Hi! I’ve been looking at several colleges and UM has been very high up on my list! I recently received their catalog in the mail and have gotten more excited! If anyone here attends/attended UM, can you tell me what campus life is like there? How are the people; is everyone nice and accepting? What are some of the best things to do on campus? Also, what are the class sizes like? Thank You!
I love the Miami campus life. There are so many good things to say about it.
Campus: Miami’s main campus is pretty stunning. It doesn’t feel like most other colleges in the country. Most of the buildings were built in the last 40 years so don’t expect ivy covered brick. Instead, Miami gives the feel of a Caribbean resort. With palm trees all over, lizards scurrying across the paths, and bright colorful structures all over, Miami exudes a laid back positive vibe. The main green on campus (Foote Green) is often covered with students sitting outside doing homework, having an impromptu drum circle, or just enjoying the weather… in February. The new student activities center sits like a white crown above Lake Osceola, the center piece of Miami’s campus. Student’s here take pride in the lake. Additionally, an abundance of fountains and hidden courtyards provides an attraction for students to go outside and enjoy the great Miami weather.
The People: Miami is a very diverse community. It has a very high foreign student population with many students from South America and Asia. Personally, I really like that we are a global community and that we do a lot to promote that. There are many festivals and fairs celebrating cultures around the world including International Week, the Chinese New Years festival, Holi, Cuba day, an many more. Most students here are very accepting and friendly. Being a Cane is being a part of a large family and that family vibe is palpable at UM.
Some things to do on campus: There are more than 250 registered student organizations on campus so if you are looking for a specific activity on campus, there is an org you can join. From a Cappella to Scifi to kayaking to debate, Miami offers a huge range of different activities. Other campus events include the Canes After Dark parties hosted on campus. These activity-filled Friday nights are hosted by the university and include cookie decorating, magic shows, wizard chess, zip lines, rock walls, and more. They happen about once a month and are a great way to spend a Friday night with friends. On weekends, students spend time on the greens, playing sports such as Ultimate Frisbee, football, or soccer. Many students also go off campus to the beach, or to many of the great activities in Miami.
Class size: The class sizes vary depending on the level of course you are taking. Most intro classes are large with between 50-100 students for courses such as BIO151 (intro bio). However, as you start taking higher level classes, class sizes decrease quickly. I took a course as a Freshman that had 8 students in it and when you start taking 300 level courses, this is not uncommon.
I hope this helps answer your questions. Let me know if you have any more.
Hey,
Can you tell me more about on campus haul sing including mahony Pearson eaton? Is it really really bad? And who dorms there?
Housing*
: I don’t know what you have heard about the dorms but they are pretty average for college dorms as far as I know. They come with a desk and book shelf as well as a dresser. The closets are very large for a college dorm room. If you haven’t seen a picture of them yet I can send you some of my room. I lived on Stanford RT 7 and loved it there. Some things to consider about freshman housing: while living in a single has definite benefits (privacy, ability to control AC, ability to sleep whenever, no worry about music or tv), I would suggest rooming with someone freshman year. Having a roommate provides a quick automatic friend during orientation and the first couple days of school. You can use room surf or other such websites to find a roommate with whom you are compatible. Also, splitting a room means you that you don’t have to furnish the room by yourself. I brought a microwave and futon while my roommate brought a mini fridge and TV.
As far as the different res colleges are concerned, Hecht and Stanford are pretty identical and I’m told that students aren’t able to pick between the two anymore. Hecht has a newer lobby and elevators but the rooms are the same. Stanford has music practice rooms. Either way, the rooms are the same size with the same furniture. There is one communal bathroom on each floor and the floors are not co-ed. There are also substance free floors in both residential colleges. Alcohol and drugs are not allowed on any floor of the freshman dorms but students who live on a substance free floor pledge to not use any illicit substances. They are for students who want a quieter atmosphere.
Eaton, Mahoney, and Pearson have the same room setup. They are suite style where you have two rooms that share a bathroom. Upper classmen live in Mahoney and Pearson and they are pretty much identical. Eaton has both upper classmen and freshmen in it. I don’t recommend Eaton as a freshman. Even though you get your own bathroom, you are very separated from the rest of the freshmen class and don’t really get involved in events such as sports fest or freshmen programs hosted by the res colleges.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I posted these questions on another forum, but the last response on that forum was over 2 months ago and I think it might be dead by now.
I have a few questions about the U as well:
1.) School Atmosphere:
I have heard some people refer to the U as a commuter school. With 38% of students living on-campus, it seems like there may be some truth to this statement. However, I have read that 85% of freshman live on-campus which, to me, seems more indicative of the commuter vs. residential feel of the campus.
I would appreciate some insight on this topic.
2.) Transportation:
I am very interested in research, however the faculty conducting research in my field of interest appear to be located/based on the medical campus.
Is there a campus bus/shuttle that runs between the main Coral Gables campus and the medical campus?
Also, how safe is the light rail train to take from the main campus to the medical campus?
Miami is a large city, and I suspect the train could pass through some rough areas between the two campuses.
3.) Housing:
How bad is the housing lottery system? (I’m not quite sure how the housing process works after the first year and I was wondering what the consequences would be if you are not selected to have on-campus housing)
4.) @Oceanchem I am planning to major in Marine Science/Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Could you do a brief review of your experience with the Rosenstiel School? You previously mentioned having issues “cutting through red tape” to get your marine physics class (or something like that). I am choosing between Miami (partial scholarship) and UVA (in-state) – both would be roughly the same price – at the moment, and could use some first-hand information on the program I am interested in.
Thank you!
I should also mention that I applied to the U as a Meteorology major (I have always loved meteorology, but I now believe that I would prefer to have a career in medical research and keep meteorology as more of a hobby [I have worked in a biophysics lab before, so this is not just a decision made on a whim]). I now would like to major in Marine Science/Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, but there is a possibility that I may want to switch to Marine Science/Microbiology and Immunology. These two majors are quite similar in their foundations and I don’t believe I should have any problems switching majors if I so choose, but I also know that Miami has a “front-loading” curriculum where you hit the ground running right away with your major requirements.
Could you possibly comment on the ease of switching majors within the Rosenstiel School?
@yosaliedays 1. I don’t think Miami is a “commuter school”. Especially not freshman year. Most of the freshman class lives on campus in one of the two freshman residential colleges. There is definitely an atmosphere of connectedness in the res colleges and a lot of what you do as a freshman will be with your res college. I know that my freshman year, I spent many week nights on my floor in the common study room, hanging out until 4 in the morning working and talking and such. I had 1 or 2 commuter friends, but for the most part, my friends lived on campus. The fact that Miami is a “city school” but has such a campus feel is pretty special. We don’t feel like we are 20 minutes from downtown Miami. As you get older, more people move off campus but that is very normal for schools. Still, the Upper classmen dorms are a common place for Sophomores to live and the UV is a good choice for people who want an apartment but still want the convenience of living in a UM housing development.
- There is no shuttle that goes to the med campus. The Metrorail is the best way to commute there. There is a Metro stop across the street from Main Campus and the Med campus is 8 stops north. The metro stop at the med campus is also just across the street. As far as safety goes, it is a safe commute. The metro runs north along US1 and into Brickell. Then it runs north through downtown Miami to where the med campus is located. There isn't really an rough areas between main campus and the med campus and the metro is pretty safe regardless, especially during the day. If you were coming home on one of the last trains at night, there might me a little more reason to be cautious but many premed students take the metro every day and there are rarely any problems. Also, UM pays for student passes on the metro so students can get out to the medical campus.
- The lottery system is not that bad if you are on top of things. You have to opt in for housing in late January and put down if you want to live in Mahoney/Pearson/Eaton or the UV. Then, by the middle of February, you are told if you have been selected for housing. If you are, then you can sign up in the middle of march. If you are not selected, then you are put on a wait list. Most students who are put on the wait list get into housing. I had a friend who didn't get onto the wait list until after most people had signed up for housing and he still got into the housing he wanted. So while the system is a little convoluted, it works and almost all if not all the students get the housing they want.
- I love RSMAS! It is an amazing school. Here is why. The faculty are world class. I am currently working with a professor ( Dr. Frank Millero) who is considered by many to be a father of Marine Chemistry. He is cited in many of the research papers being published on marine chemistry and is mentioned numerous times in our textbook for his work. And Dr. Millero is not the only one. Most of the professors are doing ground breaking in research that ranges from toad fish nervous systems to coral bleaching, to el nino events. At RSMAS, the professors are leaders in their field and getting to work with them is experience that is hard to find anywhere else. RSMAS is also great because UM in general is a primarily undergraduate institution. This means that professors are always looking for Undergrads to help them with research. And I don't mean students to clean glassware. By junior year, may students are working on independent research projects and are publishing papers. To a graduate school, this is a great resume booster. That is pretty rare at other universities as far as I am aware.
Additionally, the facilities at RSMAS are top notch. We just finished building a new research lab that contains running seawater, state of the art labs, as well as the worlds highest powered wave tank, capable of reproducing Cat. 5 hurricanes. If that doesn’t catch your meteorology interests, I don’t know what will.
RSMAS is also great because the college is very willing to work with students on course needs. Professors are very willing to let students off the wait list for classes if they need to take a class. They will work with students to help them succeed. The red tape I mentioned earlier was with the Physics department in the college of arts and sciences. RSMAS is much more flexible if you show that you are motivated and can come up with good alternatives or work-arounds. RSMAS professors treat students like adults and colleagues. They realize that sometimes the systems don’t work the way they should and that not every student has the same needs. If you are willing to put in the work to figure out solutions to your problems, they are willing to work with you to make those solutions work.
Also, there is a shuttle out to the Marine Campus.
Switching majors in RSMAS is very easy. You just have to fill out a couple forms. You should do this early to make sure you take the classes you need to in the order that you need to but you should have no problems doing so.
@Oceanchem That’s awesome! I read about the hurricane simulator in an article online, but I didn’t know if it was a future project or one that was near completion. Based on your major and love for the U, you may also find this article about the similarities between oceanic whirlpools and black holes interesting:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2430041/Scientists-black-holes-EARTH-Oceanic-whirlpools-thought-work-way-space-phenomena.html
Anyways, thank you for your in-depth answers. I will be visiting the U soon, so it will be nice to come with a lot of my questions already answered.
@yosaliedays No problem and thanks for the artical rec. I’ll take a look after it after my lab report is done :-w Let me know if you have any other questions or need any advice while you are visiting. Good luck with the rest of senior year.