Wisconsin vs Minnesota

pierre0913
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:51:59 +0000

University Of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Academics:
The University of Minnesota is an “insanely huge” “research institution” “in the heart of” the Twin Cities. You’ll find a wealth of majors here. Business is “superb.” Engineering is strong across the board. The U is also “a great place to study an obscure language” or virtually anything else you can imagine. There are more than 300 opportunities to work and study abroad. Local internships “and hands-on opportunities” are also ample. “The professors run the whole gamut.” “There are some amazing ones and some really terrible ones,” says a civil engineering major. Some faculty members are “brilliant” and “inspired people” who “enjoy teaching the material and getting to know the students personally.” Other professors “are knowledgeable but not always great at conveying the concepts.” “There are a few who can really be GPA wreckers,” too. Lower-level classes can be full of “massive crowds of students.” though freshman seminars have 15 to 20 students. The teaching assistants who “do the dirty work” are frequently “from foreign countries” and “have really thick accents,” especially in the hard sciences. “As your progress into upper-division course, the lectures rarely eclipse 100,” though, and you have more interaction with real professors. “The administration really seems to care about the students” and “the U is run very well for a university of its size.” Also, advising can be “beyond terrible.”

Student Body:
Students are generally from the Midwest somewhere. More often than not, they are “right out of suburbia” or from “small to medium-sized towns” in “Minnesota or Wisconsin.” There are a lot of “tall,” “blond,” “pasty, white people” who “are ‘Minnesota Nice.’” “The U of M is a human zoo,” though. “It’s a school that embraces diversity.” “There are a lot of different ethnicities.” Some people are “snooty.” Others “grew up poor.” Some are “bubbly.” Some are “antisocial.” Also, “there is a microcosm for just about every subculture imaginable.” There are “the math nerds,” the “frat boys,” and “lots of hippies and artsy people.” There’s “a huge gay population.” “Preppy, athletic, emo,” and nontraditional students are also visible. Politically, “the conservatives add a good balance to the grand scheme of things,” but the campus leans left. Some students are “very politically aware.” “There always seems to be some group protesting or trying to convince me of something,” notes one student. Not surprisingly, “there is a limited sense of community” at the U. “It is too easy to get lost in the mass of people here, wandering among so many faces without knowing one,” laments a forlorn junior. Sooner or later, most everyone “is able to find their niche.” After that, "most people stick to their cliques.

Campus Life:
The “beautiful,” “very environmentally friendly” campus here is “spread over two cities and a river.” “Frigid,” “crazy winters” are perennial. “By January, all you can see of students is their eyes,” observes a sophomore. “The rest of them are wrapped in coats, hats, and scarves.” “The snow is great for outdoor fun like sledding and ice skating” but “don’t come here if you can’t handle the cold.” Socially, “the U has everything, plain and simple.” You can have a “totally different experience than someone else.” “There’s a group for just about every interest,” and “there is always something to do, even on a random Tuesday night.” The campus provides a variety of events and “always has something going on during the weekends.” “Hockey games are always great” and sports are a “big thing.” “Partying is very popular but there are also a lot of people who don’t” participate. If you want to imbibe, though, “keggers,” house parties, and frat blowouts are frequent. There’s also quite a bit happening off campus. According to students here, “Minneapolis is one of the greatest places in the country.” “The music scene is unreal.” “Great art” and “gorgeous parks” abound. “Shopping at the Mall of America” is another favorite pastime. In some areas, “it is scary walking around at night,” but the neighborhoods near campus are generally “very young and energetic” and public transportation is “readily available and cheap.”