Ask a UM student anything!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Miami - Florida
1

<p>I thought it would be easier for me to answer your questions in one thread rather than all your separate ones. I'm a current Freshman and I know I had a lot of questions last year, especially about the dorms when I was buying things for them (like, is there somewhere to hang your towels? Yes! There are racks!)</p>

<p>However, I won't know about programs I'm not in, your financial aid, your chances of getting in, yada yada. But I will know about life on campus/around campus/the dorms/general things about being a freshman.</p>

<p>Have at it!</p>

2

<p>How manageable is the course work? And what does campus look like on a Sunday afternoon?</p>

3

<p>How accessible is Miami/downtown from campus?</p>

4

<p>i plan to major in either international studies or latin american studies with a pre-med track. would that be extremely difficult since apparently the international studies major is hard? or no?</p>

5

<p>Hi I am an international applicant and have been admitted to all these universities to their business programs and I am very confused on picking any one. No aid or scholorships recieved. Any input would be greatly valued.
Thanks in advance!</p>

6

<p>@dantheman1018: How much coursework you have really depends on what your major is, how many classes you’re taking, how difficult your classes are, and how studious you are. I’ve taken 15 credits each semester and I find it fairly manageable. I do homework after class every day (usually goofing off for a few hours, too) and all day Sunday. But then again, I always read the chapters in the book, study for tests, etc. Sometimes you will have several exams fall on the same week and that can be a little hectic, but in between it’s not so bad. I have some friends, though, who are a lot less studious and seem like they don’t study at all (they mostly get Bs from what I gather).
Sunday afternoon, campus is pretty bare because everyone does their homework that day. Some people study outside on the gliders, though.</p>

<p>@Etuck24: I’ve yet to go to downtown Miami, but I know people who have. A lot of kids take taxis, but it’s also pretty accessible via the metro that runs right in front of campus ($2 each way). I know a lot of people took the metro to get to Ultra music festival downtown last weekend.</p>

<p>@champion101: I don’t really know anyone in those programs (besides Pre-med, but most of my friends are Bio majors on the pre-med track) so it’s hard for me to tell. I recommend finding your major on the University of Miami site and writing down all the criteria (like required classes) and then look up the Pre-med and see if anything overlaps (if you have AP credit, also see what requirements that will knock out) Also count how many credit hours each requires after accounting for the overlap and divide it by 8 semesters to see how much you’d need to take each semester. That’s will give you a good idea how hard it will be.</p>

<p>@AmericanDreams: Well since I don’t know what other schools you’re accepted to, I can’t tell you how good the business program is. I’m in the business school at Miami so I can say that it’s pretty decent and we have a lot of international students in the program so you wouldn’t feel out of place or anything. I would also see how much it’s going to cost you for each school without aid–With tuition and housing, you’re looking at some HUGE expenses, but then again, I don’t know your financial situation. Weigh the pros and cons, look at some descriptions about all of the student bodies and decide where you think you’d best fit in.</p>

7

<p>Hey! Thanks for having this forum for future Canes to ask questions! I appreciate it! </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do you know anything about the Jenkins scholarship? Are students who receive this scholarship recognized, like say, the Hammond Scholars or the Singer Scholars? It seems like a relatively unknown scholarship.</p></li>
<li><p>Is it possible to double major in Exercise Physiology and Microbiology, on the pre-physical therapy track? </p></li>
<li><p>Which are better to you, frat parties or clubs? Just from your personal experience.</p></li>
</ol>

8

<p>How are the dorms and communal bathrooms?</p>

<p>Which tower do you live in & what’s the atmosphere like? Are the thoughts of Hecht as the “party” dorm and Stanford as the “studious” dorm true?</p>

<p>In your opinion, is UM worth getting a student loan for?</p>

<p>Thanks for answering questions! :)</p>

9

<p>@Chinadoll:

  1. I’ve not actually heard of the Jenkins scholarship. I know some Hammond and Singer scholars, but I guess that answers your question that it’s not as well-known.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I have no idea since I’m not in that school. I would call and see if you could talk to an academic adviser about it.</p></li>
<li><p>Honestly, I haven’t been to either. When my friends invite me to go with them, I generally turn them down… but my friends seem to prefer going to frat parties because you can get alcohol (clubs will card you) and it’s free (you have to pay to get in clubs). If the party is bad or they just need to go home for some reason it’s easy to leave and you don’t really lose any money (unless you took a taxi).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>@HopeandLove:
The dorms rooms themselves are fine. I feel like I have enough space, but then again, my roommate and I get along very well so we don’t have a clear division between sides or anything, and we both lofted our beds for the extra space. BRING LOTS OF POWER STRIPS. I’m currently filling up two of them and I still have to unplug my lamp to charge my phone. Each room has its own temperature control but I’ve found that it won’t really get above 73 in here. I have it set to 85 right now and it’s about 70 in actuality. However, it will definitely get colder if you set it below that. Hmm, what else… our floor also has a study room that we use to play cards/games in sometimes and watch movies (you have to drag your TV in there, though)… and some people actually use it to study. Some floors don’t have a study room because they had to convert it to an actual dorm room.</p>

<p>The communal bathrooms are neither terrible nor great. They are cleaned pretty much every day. Sometimes little things are very annoying, like when people dump their noodles into the sink or leave toothpaste everywhere, hair on the walls in the shower, etc. Most times it’s not bad. You kind of get used to it. Although, there are cockroaches occasionally… I see about one every day or so. Someone usually kills them before they can wreak much havoc. My friend said she has yet to see one over in Hecht, though.</p>

<p>I live in Stanford on a substance-free floor. It’s pretty chill most the time. Most of us just study and hang out, but there are some obnoxious people who will be screaming in the hallway or yelling at the TVs with their doors open…pretty standard stuff you’ll find anywhere. The stereotypes of Hecht as the party dorm and Stanford as the studious dorm are kind of true… it’s kind of just accepted as a fact.</p>

<p>I think it really comes down to your situation on whether or not you should take out a student loan. I personally did not take out any loans so I don’t know what I would do in that situation. I guess you just have to evaluate what the alternatives are and also look at what you’re planning to do after college. If you’re entering a high-paying job immediately after 4 years, then yeah, it might be worth it and you could pay it off. If you’re planning on going to grad school, you’ve got to consider how much that is going to cost, too, and how much it really matters where you get your undergrad from. I personally love it here but I also wouldn’t want to be up to my eyeballs in debt right out of college.</p>

10

<p>Do you know if it’s possible to set up an overnight visit in the dorms? We’d like to visit, but I don’t want to fly for 3 hours just to attend a tour. It would be nice to stay over night in the dorms, attend a class and meet with an admissions counselor. Do you know if that’s something that is or isn’t done?</p>

11

<p>^ The university doesn’t host overnight visits for prospective students. The only legitimate way to stay the night is if you know somebody that attends the university and lives in the dorms who you could stay with as a guest.</p>

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<p>Too bad! I think overnight visits are very helpful.</p>

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<p>@cpq1xtbu-- I do know someone who just hosted a prospective student overnight through some sort of diversity program she’s in (so it’s really just for minorities), but that’s the only overnight thing I know. Other than that, you can do Cane for a Day where the prospective student shadows a UM student for the day and goes to their classes.</p>

<p>I’m sure you could meet with an admissions counselor if you came to visit, but you might have to contact them first.</p>

14

<p>@justbus
Hi! I am an international students, and have been accepted to UM. I would appreciate if you could answer some of my questions. :)</p>

<p>I have been accepted to college of arts and sciences, have you any idea about that school? Is it good, or the business school is better? Also, if I decide I want to go to the business school after all, is it easily possible to transfer to the other school?</p>

<p>And, how is it to live in Coral Gables? How is Miami? I have never been to that part of America. I guess the weather’s nice, but could you tell me about some of the best things about the campus and the city, and some that might be bad? And, how about the student housing? Are the dorms nice?
Also, is it worth the money, are the academics good, and how about the social life?</p>

<p>Sorry about the very many questions, but I am very curious!! Thanks so much in advance! :)</p>

15

<p>How do the students with scholarships pay for it? haha I would do anything to go here, but I can’t afford it! :frowning: I’m stuck going to a freezing cold school up north now. ugh haha sorry, more of a rant than a question. I just wanted to go here so bad.</p>

16

<p>pay for it as in the cost of living in the city? Miami isn’t that expensive if you learn how to get around and utilize public transport (and have housing covered lol)
like any college situation, learning how to budget is obviously important…?</p>

<p>although i’m probably just misunderstanding your question and look silly : )</p>

17

<p>Haha no I meant like taking out loans and such. I want to take out as little as possible, but I was offered barely any aid. I just wish the school wasn’t so perfect, I can’t see myself being anywhere else :frowning:
But thanks for your answer too :slight_smile: it’s good to know that the city itself can be affordable if you live within your means.</p>

18

<p>The thought of communal bathrooms completely freaks me out. Is there ANY possible way that me and my roommate could NOT live in Hecht or Stanford? Do you know any freshman that are living in suite-style housing? If so, how did they manage to get it?</p>

19

<p>I think you’re required as a freshman to live in Hecht or Stanford, unless you are a commuter. And I don’t know why communal bathrooms would be an issue, I mean, from everyone I’ve talked to I hear they are cleaned every day, and they are pretty nice in general…</p>

20

<p>@annemarijaa–I would say that all of our schools are good. The Arts & Sciences is HUGE so it really depends on what you’re going into. I can’t really rank the schools because I honestly think the education is about equivalent. I would say it’s harder to transfer from Business to Arts & Sciences than vice versa, but if you’re still working on your general ed requirements the first year and not trying to fit in a double major, then it’d be easy to switch. You could probably do it even if you were farther along, but it’d take more work. </p>

<p>Coral Gables/Miami is a great place to live. There’s always somewhere to go and things going on, although it’s harder to get around without a car because the public transit system isn’t the greatest. It’s also going to cost money to go out. It’s an expensive area. I do like being able to go to the beach on the weekends if I want. That’s a novelty for me since I’m from the midwest.</p>

<p>The social life is what you make of it. People are always doing things but really it depends on what group you get into as to how much they go out/where they go/what they do with their spare time.</p>

<p>I wrote about the dorms in another post in this thread, so read that and ask me if you have any other more specific questions about them.</p>

<p>Is it worth the money? I would say that depends on how much you’re paying. For me, it was worth it, but I got scholarships to come here.</p>

<p>@beachlove–</p>

<p>The people without scholarships are either
a) Trust fund babies whose daddies think nothing of writing the check, or,
b) In debt up to their eyeballs</p>

<p>It sucks to not be able to go to school where you want, and I relate to you about the cold. But honestly is four years of happiness worth paying off debt for the next 20 years? No, it’s not. You will find happiness at your other college and meet great people, I’m sure, but you have to go in wanting it and not think about how much you didn’t want to be there.</p>

<p>@roadscholar–
There was some overflow of Freshman to a nearby hotel for housing (Holiday Inn, I think) but honestly you’re probably going to end up in the towers. The only people I know who don’t live in them either requested a room change after the first semester (this is not a sure fire way to get you out of the towers. They might place you in another room here) or they are a first-semester Freshman in the spring.</p>

<p>But really, communal bathrooms aren’t that bad. It’s not like you’re hanging out in there all day. And as opposed to the suite-style bathrooms, these are cleaned every day and you don’t have to do it yourself. You are only freaking out about it because it’s a change from what you’re used to and you have time to sit there and think about it, but once you get here it’s not really something you think about and just a part of daily life.</p>

<p>@Marinebio444–
I would not go so far as to describe them as “pretty nice” but it’s not like “Oh my God I need to get out of here.”</p>