<p>I'm sorry for this thread, I really am. I mean what a silly question to ask about an academic institution. And this isn't the first time I've asked such a question either, so I feel I've developed quite a negative reputation as a result of this. So please forgive me.</p>
<p>Now I'm a prospective undergraduate Mathematics student in the UK, but in the future I think I'll look to do a PhD or even an Msc in the USA. The University of Michigan has been ranked as the 4th best graduate school for Number Theory and has great academics such as Montgomery. So the academic side of Michigan is sorted, it's one of the top universities in the world for what I want to do.</p>
<p>Now looking at the more social side of things, how is the city of Ann-Arbor? I have to say that by looking at the pictures it doesn't seem to be the most aesthetically pleasing of cities. Is it dangerous like Detroit, and does it have a gang culture which I should fear? I come from quite a miserable part of the UK and it would be nice if I moved to a more pleasing place.</p>
<p>As for the university itself, what sort of social culture does it have? Is it an attractive campus?</p>
<p>And like most of the male population of the world, I am interested in the women. Do the girls of Michigan have a reputation as being attractive or unattractive?</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for this thread, I really am. I mean what a silly question to ask about an academic institution. And this isn’t the first time I’ve asked such a question either, so I feel I’ve developed quite a negative reputation as a result of this. So please forgive me.”</p>
<p>You keep asking the same question and yet you are sorry for the thread? Your sincerity is not genuine.</p>
<p>there are women of all kinds at michigan. there are also guys of all kinds at michigan. if you are an attractive guy, you will have no trouble with hot girls here.</p>
<p>unfortunately, math phds very rarely fall into the “attractive guy” category.</p>
<p>Yes, for a PhD student, I certainly will be one of those who will be ‘proactive’ on campus. Judging by your posts it sounds as if Michigan does have attractive girls, but you think I may struggle as a Mathematics student.</p>
<p>I assure you, I won’t find nearly as much difficulty as you lot are making out. The important thing is that there will be attractive girls to go for.</p>
<p>Ramocitos, look at my thread on current U-M enrollment. The graduate student population is ~55% male and ~45% female, so you’ll really have to be proactive to find a date. ;)</p>
<p>that’s just because we have a huge engineering school, which has a huge male bias. no offense to any engineers, but the large majority of north campus dwellers aren’t exactly competition on the dating front.</p>
<p>The girls at the University of Michigan have a reputation of being smart, which is to say, if they suspect you are shallow or sexist in your evaluation of their holistic attractiveness, you’re doubly dead as a math major.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should go to a lesser ranked institution if you are in search of women who aspire to “hotness” alone : )</p>
<p>But seriously, if you’re looking for women who can appreciate your aptitude and give you a run for your money, who may possibly even overlook your geekiness or appreciate same, U of Mich will suit you fine.</p>
<p>With respect to the community, it is small but vibrant, fun, and nothing like Detroit in terms of makeup or crime statistics. Sounds like you should make a visit and decide these things for yourself!</p>
<p>Yes, I do hate the proportions of engineering schools, but fortunately Michigan is also strong in other departments such as psychology which attract plenty of girls. 55:45 isn’t too bad if I’m honest. I know of engineering schools which have proportions over 60:40, such as Imperial College in England.</p>
<p>I’m sure the male population isn’t the most attractive since it is a strong university in engineering and mathematics, so that should work in my favor.</p>
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<p>Since I live across the Atlantic Ocean, it would cost me a lot of money.</p>
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<p>That’s great if they’re intelligent. I’m not shallow at all, I’ve known plenty of ‘attractive’ girls who have completely lost their appeal due to their ‘stupidity’ and ‘simpleton-like’ personality.</p>
<p>Just look at it this way. The physical attractiveness of a girls is what essentially ‘hooks’ me in, that is the base. Then their personality is what would keep my attention. So I think the personality is the most important part if I wanted a serious relationship, but the looks are needed to hook me in. </p>
<p>I do apologize for this stone age explanation.</p>
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<p>I do not aspire to “hotness” alone as I explained. Just because an institution is ranked lower, doesn’t mean that the girls are any more attractive.</p>
I’d say PhD students in general struggle with dating.</p>
<p>I don’t think the OP realizes quite how much work and time graduate school entails. When I was last in the UK, I spent less time in class for the week than I currently spend on work for ONE of my courses. There’s a reason most groups have happy hours once a month rather than once a week. :(</p>
<p>(In terms of competition, I should note that there is a sizable population of gay males at Michigan. While L/B women exist as well, they do not seem to be present in as great a quantity – so the odds may be slightly better than you think.)</p>
<p>Well to be honest, I could be here as early as for an Msc, which isn’t that time consuming. And even though the PhD would take up a lot of time, I would still be left with enough spare time to have nights out as a bare minimum.</p>
<p>One thing about Mathematics is that it’s far less time consuming than other subjects. A famous quote by G.H. Hardy says “The mind can only take 4 hours worth of creative work”. By ‘creative work’, he means studying mathematics.</p>
<p>ramocito - you come off as an odd fellow who asks strange questions with a significant touch of arrogance. Good luck with women anywhere. Don’t take this personally - blunt questions are ok - but yours carry with them a tone of “is this place good enough for me?”</p>
<p>In response to your question about Ann Arbor, I just am back from visiting for four days in Ann Arbor. I have been to far more college towns than most, and Ann Arbor is the single best college town in the country, hands down. Subjective? Sure. But put loads of super bright people in a safe yet often funky community in a place with massive academic resources and a lot of good comes from it. The last thing you need to worry about is whether Ann Arbor is safe or is not a good university town.</p>
<p>You know me all too well. But shouldn’t everyone be asking that question? Parents always want the very best for their children, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I believe that as a person, I should also want the very best for myself. </p>
<p>It’s very important to know if somewhere is good enough, especially when making such a life changing decision. If I get this decision wrong then I could end up having a miserable few years.</p>
<p>“Arrogance” is such an ugly word. I don’t think that it’s a word which should be used to describe me. I want to make something of myself academically, so I want to go to the strongest institution I can. But I also want to have the best experience, so I want to go to somewhere with a good social scene. I would also like to forge relationships, so going somewhere with an appealing female population would help.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for being so blunt about everything. But if a sword is too sharp then you’ll cut straight through without experiencing anything.</p>
<p>Then the internet would be no fun at all : (</p>
<p>Since you’re comfortable being blunt, I’ll ask a blunt question myself. Why would you consider spending Out Of State tuition to study in Michigan for a few years, with the cost of trips home and all that, and not invest a flight and a quick stay to make sure the environment is ‘good enough’ ( or in my terms, a “fit”)?</p>
<p>Google wholesale flights (dot) com; they fly UK for about $550 round trip US. Rooms reserved for U of M visits can be dirt cheap ($89 US/night with breakfast buffet included at the Sheraton Four Points, with a shuttle to campus). You know, about the price of a tank of gas in the U. K. (note KIDDING : )</p>
<p>Personally, I think you’ll like what you see. It’s just that it always blows my mind how students wll go into great gobs o’ debt without saving the money to visit first. And I do realize money is tight as a U.G. But it’s the equivalent of buying a house or a high end sports car BLIND. Know what I mean?</p>