<p>I've heard this frequently about UM. I'm not surprised really, because that's what you'd normally expect at a huge school. However, I am hoping that this may not be true, because I really like UM from what I've heard sofar, but would not like to be 'just another number'. If this isn't true (and please be honest. Try to eliminate the bias even though it may be hard), then I'm going to UM for sure. If it is true, then I still might go, however that one factor would be a big downside for me ;[</p>
<p>u mean in terms of admissions or what?</p>
<p>No, I mean as a student. When your within it all and engulfed into campus life. Then, do you ever feel like just another number?</p>
<p>No...that's what everyone was like..."Ewww...you're going to be just another number..." No, it's not like that. (And then when I tell people that it's not like that, they're like "Well, good, you found a way to stand out, but the 'normal' people feel like a number..." <em>SIGH</em>) The school doesn't feel that huge.</p>
<p>aight thx. I already feel better with 1 person telling me its not like that. :)</p>
<p>actually they brand you with a number and barcode during orientation week.</p>
<p>I'm gonna brand you with something else in a minute.</p>
<p>eww. put it away, sick-o.</p>
<p>So if you do not want to , then you should do something exceptional for you to stand out. </p>
<p>Easier said than done though.</p>
<p>I don't understand what people mean by being a number. The class sizes vary greatly, but I had far fewer large lectures than most of my friends at smaller research universities, namely Vandy and MIT, and other similarly sized universities like Tennessee, Alabama, and Boston U. It's not like at any school you really get to know anyone. Most likely, just as at any school, you'll find a group or a few groups of people that you fit in well with and then you won't feel like a number. There's a lot more variety of people on campus than at a stigmatized/stereotyped tech/party/preppy school, so it's easier to find people, I believe. It's probably different for everyone. If you find a group, which you will, if not at first, then eventually, you'll feel like you belong to something and people know you really well. You also run into people you know everywhere, which wasn't something I was expecting before I came here.
Organizations are big enough to be big, but small enough to be small. Leadership positions are plentiful and everything is accessible. You just have to have to confidence to go for it.
Also, professors here are a lot more accessible than I expected, which doesn't mean that I'm not scared of some of them still because...yeah...but they're real people, surprisingly, and I've gotten to know a couple of them really well.
There are people who stand out a lot on campus, who you know if you know anything about academic achievements or volunteering or campus politics. I know a lot of them from political science programs I went to during high school...and tetrahedr0n talking...</p>