However, even those people I’ve met outside of my dorm don’t seem snobbish in the least. If you are a down-to-earth person, you will be drawn to other down-to-earth people, of whom there are plenty. UM is fairly generous with scholarship money in comparison to other private universities, so if you are not overly wealthy don’t let the price tag or the fear of not fitting in with the wealthy kids turn you away. I do not come from a financially rich background I can honestly say that I have not once felt out of place at UM.” - ilak1551

"The student body is very diverse. I did the UM Summer Scholar Program and met a lot of current students. I met some really nice ones, but there were also some that were a bit snobby. I even ran into a girl that graduated from my HS… she was working security in Pearson, the dorm I was staying in. One of my professors said there is a large LGBT community and just by walking through the campus you will find so many different nationalities. Thats definitely one of the things I love about the school =] " - (forgot to get the persons username before I closed the tab)

“The “snobby” reputation: don’t worry about it one bit. I was kinda worried about it coming here, and it exists, but it’s so tiny, it’s not a worry one bit. You’ll find people that are cool and down to earth so fast. - It’s just a stupid thing people always bring up, but really, it’s not even worth mentioning. You’ll find that at any private university.” - JJ227

"
I think people assume that UM is snobby because they expect only kids that want to go clubbing attend. Basically, since Miami is admittedly a glitzy, flashy city, people assume that very superficial kids will be here. That is not true, in fact, most kids applied to really competitive schools but got rejected and came to Miami because of the strong academics and fun atmosphere. OF COURSE there will be the few that hang out of limos screaming “YEAH MIAMI” on their first visit to South Beach, but that is not the norm. "- november1991

“Sure, you do have snobby rich kids (what private college doesn’t?), but if you don’t want to associate with them, it’s easy to find other, down-to-earth friends. That said, it’s really important to go to a bunch of the free activities they have during orientation, because you meet SO many people. I met some of my really, really good friends in Miami at a s’more BBQ organized by Rho Rho Rho (marine science honor society) on the first day of classes. One of them is very wealthy (Darien, CT anyone?), but she’s totally cool and down to earth. What you have to remember is, while some people may come from rich families, they’re soon on their own money-wise, a poor college student just like the rest of us.” - bijou3owl

Oddly enough I can’t find any of my own posts. Funny.

But I side with most of these comments. Except in one factor. You see what you look for. And this applies to everything. If you’re looking for and expecting to find snobs, you’re going to see nothing but snobs. If you’re trying to find nice people, all of the sudden, everyone will be nice. So, I encourage you to try to look at the good side of people, because so far, every person whom I have befriended here has a very strong good side.

And actually, I do think I’ll start an FAQ post. Some time.