<p>Are there many intelligent people at UM? Intellectual types? I am applying for BME, and to me, it's important that the student body be intellectually stimulating and academically curious.</p>
<p>People here are a lot smarter than others give them credit for. It’s not an easy school. Everyone seems to have some level of intelligence, however, the level of caring varies. My friends and I will have academic discussions, talk about politics, etc. but we also just talk about stupid things sometimes. There’s a lot of different types of people here, so you should be able to find a group that suits you.</p>
<p>I don’t feel like it has that kind of quirky intellectualness here. I’m from Houston and my best friend goes to Rice, and from what she says it sounds like they have quite an intellectually stimulating student body. For example, I haven’t heard anything about politics or the ongoing Republican debates or upcoming election. I’m also a BME major, and there aren’t many engineers here, and they have been the most intellectually stimulating people I’ve met. Miami is no Rice, Brown, Stanford, Northwestern, etc.</p>
<p>Darn, that’s a bit discouraging. I like this school, and I will be visiting, so we’ll see what happens. I guess if I go, I will make the best of it. I also want to major in Biomedical Engineering.</p>
<p>Okay, that hurts, RGHelmcamp, because I’m a Business and Creative Writing major and I certainly have talked to people across the spectrum–yes, even Art majors–about social and political issues.</p>
<p>I think what you’ve come across is more college-wide thing rather than a college-specific thing. People cut themselves off from the outside world when they go to college.</p>
<p>And, like I said, there’s a place for anyone. You want politics? Join the campus Republican or Democrat groups. You want academic discussions? Join a club dealing with your major, like the Marketers Association, or the Engineering Fraternity. Your conversation is only as good as the people you surround yourself with.</p>
<p>I find these types of questions too personal to be effectively answered by others. How can we know what you consider intellectual curiosity? What you consider intellectually curious someone else might consider shallow. To others Rice’s quirky intellectual student body will come across as pompous and self-absorbed. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, your perception of the intellectual stature of a university will come down to the people you hang around with. My son started out as a BME and found it tedious. He switched to Marine Sciences and found it intellectually stimulating and challenging to the point where it is now his career (he’s employed at Rosenstiel). Your college experience is what you make of it.</p>
<p>I agree with vinceh, it all comes down to you and the people you choose to associate with.</p>
<p>Every Friday at noon, I meet with a group called solutions ([Solutions</a> - Home](<a href=“http://um.collegiatelink.net/organization/solutions]Solutions”>http://um.collegiatelink.net/organization/solutions)). It’s a group of around 7-10 students and 3-5 professors, though the number varies quite a lot by day. We have lunch together and discuss topics which I consider to be intellectually stimulating. We talk about current news, modern scientific developments, modern philosophical developments, and whatever anyone wants to bring to the table. We’re from a huge variety of areas across campus: philosophy, biology, chemistry, engineering, english, environmental science, etc.</p>
<p>I also live on the BURROW which is a special interest housing floor for Harry Potter. I find that my evening conversations often turn to philosophical conversations about the nature of universe, the distinction between science and nonscience, and other stimulating topics. The BURROW is, of course, not the only place you’ll find these kinds of people, but it’s kind of like a light beacon for those more nerdy students who are interested in that. However, in all realms of the UM campus you can find people who are interested in living what they learn and creating new knowledge.</p>
<p>Similarly, in all areas of campus you can find people who aren’t. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: wherever you go to college, you’ll find people who you like and who you don’t like. There will be smart people and less smart people, there will be studious people and less studious people, there will be partiers and people who have other tastes. What matters is which of these types of people you choose to spend your time with. You don’t need to restrict yourself to a single one, either - and that’s one of the great things about the college experience.</p>
<p>But vinceh really hits it right on the nose when he suggests that this isn’t a question for us, but rather for you.</p>