The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The typical Michigan student is smart and cocky. Almost everyone here was successful in academics and activities in high school. Most UM students really do think that they are “hot stuff”, not as much when compared to their fellow students, but just to the world at large. 55% of Michigan students come from households whose income is over $100,000, so be prepared to run into wealth when dealing with most people. Most students are nice but there is a cockiness that comes with attending UM. Students do work hard in their classes, but almost all are more concerned with their social lives. One of the biggest facets that sets UMich apart from other public universities is its abundance of out of state students. Nearly 30% of undergraduates are from out of state, which does make UM more interesting than many other public schools.

Greek life is alive and well at Michigan, but it certainly does not “dominate” the campus social life as one might be led to believe. Only 13% of students participate in Greek life, so there are many friends to be made if you don’t rush. Greek life is a major commitment, so you should be aware of that if you decide to take part in it. However, it does give you a close group of friends, and it does allow you to “feel a part of something” while being at a large university. Michigan’s campus, quite simply, is massive. It is bigger than most universities with similar enrollments (Illinois, Indiana, etc.) and all the buildings are very spread out. This proved to be very frustrating to me because I would rarely see the people I knew outside of my dorm. If you don’t know many people upon entering UM, this can be a difficult part of the UM experience. The dorms at Michigan are very far away from each other, unlike other schools where nearly all the freshmen are housed extremely close to each other. To get from my dorm to the dorm of a friend on North Campus, it would take about 20 minutes by bus. Many freshmen are forced into the dorms at North Campus (the Arts, Music, and Engineering campus a mile north of the central campus). Ann Arbor is a nice city with a lot to do, and you’re less than an hour from Detroit, and Windsor, Ontario, which borders Detroit.

My freshman year didn’t go well, and I decided to leave UM. I didn’t really like the people on my floor and it was hard as an non-Greek out-of-stater to meet new people. There were things I could have done to make it better, but I knew UM wasn’t the place for me. This might be hard to understand, but being at such a big school can make you feel isolated. I thought I was certain I wanted a big school, but it turned out I was wrong. For me, the problem wasn’t academics, I just didn’t click with the people I met. That being said, many people do love UM, so if you’re thinking about attending, I would say it’s a probably a good idea.