The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

1. I was somewhat dissapointed at my freshman year experience. I was torn between a max 18 credit courseload and adjustment to college social life. Before you decide to goto college, I recommend that you set your priorities straight. I did not, therefore my grades suffered, parties and clubs are all fun, but you won't be here for long if you don't devote 75% of your free time to studying. I was not familar with this concept of constant studying in high school and got away with it. People here, in the engineering college are really hardworking people, and a lot of the classes are graded on a normal curve(top 10% of class gets As, bottom 50% gets Cs and Ds.)

2. To thrive at this school you really have to take academics seriously. There will be times when other people who don't seem to study much get a higher grade than you. But, don't be discouraged. goto office hours, make sure that your extracurriculars don't take away your study time. u will find that the curriculum here in every class is very theoretical and they will teach you the easiest stuff in class and think that you will be able to figure out the hard ones on your own. But, there are people there to help, make friends with people in your class and form study groups and goto review sessions.

3. people are generally friendly here, take the time to introduce introduce yourself to people.
4. Oh ya! if you don't think you know enough chemistry(4 or 5 on AP CHEM), do not take CHEM 210/211 even if the advisors tell you to from orientation. The advisors can really screw you over.

5. Ann Arbor is great, you can find everything here. I stress academics, because i know from experience, that you will not have fun here if you don't do well in classes. if you are an engineer and you are going to look for internships, the first thing they look at is the gpa, you won't get anywhere without a good gpa.

6. The bureaucracy of the school has almost no connection with the students. I sometimes do feel like just a number here. So think hard before you decide. Overall, this school is what you make of it. You can achieve anything you want if you take initiative and work hard here, and have a little fun in the process of getting that degree.

The student body can be overwhelmingly huge and impersonal, especially if you're a transfer student. However, there are no lack of student clubs, organizations, and sports teams to join. If you arrange your classes right, you can have an active social life while keeping good grades in your classes. It seems pretty racially and socially segregated though, so if you're a floater, prepare for some juggling. I find it's easiest to join different sorts of organizations and not just ones related to your field of study/ethnicity/sport. It's easy to get sucked into hanging out with only one group since they're so isolated from one another. Also, if you're from a small town and/or a small school, prepare for culture shock. You will not see the same person twice and people aren't going to be as eager to lend a helping hand to you. There are nice people, but you have to catch them before they become jaded. It seems everyone at UM is afraid that they aren't as smart as they thought. They're trying to stay one step ahead of the game and it makes them a bit bitter sometimes. If you keep a friendly and positive outlook you'll be fine. If you smile and someone glares at you, just ignore it. They're nice people but they're not used to friendliness. I still get mistaken for a freshman.