<p>I was recently admitted to Michigan's SPH. I'm weighing my options right now between Michigan and some other schools, but I'm about 90% sure I'm going to go to Michigan. </p>
<p>I know this forum is geared towards undergrads but I'd figure I'd ask anyway. If anyone knows of any good threads that are already on here that talk about grad school, feel free to link :). </p>
<p>Does anyone know how hard it is to get TA positions (or- GSI I think they're called?)? I know Michigan doesn't have an undergrad public health school but they said it's common for students to get positions in other departments. They didn't really elaborate on what "common" meant lol. My undergrad degrees are in Arts & Humanities and anthropology with a heavy concentration in women's issues, bioethics (official minor), and geography if that helps at all. </p>
<p>How is parking at U of M? I'm going to be commuting from home (Plymouth) and I honestly haven't been to Ann Arbor during a school year in years. Is it difficult to be a commuter? I don't mind driving and taking the bus, but I really hate walking in the winter. </p>
<p>I'm sure I have some more questions but I think I'd get more help here than on the grad forum :). </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m a freshman so take it for what it’s worth, but these are the observations I’ve made. There’s a parking structure a lot of grad students use just 2 blocks west of the diag. I’m not sure if you’re doing Master’s or PhD but sometimes the 1st year you spend as a grader. It’s very common for cross-subject so yeah, you could teach sections in anthro or humanities. In fact, a lot of profs do this. You generally have to apply, but that usually just means if there’s a lot of interest you might not get your first choice. </p>
<p>Evals by your students do matter. So if you wanna teach Anthro 301, might have to wait a couple years and get good evals. In the meantime, you’re stuck in 101 or whatever. Another option down the road would be to help with research. One of my former GSIs is condensing interviews for a book that’ll be published in a year. This is dependent on the relationships you establish and timing.</p>
<p>Congrats Romani on your admission to SPH and your upcoming graduation from MSU.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answers to any of your quesitons except that parking in Ann Arbor sucks. If you are commuting, your best bet will be to park in a commuter lot on north campus and take a bus to SPH. Fortunately, the buses go close to SPH. The following link may be helpful. </p>
<p>[Parking</a> & Transportation News - New Commuter/Park and Ride Lot Options](<a href=“http://www.pts.umich.edu/news/index.php?news_id=105]Parking”>http://www.pts.umich.edu/news/index.php?news_id=105)</p>
<p>Good Luck and Go Blue!</p>
<p>I am getting my Masters so only a two year program. </p>
<p>Thanks! And thanks for that link, res! Are the park & rides free? I thought I remember that from somewhere but I can’t find it on that page (admittedly, only scanning through). </p>
<p>Sorry if this is dumb, but what’s a grader? Is that the same as a GSI? Are there different student assistant positions? I only had a whopping total of two TAs my whole 4 years at State lol so I’m unfamiliar with the roles of GSIs.</p>
<p>I haven’t received my official admissions package yet so I’m not sure if these things will be addressed. I have an admitted students day in March so I’m sure I’ll get these answered then as well, but I will probably be visiting sooner so I’d like to have some questions lined up. </p>
<p>If there are any other grad students on here (in anything), any tips or recommendations would be lovely :)</p>
<p>They just grade papers and tests or whatever, but that’s more for PhD i think. GSI is the one who attends lecture, skims the readings, then teaches 3 one hour sections x25 undergrads. They typically sit in a circle and pose a few questions while everyone else does the talking. I mean, you could do other things like a debate or small groups but that’s the gist of it.</p>
<p>Ok, that makes sense, thanks :)</p>
<p>romani,</p>
<p>Surprised to find you here! Last I heard you were inquiring about St. Louis. Congrats! SPH is a great program.</p>
<p>As for parking: an alternative to purchasing a UM student parking permit, which is probably going to leave you out on North Campus anyway, is to use AATA’s (Ann Arbor Transit Authority’s) park-and-ride lot at Plymouth Road and US-23 (free with UM i.d.), which would be on your way in from Plymouth anyway. There you can catch the #2B AATA bus (also free with UM i.d.), which will take you right past SPH. Only downside is the AATA bus isn’t quite as frequent (every 20 min. or so during morning & evening peaks) as the UM buses from the commuter lots (10-15 minutes between buses), but if you get on a regular schedule it’s probably manageable. Also, the AATA bus appears to stop running round 10pm, so that could be problematic if you plan to stay late on campus or in town. Anyway, it’s another option to consider.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Parking](<a href=“http://pts.umich.edu/permit_parking/students.php]Student”>http://pts.umich.edu/permit_parking/students.php)</p>
<p>bc, thanks for that. That would be a rather short drive for me and I can plan my schedule accordingly to save money. Yes, St. Louis was my top pick for a bit but I’ve reevaluated for a variety of reasons :)</p>
<p>Who’d have thunk it? romanigypsyeyes is now one of us? Welcome to the fam! 
Congratulations on your acceptance to the SPH. Excellent program. </p>
<p>I do not think getting a TAship will be easy for a non-doctoral student in a department that does not offer undergraduate degrees. I can imagine you will have a hard time finding a TA position as most TA positions are offered to PhD students in the CoE and LSA.</p>
<p>Transportation into campus is a pain. There are large parking structures on Maynard, Liberty and Washington. Parking a car there all day, 5 days a week will be costly, but it may be your most practical option.</p>
<p>Thanks. Figured I shouldn’t turn down the same school twice :p. (All in good fun.) I actually really like the SPH, but the website is a MAJOR PITA. I’m still finding interesting things I like there after weeks of browsing the website, because they just don’t make anything easy :p. </p>
<p>Even if I don’t get a TA position, or other on-campus job, it’s still my best option for a variety of reasons, including financial (so far). Are there other positions, like research, that you can apply for or are those really for PhDs, too? (Sorry if these sound like dense questions, first in the family to go to college and I don’t know anyone at U of M’s grad school.)</p>
<p>Hmm… do you know what the parking fees are like? (And how close that is to the SPH?) I’d rather do the park & ride thing if it’s the difference of several hundred dollars. I’d give up an extra 20-40 minutes for that lol.</p>
<p>For SPH, the park and ride will be more convenient than walking from the Maynard garage and a lot cheaper. Ann Arbor parking garages run about $1.20 per hour - monthly about $150. The only lot that is close to SPH is the hospital parking lot.</p>
<p>I think there is a commuter lot at the old Pfizer site on Plymouth where the blue bus takes you by SPH.</p>
<p>As others have said, the two main options are the park and ride lots where you can take an AATA bus (free with MCard) to class, or you can buy a pretty cheap UMich parking pass and take a Michigan bus to class. Orange passes are like $74/year, but some parking areas will fill up by 9am so don’t always count on getting a space in the most convenient lot. Park and Ride lot is free.</p>
<p>As for GSI positions, I’m doubtful you’d get anything paid. As someone else suggested, you might get a position as a grader which will be paid.</p>
<p>A friend of mine is in the school of Public Health, in Management Policy or something like that. I don’t know how much help he could be but if you want I could give you his email or something.</p>
<p>Ok. I looked up the park and ride and it looks like a 20 minute ride to the parking lot and another 25 minutes or so on the bus. I can live with that. :)</p>
<p>Vlad- if he’d be fine with that, I’d love to talk to him. </p>
<p>I was admitted to Health Behavior and Health Education but I have an interview for Health Policy Management. I’m debating whether or not to go to the interview and would like to see what he has to say. </p>
<p>Does the park and ride lot fill up, too?</p>
<p>The park and ride lot at Pioneer will have spaces. I don’t know about all the others.</p>