Mills College

alwaysleah
Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:46:21 +0000

My sister is currently a freshman english major at mills, do if you have any direct questions I can forward them to her.

It’s not in the greatest part of Oakland, but the campus feels like a completely different world. It’s separated, it doesn’t run into the city or anything. The campus itself is gorgeous, with great character in the buildings and lawns.

Dorms-my sister has a single, and I think that is the norm for freshman. It is a very tiny room, with just a desk, twin bed, sink, and little closet, but it is clean and does the job. She has a “porchmate,” where both of their dorm rooms open to a shared porch. It’s sort of the best of both worlds, because you’ll have your own room but also keep a modified roommate experience. My sister and her porchmate decorated their porch with twinkling Christmas lights and have a table and fridge out there. It’s a great atmosphere. All dorms have a common area with a piano. The dorms are also divided into focus groups (I forget the exact name), like early childhood education, psychology, a reading floor, etc. Some have requirements such as a class of outings, some don’t. The halls tend to bond on trips, etc. and overall it has been a great experience. As juniors and seniors, you can apply with 3 other students for on-campus apartments with kitchens. These are sought after and somewhat competitive to get, but I’m pretty sure it’s possible.

Meals- I think my sister’s biggest complaint is that you have to walk up a huge hill to get to the dining hall, lol. She finds her meal plan (the smallest one) to be more than enough, but she doesn’t really eat that much. From my experience, the food is good, there are lots of options, including vegan/vegetarian, and the dining hall is very nice and seems almost new.

Classes- she loves mills classes. They are small, and the professors seem to really care about each student’s success. My sister also reports that there isn’t an excessive amount of work, so she has time for a part-time job, ECs, etc. Also, as a Mills student you have the opportunity to cross-register at UCB. My sister has not done this yet, as lower-division classes at Cal are very crowded and she would prefer to do them in Mills’ small environment, but she plans to take some upper-division courses there in the future. Mills offers a shuttle directly between the two campuses.

Surrounding area- So we’ve established that Oakland isn’t the nicest place ever, but the campus is fine. If you don’t currently live in the bay area, it really is a nice place to be. Mills offers regular shuttles to Berkeley, and Bart is very accessible, which can take you to SF, Berkeley, really anywhere your heart desires.

REALLY IMPORTANT: Campus culture. Mills is very liberal and has a large number of lesbians and I think some trans students. It’s great diversity if you don’t have a problem with it (obviously my sister/my family does not), but this is not a place for a conservative catholic or whatever. Mills girls also tend to be somewhat quirky, so I think a visit is important to make sure you vibe with the culture. It’s great and my sister loves it, but Mills is not for everyone.