How's life in U of MN?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Minnesota
1

<p>I'm accpeted by U of MN-twin cities, and probably will go there at last.
I'm an international student, and have not been to MN before.
I would appreiciate any description about the life on campus,and life in the twin cities, like convenience of transportation, enjoying food, shopping, etc.
And I'm wondering whether the UMN is a welcoming and friendly place for international students like me(by the way, I'm Asian)
Is it true that U of MN is a place "for parties"? Kinda scares me~</p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>Minnesota has its fair share of parties but I would not call it a party school. There's probably something for everyone.</p>

<p>The only important thing that you prepare for are the winters. Expect to wear a heavy coat from November into April, which is most of the time you will be in Minnesota, I imagine. Winters last about half the year and are brutally, brutally cold, and the sun sets around 4:00 PM during this. I grew up in the Midwest, so I probably cannot even correctly grasp how terrible they truly are.</p>

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<p>I know a current freshman at the U and she says she knows of parties every weekend, however it doesn't mean everyone parties. They are there if you want to go, but there are plenty of kids that don't. As far as the Twin Cities go, they have an excellent transportation program (whether bus or light rail) and there are literally TONs of things to do.</p>

<p>I'm not sure why people complain so much about the weather (maybe its just cause I'm use to it from living in WI my whole life), but you will get use to it. Spring and Fall make up for the winter because they are perfect!</p>

<p>BTW, I plan to attend the U this fall (unless Georgetown surprises me on April 1st haha).</p>

4

<p>Hi,jotajota218
First of all, thank you for your reply, it's really helpful.</p>

<p>I'd like to ask one more question: is it humid in MN? If it is, in which season(s)?</p>

<p>And may I ask one more thing about you? Are U gonna attending a master/PH.d program or an undergraduate program? BTW, judging from my current decision, it is much likely that I'll finally go to the U. Moreover, I'm also expecting Georgetown to surprise me with financial aid:)</p>

5

<p>^ So you got into Georgetown? That's' pretty sweet. Honestly, if I were you, I would chose GU over the U of M. Unless the program I was seeking is better at the U. </p>

<p>But anyway, I can't answer many of your questions about the climate because I'm from Florida (but I know it's COLD there). But as for the city and campus, I think it's awesome! Minneapolis is a great and beautiful city. I love the campus too.... somehow, it's an incredibly urban campus and area, but it still has that college "look," with the mall, architecture, and set-up. I don't know what student life is like, but as far as shopping/transportation/food goes, you're right in the heart of the Twin Cities, so there are plenty of convenient options. </p>

<p>So if you did get into GU, I'd say you have two excellent choices! Obviously GU is a great school, but the U of M is rising in terms of both academic reputation and college rankings. They're also both in great cities, so I don't think that you can go wrong with either one!</p>

<p>If you end up at the U of M, I'll probably be a fellow student of yours this coming fall. And I hear ya, I'm not a big party person either haha.</p>

6

<p>pkuann,
It isn't very humid here in the midwest, I mean of course there are sometimes those summer days that make it pretty bad. Otherwise, it's usually comfortable dry air.</p>

<p>This fall I will be an undergrad freshman. The Twin Cities are constantly ranked as one of the cleanest, environmentally friend places in the nation. There is so much to do, whether food, shopping, parks, lakes, anything you want!</p>

<p>If you have any other questions I'll do my best to answer.</p>

7

<p>hi,AT9
Thank you very much!</p>

<p>First of all, pls forgive me. I mean, being a non-American, English is not my mother tongue, so I always embrace some certain kinda fear that I cannot express well in English. </p>

<p>Yep, I have already been accepted by Georgetown/UMN/Uconn/NCSU, and I'm still expecting UMD to admit me. </p>

<p>I definitely know that Georgetown ranks higher than UMN, and has a more comfortable weather. But, actually,I'm planning to have a master education in Communication. Judging from the academic ability and reputation, I guess UMN outweighs Georgetown(Of course, I refer to Communication.) Morover, probably, UMN is more generous in offering financial aid, than Georgetown is. You know, in such a higher education level as master and Ph.D, academic reputation and ability are important. And as an international student, I deem financial aid is also an important factor to consider.On the other hand, I just can not let go Georgetown, because its higher ranking. And in the meantime, I'm still waiting for UMD, which resembles UMN in some ways. It's another long long story for choosing from UMN and UMD...</p>

<p>As you can see, it's so hard for me to choose~!</p>

<p>And about the parties. It's probably because I have got some terrible impression about those "crazy parties" in American colleges, from a plenty of Hollywood movies.(BTW,I'm a uge fan of Hollywood movies!) There are few crazy parties here in China. Moreover, I'm allergic to alcohol. You know, I consider I just that sort of guy, who are not welcomed in American parties. These are the reasons why I'm scared by parties with alcohol...</p>

<p>And at last, nice meeting you! If we both end up at UMN, I sincerely wish we could meet, face to face, make friends and enjoy our non-parties days!</p>

8

<p>hi again, jotajota218! Thank you for your reply, as a resident of Midwest!</p>

<p>If you take a look at my last post, you'll have an idea of my current decision-making situation. As a candidate of master/Ph.D, I guess I should weigh academic as well as financial factors more. Since UMN constantly ranks top5 in Communication, It's really fard for me not to choose it. So I'll probably ultimately choose from UMN & UMD.</p>

<p>But the only things I don't know are my future life in these universities. Even though I've been to U.S. in an exchange program, I just visited some major cities in coastal areas. I just wanna know about weather, lifestyles, people. More specificly, like, "are people there friendly to Asian students like me?" "is it convenient living there?" "are teachers and fellow students friendly and helpful to help me deal with some problems(U know, living in a foreign country~~~)" "dose "this University embrace diversity?"</p>

<p>Sorry, I seem to have so much questions... It's just because I'm expecting as well as feeling nervous about my future life in U.S.</p>

<p>Thank you again for your kindness!</p>

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<p>"Expect to wear a heavy coat from November into April"
A winter coat in April? It's going to be in the 60s for much of this week. It doesn't stay cold for that long.</p>

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<p>Actuuuaaaaaallyyyyyy, today it was like 53 degrees and I saw like TWENTY people walking around in shorts and tshirts. Yayy!</p>

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<p>Sounds good, pkuann! </p>

<p>Don't worry about your English, it is quite easy to understand =) </p>

<p>I think you will enjoy your life here in the US. As far as the students and diversity goes, I can say that when I was on my tour of the college back in January, I noticed that there was an abnormal number of Asian students there on campus. Of course that was during the break, but it surprised me somewhat anyway.
But I think you'll find that most American students are pretty accepting of foreign students from all countries. Personally, I find it fascinating to visit with and make friends with people from other countries... I just love to hear about life in different cultures. I think that at a place like UMN, and in a city that big, you'll have no problem finding some people who will befriend you or help you with any problems you have adjusting to our country. </p>

<p>With regard to your concerns about American parties, you've probably been a little mislead by the Hollywood image of American high school and college students. There are certainly a lot of people like that, who live to party, but what the Hollywood movies don't show are the people who don't go out to crazy parties. And there are a lot of people (like me) who do not plan on going out to get drunk every night. As much as I also enjoy movies, I fear that the Hollywood image of Americans has damaged our reputation internationally. Because the typical Hollywood story/characters are not typical Americans. I think you'll find the United States to be a relatively welcoming and friendly place, especially in Minneapolis. </p>

<p>Good luck with your decision! I'd be happy to try and answer any other questions you have about the UMN or American life and culture in general.</p>

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<p>I wouldn't worry about being accepted. Not only are there lots of international students at Minnesota, but the American students are very accepting as well (all around the country). I think you'll love it here.</p>

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<p>Also, since you mentioned you were Asian you'd probably like the GIGANTIC Asian-American Student Union. To be honest, I think it's probably the best club/group thing the U has because they're so organized and always have really great events. Plus there's a ton of free food all the time. :-) They're actual room is really great too since they has study space/quiet hours and a place to socialize too.</p>

<p>Here's their link so you can check it out, <a href="http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Easu/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.tc.umn.edu/~asu/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I got accepted CLA of UMN as well.(international student)
I've already declare of going this college.
I look forward to how great you guys UMN is.
And ofcourse there is no doubt that the US is always a great country.
great country
great people
great school</p>

15

<p>AT9,</p>

<p>Yep, I definitely know that the U.S. is well-known for its diversity, and from my own exprience last year as an exchange student in Columbia University, I agree that American people generally are friendly. But you know, I will soon begin to study and live in the US for at least two whole years, I guess, it's always necessary for me to know more about your country:)</p>

<p>Besides, I am really happy to hear that you are interested in different cultures, and making friends with people from other land. I also find it fascinating to know more about other cultures and people, which is one of the most important reason why I wanna further my education in the US. I previously googled for several times, and noticed that Minneapolis and St-Paul are big cities. I guess that is great, 'cause as a kid growing up in urban area, I personally find it more interesting to live in a city.</p>

<p>One more question I got in mind, is that:"Are there many crime on the campus of the U?" A friend of mine recommand me a website, which keeps records of the crime happen on every universities all over the US. And I found in the records, the U is unlike some universities which are crime-free or at least enjoy a small number of crime. I am not saying that the U and the twin-cities are dangerous place full of crime, I just guess that as a big city as you mention, it 's unlikely to be crime-free. I just wanna know about the security situation here in the twin cities and UMN.</p>

<p>Once again, thank you! I wish you all the best!</p>

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<p>Hi, Sugar_Sweet111,
thank you for your reply and for sharing such a helpful and interesting website!</p>

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<p>Congrats on being accepted,i use college p-r-o-w-l-e-r too other than cc to get a feel of different colleges from the students themselves.am sure u will find it useful too.here is the link for UMNTC
<a href="http://collegep-r-o-w-l-e-r.com/university-of-minnesota/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://collegep-r-o-w-l-e-r.com/university-of-minnesota/&lt;/a>
dont include the dashes,i put them to prevent the auto filter.</p>

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<p>OK, get it!
Thank you very much!</p>

19

<p>Sez,
Sorry, I just cannot step into this website... It appears that there's something wrong with this address</p>

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<p>Just type in the col. prowl. part of the link without the dashes, and then find University of Minnesota</p>