University of Minnesota--Twin Cities | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Brian

Class: Sophomore
Major: Communications
Gender:

High School: Martin Luther High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The University of Minnesota is a perfect size. Yes, it is the third largest school in the country but the teachers, administration, and orientation officers do a wonderful job of encouraging students to get involved and to be active in their college community. If you are not involved in student groups or rec activities, I could see how one would feel they were just a number, but for me, I enjoy that I don't know most of the people that go to my school. The school pride is not what I expected at a large university. I feel as if Madison does a better job at school spirit then we do at most every sport, especially football. Once we get the stadium on campus, I believe that will change. The things to do around or on campus is vital to a students experience at that school. Sure, academics is what you are going to school for, but without a social life with social activies it can become draining. The U of M has thousands of things to do everynight of the week from free movies, to huge shopping trips at the major target dowtown, two huge cities fifteen minutes away, three malls within 10 minutes including the biggest one in American! There are so many places to explore, resteraunts to try, music to listen to, and clubs to dance in. The variety of activies in and around campus is a huge turn on to any student. The weather is a little harsh but the U's unusual underground tunnel system called the gopher way makes the campus weather friendly which I used more than I expected. The gopher way is a wonderful name for that system.

Academic Life

Professors don't know your name if you don't introduce yourself. It is different than a private small college becuase you have to do a little extra work to make your professor know your name. It is nice when you raise your hand in a 250 student lecture and your professor calls on you by name - but to make that happen, you have to add 2 minutes to your first day of that class and introduce yourself. Students at the U are very intelligent, in and outside of classes. We talk about religion, politics, people, families and since their are so many different races we have very different conversations. The academics are definatly geared toward getting a job which is very nice. The internships and companies in the area always come to the U to find students and it is a great location to do that. The classes are tough and it is hard to get an A, but it is possible to do well.

Student Body

Going to private lutheran schooling all my life, it was a challenge adapting to the variety of religious people on campus. It is possible to find your nitch on campus but it takes work. There are many groups on campus dealing with religious aspects, racial divides and other aspects of differences among students. I joined the campus crusades and my halls youth group to find people that really believe the same things I do. Then, according to my religion, I was thinking what a perfect opportunity this was to spread what I believe and to spread what I have been tought for 15 years. Most of the students are from Wisconsin and Minnesota but I have met people from IL, OH, IW, MI, CA, AZ, IN, TX, Japan, Europe, China, Canada...etc. Most people politcally are democratic but some don't care which is frustrating. In short, because of the large variety of people at the U, there is always someone who is thinking the same things as you and it is up to you to find them and the U, through students groups, makes that finding easier and possible.