The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Date: May 14 2016
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
This school was a massive disappointment for me. With such a solid reputation, the low quality of the faculty shocked me. Make no mistake, this is a "research institution," as our dear President Schlissel loves to say in his emails to students. Unfortunately, teaching appears to be optional in this "research institution," or "degree factory" as I like to call it. I can't blame the professors because there is so little incentive for them to put effort into teaching when their livelihood directly comes from how much research they churn out. It shows. As a pre-med student, I essentially taught myself all of the material from general chemistry through biochemistry. I did well, but I worked extremely hard to compensate for the lack of quality instruction. Even worse, many science professors do not hold office hours. Rather, they have "open discussions" in which students are allowed to ask questions. However, this makes it extremely difficult to get to know professors on an individual basis, which is problematic for letters of recommendation. The best they can do is "recognize your face" from class, which is a shame. Don't go into Michigan with any illusions. You are a number. The University does not care about you. The professors range from mediocre to incompetent. Good luck. You're on your own.

Social life at Michigan is a bit less bleak. There are plenty of organizations to join, though I would argue that many student orgs are (forgive the expression) disorganized. Joining organizations, in particular, is haphazard with a giant sign-up free-for-fall called Festifall at the beginning of each school year. Greek life is quite big at Michigan. There's definitely a divide between the GDIs and the Greeks. While students are generally friendly and approachable, people do look at you differently when you don't have letters, wear Sperry's and Vineyard Vines, or end every sentence with "bruh." Obviously, if you're a sports fan, Michigan is the place for you. Football, basketball, hockey, etc. are all very popular, though football definitely takes the cake. However, game days seem to be more of an excuse to drink excessively at pre-games and tailgates than passion for the sport. My first few game days were magical, but I quickly found that I grew tired of losing my Saturdays (and quite frequently the contents of my stomach). As a pre-med student, I didn't get to take much advantage of social life at Michigan. I didn't have trouble making friends, but time spent hanging out often included studying.

I've heard many people say that Michigan has a beautiful campus. I disagree. There are perhaps three weeks during an entire school year in which I would concede that the campus looks nice. The Diag often looks and smells like a swamp, the buildings comprise a messy hodgepodge of disparate architecture, and the horrendous weather makes it difficult to enjoy strolling through campus. Quick note on the weather: I'm from Chicago, so I'm used to bad winters and somewhat unpredictable weather. However, the weather I experienced during my four years in Ann Arbor was NOTICEABLY worse Chicago. There was one day in which it snowed, hailed, rained, and became sunny. ALL IN ONE DAY. Even the animals had mystified expressions on their faces. My advice for someone planning to attend Michigan: get used to cold and gray. I've never stayed in a city with less sunshine than Ann Arbor.

Moving on to the surrounding city, Ann Arbor is great, particularly during the summer. There's a beautiful arboretum near the Medical Campus, and downtown is filled with many interesting places to eat. Seeing as it's Ann Arbor, there are quite a few hipster places, so if that's your thing…However, undergraduate students typically don't go into downtown. They mainly stay east of State Street with the exception of Skeeps bar. With this in mind, I think Ann Arbor is better for graduate students and adults.

I want to hit on an important topic, which is diversity. The University constantly jerks itself off as a champion of diversity. I will concede that there are many races represented at the school. However, the school mistakes sheer racial numbers for true diversity. The vast majority of people at the school come from the exact same mold - suburban, well-off, middle to upper middle class - yes, even many of the racially diverse students. Furthermore, there is a shocking amount of segregation among the students. Black people hang out with black people. Asians hang out with Asians. White people hang out with white people. Arabs hang out with Arabs. Indians hang out with Indians. There isn't much mixing of the races. Thus, I haven't gained many new cultural perspectives, which is why I have a major problem with the University's self-proclamation of outstanding diversity. Not to mention, the students can be quite racist. We've had our share of problems during my four years here.

What else is there to say? Overall, Michigan did not live up to my expectations. The administrators believe that it is a "research institution" rather than a "school," and it shows. Unfortunately, that philosophy leaves thousands of students hung out to dry. It's definitely not worth out-of-state tuition. I would only give a half-hearted recommendation to attend Michigan if you're in-state or plan to major in business. The business school, while difficult to get into, is an absolute joke once you get in. They inflate grades, fill out your schedules for you, and hook you up with basically any internship you want. However, if you don't fall into the business or in-state categories, save yourself the money and headaches by going somewhere else.