I’m a prospective sophomore transfer (class of 2024/stem major) and noticed that there’s not a lot of info about Mills online. Anyone who goes there now, how do you like the school as of 2021? How’s the student body? Diversity? (super important for me), Classes? Opportunities (study abroad, internships, etc.) I appreciate any info but if your in class of 2024 or a transfer your experiences would be appreciated!
I’m a current student (won’t say my grade for privacy reasons) and I’m actually applying to transfer out this year. Admin, Financial Aid, and Disability Services are all not well-managed and it makes attending college so much more stressful than it should be. Financial Aid is nearly impossible to get in touch with and it is extremely common to be overcharged each semester and have to fight them to be given the amount of aid you were promised. It’s also common to set up a payment plan or pay tuition based on a certain aid agreement, then 3 weeks into the semester, have your aid change and be told that you have a very short period of time to pay multiple thousand dollars or get dropped from your classes. Disability Services is super underfunded so if you have any access needs beyond just test accommodations, it will be very difficult and take significant self advocating to get your needs met. (also expect to have to repeatedly follow up to get in touch.)
Student body is overall good-- people are generally friendly, but tend to stick to their own groups. Even with a tiny campus, there’s not as much of a sense of campus-wide pride and community, likely because a lot of people go to Mills because it was a safety school and they were rejected from other places. While some pockets of students are very involved, at least class of 2024 in particular seems to be more the type that likes talking about social justice with like-minded people, but won’t actually take much action. Mills is definitely very diverse racially and also has a very high LGBT+ population, and the students are extremely liberal. However, while admin likes to push statistics about how diverse they are, they really aren’t doing that much to actively support students of color. I will also say that the STEM department is not nearly as intersectional as you would assume it would be as a school like Mills. Black STEM students have shared how when they bring up a more social justice lens for a topic, they’re brushed off and told that that’s “social science.” I recommend reading through the instagram @justiceforbipocmillsies for more information about racist experiences students have had on campus.
Can’t really speak to opportunities, but they do have a relatively robust Career Center.
My personal experience with classes hasn’t been great, but other people have really enjoyed them so it depends on the professor. I think I’ve just had bad luck with professors, because most of mine have not been great, but there are others, particularly more upper division professors who are pretty amazing according to people I know. Generally trust any negative review you read on ratemyprofessor LOL.
I am of course biased as someone who is intending to transfer, but I will say I am not alone in doing so. If you look at Mills’ CDS, they have quite a low retention rate for first years. However, there are a significant amount of people who truly love Mills and love being there even with its faults, or they may not be as exposed to its faults as other students can be. If you want to be in an environment with a lot of very liberal people, and be at a school with a very very strong LGBT+ presence and culture, as well as significant students who are activism-oriented, and you won’t be too involved with Disability Services and Financial Aid, Mills may be a great place for you.
They also have quite a bit more info on the website inside.mills.edu; not sure why they’ve separated them. You can read about classes offered on catalog.mills.edu.
Hope this helps!