man, wasn't expecting to hate school

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>so i haven't posted anything for a long time, but i just need to get some things off my chest that have been simmering for a while.</p>

<p>basically, i'm really disliking school right now. this is the first time i've ever been to michigan in my life (i go to U of M). in fact, this is the first time i've been to this region of the united states. as the independent first-child, i wanted to "get away from it all." my family lives in germany and anyone i've evern known lives either in california or florida. basically, i'm homesick like all hell. most of the kids here are rich, eastcoasters, and jewish...i'm japanese/filipino from socal. i have good friends here and a pretty active social life, but i can't really associate with anyone. finally, i missed the rush period for the frat i was really interested in because i was in california at the time, and all my friends got bids except for me. </p>

<p>to top it all off, i have a substantial ROTC scholarship...but i hate ROTC. i've already told my parents, but they're unwilling to shoulder the entire michigan out-of-state tuition. (any suggestions as to what i should do about this specifically?) i guess that's it. don't know what i was expecting out of this post, but i finally felt the need to vent somewhere.</p>

2

<p>dude all i do is vent, did you ever think about changing schools? Sounds kinda obvious but someone will say it</p>

<p><a href="http://www.apblue.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.apblue.com&lt;/a>
Because Roommates Suck</p>

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<p>haha j_cach, you're just spoiled! You miss your security blanket (friends and family), but my recommendation is to stay at UMich and experience life to the fullest!</p>

<p>Back in the stone ages, I left sunny NorCal (6 miles from Berkeley) for college and adventure in Detroit, because I wanted to get out of California (lived here all of my life) and "see the world." I knew the moment I got off the plane in Michigan that I was in trouble, because people in Detroit looked and acted so miserable. Though the college itself really wasn't that bad, it just wasn't California!</p>

<p>We really don't know how good life at home is (especially in Cali) until we leave for a while. Just give UMich and Ann Arbor some time, as they really are supposed to be one of the better BIG SCHOOL environments in the country. Besides, going home won't help you, because many of your friends may be away or just too busy at school.
[quote]
...most of the kids here are rich, eastcoasters, and jewish...

[/quote]
This just isn't true. UMich reported has a pretty diverse student body, though people could be somewhat cliquish.</p>

<p>According to data on the UMich website, the 2004-05 academic year included 700 (out of 6,037) Asian/Pacific Islander freshmen and 3,014 (out of 24,677) total Asian/Pacific Islander undergraduates. Yes, this is different than the 30%-40% Asian/Pacific Islander population at a UC or CSU campus, but the point is that you are not alone.</p>

<p>Regarding rich kids, UMich is probably no more different than UCLA and USC. You're just used to the Cali population.</p>

<p>Though I don't recommend that you limit yourself to the Asian/Pacific Islander student population on campus, have you investigated the following UMich organizations?</p>

<p>Asian American Association
<a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eumaaa/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~umaaa/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Filipino American Student Association
<a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Efasa/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~fasa/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>UMich Clubs, Sports & Greek Life
<a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eumaaa/http://www.umich.edu/clubs.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~umaaa/http://www.umich.edu/clubs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The bottom line is give UMich a chance !!!</p>

<p>P.S. It took me a lot of time to do all of this research. You owe me !!!</p>

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<p>Hey, did you move from warm, sunny California to cold, snowy Michigan on purpose? :eek:</p>

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<p>gsp<em>silicon</em>valley, thanks for your help! i'm going to look into those clubs you listed - they sound interesting. and for anyone looking at umich, don't let my post taint your vision of the school. michigan is a great school, and no, not EVERYONE is rich, jewish, and from the eastcoast (though there are a lot of them!). hopefully, my feelings are temporary and a result of midterms and the miserable weather.</p>

<p>and btw lkf725, yeah i did move on purpose! i thought i liked the cold before i came here.</p>

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<p>haha, I remember returning from Cali to Detroit for 2nd semester and experiencing wind chill (8 degrees below zero). Detroit felt like absolute hell! I used to think that 40 degrees in California was cold.</p>

<p>But people in the dorms and on campus were friendly, which made college life tolerable...even fun at times.</p>

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<p>The weird thing is, this winter hasn't been bad at all. It's been the warmest on record for a long, long time.</p>

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<p>j_cach,</p>

<p>35 years ago I went all the way from the eastern suburbs of Detroit to Ann Arbor and every year around this time I would get down in the dumps. The holidays were over, the term was just starting, the weather was lousy and spring break didn't roll around until the 1st week in March. The fall in Ann Arbor is great, as is the spring, but this time of year is just depressing.</p>

<p>Some suggestions -
1. Get a small group together and go out to a non-major sporting event, such as volleyball or gymnastics, men or women. If you want to feel like you are in warm weather go to the Canham Natatorium for a swim meet. Whatever - get out and do something.
2. Go to Pizza Bob's on State Street and have a pizza sub and a hot fudge shake. That would always put me in a good mood.
3. I'm not sure the dorms still use metal trays, but we would go "traying" down the hills in the Arboretum for an evening of cheap fun.</p>

<p>Keep your head up, by the time you graduate you will regret having to leave Ann Arbor.</p>

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<p>Jjames I read your blog and it's hysterical. You're my hero. You're also a word that starts with a p and ends with an ussy for not, oh, I don't know, GETTING A NEW ROOMMATE/MOVING OUT. At least it's given you plenty of writing material. Good stuff, I've added your blog to my favorites list.</p>

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<p>liking cold is one thing...but Michigan??? like it was said before..this is a mild winter.</p>