<p>Hey.</p>
<p>So one of the things that has been running through my mind is that since Michigan is a state school, it is probably hard to make friends as an OOS student because most of the people are already coming in with friends from high schools in Michigan. Since, too my knowledge, no one other than me from my highschool is considering Michigan, I am kind of going in alone and I am wondering if it is actually going to be hard to make friends or if it is fairly easy like I would think at a private school.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.
Acoustic</p>
<p>34% of Michigan undergrads are from OOS. We’re in WI and I know of 2 kids at D’s HS who are certain to attend there, and probably there are more. You will meet loads people and it will be a wonderful experience. D would have loved to go there had it been affordable for us.</p>
<p>We live down the road from UM and my son probably won’t know anyone when he starts in the fall.</p>
<p>Most in state high schools send a handful of students to UM each year. The odds that those students will be in the same major and taking the same classes seem slim to me.</p>
<p>Now that I think about it, I grew up in Cincinnati and went to the University of Cincinnati and I didn’t know anyone in my classes. </p>
<p>Believe me, everyone is the new guy on campus and nervous about all of the same things. I bet you will have no problem making lots of friends. Best wishes to you!</p>
<p>acoustic84,</p>
<p>Many are in the same boat - my D coming from MA and knows no one there.</p>
<p>You will make friends, whether from Michigan, or anywhere. </p>
<p>My OOS kid made friends before she was a student. She went on a recruit trip for the team before she even applied, and those girls couldn’t have been nicer. Random kids in dorms, dining halls, classes, waiting at bus stop - they are all there in the same boat and wondering the same thing. It is an adjustment to be a new student, but making new friends is easy, if you just start talking to people you meet. </p>
<p>The other night when my girl was sitting in the Crisler, watching the UM boys on the big screen - she was surrounded by thousands of new friends! Even if she didn’t know all their names. </p>
<p>They are Wolverines, after all. We are Michigan. :)</p>
<p>(By the way, I went to a university where the school spirit is huge and I have to admit, UM has more of it. They go insane. Everyone wears blue and maize, all the time.)</p>
<p>Though a certain HS may send many students to a school, those students will expand their horizons by meeting students from other towns and with similar majors. So I don’t think there should be any problem meeting new people. The first week of college is similar to when you were all little kids- it was so easy to make new friends then, and it will be just the same when you start your new journey.</p>
<p>acoustic, 40% of this year’s Freshman class will be OOS. Also, many Freshmen at Michigan purposely avoid high school acquaintances because they wish to make new friends. You should have no trouble making friends.</p>