<p>I know that umich has like 40,000 students. How exactly do people meet each other? Are there like separate campuses or something that splits the students in half? Is it really that huge? Is it kinda like NYU where there isn't really a school campus but just buildings that are spread around the city?? Ad lastly, is there like a freshman experience thing where there are activities to allow freshmen to meet others?</p>
<p>You meet people in dorms, living learning communities, clubs, classes, sports, at the gym, around town, etc and so forth. It is an open campus, so the buildings are interspersed around the city, however most everything is pretty close and I really think Ann Arbor is absorbed by the campus morseo than the campus being absorbed into Ann Arbor, like I imagine is the case at NYU. I came in as a junior so I don’t know what kind of freshman experience type things they might run, but most of the freshmen I know seem to have made a lot of friends at orientation.</p>
<p>“It is an open campus, so the buildings are interspersed around the city…”</p>
<p>Emaheevul, although the campus is open and is broken up into three large sections (Central Campus, Athletic and North Campus), it has pretty clear boundaries, with few (if any) city buildings on campus and virtually no university buildings interspersed around the city. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.umich.edu/~info/pdf/central_hq.pdf[/url]”>http://www.umich.edu/~info/pdf/central_hq.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.umich.edu/~info/pdf/north_hq.pdf[/url]”>http://www.umich.edu/~info/pdf/north_hq.pdf</a></p>
<p>“…however most everything is pretty close and I really think Ann Arbor is absorbed by the campus morseo than the campus being absorbed into Ann Arbor, like I imagine is the case at NYU.”</p>
<p>I agree with the first part of the sentence. Ann Arbor is small enough not to overwhelm the University. However, NYC is huge and truly dwarfs NYU’s campus. Also, most University buildings at Michigan have a distinct style clearly different from the city, whereas NYU buildings are non-descript and often look identical to NYC buildings.</p>
<p>Well, if you want to take me precisely literally, fine. My point was more that it is not a closed campus. You will walk past businesses and restaurants on your way to class. Though everything is condensed together, as I said everything is close together, it’s not as though there are not non-university elements mixed in. And my point in the second part was just that it’s not as though the campus and the campus community are lost in the bustle of Ann Arbor like they would be in New York, I don’t think we really disagree on anything there. Perhaps I was not clear in my wording.</p>
<p>I guess I was thrown off by the NYU/NYC comparison. Michigan has a distinct campus with clear boundaries and campus life is very active.</p>
<p>To the OP, making friends at Michigan is easy, so long as an effort is made. Michigan students tend to be friendly and down to earth, and given the size of the school, one can carve a niche in virtually any way conceivable.</p>
<p>That U-M and Ann Arbor commingle so easily is one of the best things about the campus. I personally dislike college campuses that are isolated or “chained off” from their communities. There is a definite campus at Michigan, actually at least three of them, but unless you are on north campus you never feel you are isolated away from a vibrant town.</p>