I just have some questions before I start my freshman year.
What kind of bike should I get? Mountain Bike? BMX? What brand? What size? The variety of bicycles that are out there are confusing me. Where should I look?
How's the South Quad dorm? I'm not in LSA honors, so I'll have a different experience. What should I expect?
I didn't get the season tickets fast enough. What's the main site or place that students use to get tickets? (Remember to answer anonymously ;) )
Where do I look to find a job on campus?
How many club sports can I reasonably join? I want to join three, but I don't know if I have time.
Where's the place to look for research opportunities besides UROP?
If anybody else have questions for Michigan alumni, feel free to post them here.
Thanks for answering either some or all of my questions! I’m grateful.
I’m a few weeks short of being an alumnus, but I’ll just answer some of your questions anyway.
A cheap one.
Never stayed in South Quad so can’t help you there.
If you missed out on season tickets, the various Michigan student Facebook pages will probably be one of your best bets. Prices will be all over the place so be prepared.
Student employment office, or walk around downtown and see who has help wanted signs in the windows.
Depends on the club sports, your major and what classes you’re taking and how long it takes you to study. Why do you want to do 3?
Talk to a professor you like and likes you that’s currently doing research you’re interested in.
I am an alumnae, but my reply is based more on my son’s freshman year in South Quad. It is a great location and has a good dining hall in the building. You are very lucky to get it. My son was in honors but a few boys on his hall were not. Really does not matter if you are in honors or not as far as I can tell. As for jobs, the dining halls are always looking for students.
i don’t even know my bike’s brand, as i’m off campus for summer…don’t get a very nice one, or it might get stolen, plus the repair shops are a ripoff. Now i rode a bike that was under $100 even thru the winter, except for the really icy days. Go with utility
i stayed in SQ for orientation only. It was nice i guess. Its main advantage is proximity. I mean, i’ve been in most the dorms at some point and well, a dorm room is a dorm room. It’s not about luxury but socializing and SQ is fine for that.
your first semester/year, it’s ok to find just a basic job, the kind you’d do in high school. Don’t let it overwhelm you. There’s tons of businesses right in the immediate area, or you can put work/study to use and join a dorm cafeteria. Another option, if you aren’t doing UROP and haven’t met any profs yet, would be to work for a department. I did this, can’t say it put my skills to much use, but it did get me some connections. If you’ve a good idea about your major…
By end of 1st semester, you could start looking for summer internships or a research job. I stumbled onto my RA kinda by accident. I was just in the GSI’s office and she asked what my plans were for next semester, apparently they needed a couple undergrads. I told her i didn’t know, and she just blurted out “do you wanna do research?” Of course, maybe it didn’t hurt that i had the 1st or 2nd best grade in the class…
So for me it just took luck and being tactful. I would’ve dropped hints maybe as i did want to do research. Or you can be more assertive, which isn’t my strong suit. Take the approach you’re comfortable with and find something that’s a good fit, so you don’t waste your time.
Depends on everything else. My roommate did IM soccer but nothing else, cause he was engineer…although imo he could’ve done more. If you’re working obviously that’s less time you have. I will give this warning though: the 100 level classes tend to give a misleading amount of work the 1st month. They know you’re adjusting to college life. Don’t party too hard or get in too many ECs to the point you won’t be able to tone it down come midterms. Moderation in everything at first, including the classes you pick.
oh sorry i kinda answered this…uh just get to know your profs and GSIs. There might also be some site, i dunno, but they will hire the ppl they know first.
I forgot to mention my major which is pretty important for these questions. I plan on majoring in Industrial Engineering and Operations and minoring in Business.
I’m grateful.