Need an HONEST opinion on the campus.

kmccrindle
Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:46:22 +0000

Is there any way at all you can rationalize the expense of a visit? It’s a big decision to make blind and I feel that your own gut is the best judge. But I can tell you what my son felt during his various campus visits, with the healthy disclaimer that you and he may not value the same things.
So first – background: My son is highly creative, fairly straight-edge in terms of lifestyle but very tolerant of all lifestyles in a bonhomie/60s/bohemian kind of way. He attends a gifted-talented program with 100 students per grade in a midwestern city, so his educational experience to date has been small and socratic (the school is now in process for IB certification.) So on one hand, he is accustomed to rigor, and at the same time, he is kind of laid back in demeanor. I actually expected him to prefer a LAC instead of a large state school. Next, here’s a rundown of his likes/dislikes of other schools: he quite liked University of Chicago, but for entirely different reasons than umich. (Mainly liked the calibre of and emphasis on writing and critical thinking…didn’t at all mind the social quirkiness…) He liked NYU quite a lot, particularly Tisch. He liked Jacobs School of Music at Indiana and loved the town of Bloomfield, but didn’t like the vibe of the rest of the campus – felt more like social high school to him. He disliked the Princeton campus, which for some reason he found to be “highly homogenous” (I think he meant socioeconomically.) Perhaps at that point he was already highly biased in favor of U Mich. because that one surprised me a lot.

SO, here’s what he LOVED about U Mich in terms of the physical campus and general feel. He loved that even though the campus is large it feels smaller and is wholly integrated into the town of Ann Arbor, which essentially radiates from the campus like spokes. He loved the mix of very old architecture with new and highly modern, state-of-the-art facilities. He loved the trees, squirrels, the casual-comfortable dress of the students, the consciousness of the students (very friendly everywhere you go) and the fact that just about anywhere you go on central campus there are little cafes and shops just around the corner. He liked the school spirit the students showed. He really liked the sense of diversity – not just in terms of culture, but in terms of socioeconomic status and political orientation. He loved the beautiful, quiet, and smaller setting of the north campus, where engineering, art and design, and the school of music reside – and the fact that its only a 10 min bus ride and that class times are staggered between central and north. He liked the conversations he overheard people having.

Academically and particular to his case, he found the perfect program with instructors he highly admired in the School of Music. Unless you’re SOM-bound though, that would have no bearing for you as it is a highly personalized fit thing. He is also pursing a simultaneous degree at LSA, and enjoyed everyone he met there and seminars he’s attended to get a sense of the flavor.

If you are a person who LIKES season changes (including winter, which can be brutal) I would expect you’d find the campus both intimate feeling, in parts highly beautiful, and generally enjoyable despite the high population. (I don’t know what other schools you’re considering.) If you are a person who likes a balance of social life with academic rigor, you would likely be happy here.

In terms of activities, I can’t imagine you lacking for same at U Mich. We get newsletters regularly outlining more events than one person could possibly attend. There is always music, theatre, local bands, programming like UMix open mic nights at the union, frat parties, rep films, readings, exhibits and the like. I think this is one of the stronger features of the school – it has the population to support a highly robust slate of activities with a captive and centralized audience!
The layout of the city in terms of driving is not a stellar testament to engineering (particularly considering UM’s rep:) but the layout of the campus is well done considering it has constantly expanded since the early 1800s. Some of the buildings are quite aged but seem well maintained. New facilities are gleaming. Medium-aged buildings are at times a little ragged as one might expect. The resident halls are not especially spacious or high tech but I don’t find them less appealing than any of the others I’ve seen…and they renovate one or two a year so many have wifi and newer interiors, etc. The size of the school means it has the economy of scale to deliver some services really well, such as computing access. The downside of the size is that the administrative structure is, as one would expect, “larger” and perhaps more bureaucratic in feel.

My only other caveat is that all of the foregoing are personal observations and opinions informed by multiple visits and dealing with and sitting in on classes and knowing students who attend, HOWEVER I should note that said son does not attend until the fall.

I hope this has given you some sense of flavor, and I hope that others will make thoughtful and more informed contributions.
Cheers,
K