<p>I asked this in the College Search forum, but since the parents here some so knowledgable about schools (and give good trip reports!), I figured I'd ask here. I'm interested in all info, including surrounding area.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I guess U of Montana is not "elite" enough to even be worth discussing.</p>
<p>My friend from California goes there as a journalism major and loves it. Of course, he is a cowboy.</p>
<p>What do you know about U of Montana?</p>
<p>I can probably speak for the majority on this forum by saying, "It is in Montana." (That is about ALL I know!)</p>
<p>I attended UM. Almost anyone can get in. It is possible to coast through on easy classes. It is hard to get into classes, so many--maybe most--people need five years to get through. It is a big party school. Even the freshman dorms can get pretty rowdy. </p>
<p>That said--it is also possible to get a good education there. Possible to be a star in your department and get recognition. The journalism school has a good reputation. I think that there are other departments that have passionate teachers and offer a high quality education.</p>
<p>Missoula is located in beautiful mountains. It's a busy college town with enough liberals so that it is pretty safe to be someone of color or gay.</p>
<p>a daughter of a friend of mine will be entering this fall- she is very excited she is planning on majoring in journalism and Montana has one of the better journalism schools .
I really don't know much about it.</p>
<p>If you're interested in UM, also check out MSU-Bozeman. Every year, our school sends tons of kids there (Wyoming), and everyone seems to love it.</p>
<p>I hesitate to voice an opinion because I lived in Missoula for two years, and that was 25 YEARS AGO. I know that it has grown so much that I wouldn't recognize much of it.</p>
<p>But, my guess is that the general climate is the same, and I LOVED THE ATMOSPHERE. People are very athletic, sporty, and if you into mountain climbing, and biking, or parasailing off the hill right above the college you will like the setting. Back then there were many California transplants and the area seemed to have a nice "back to nature" influence.</p>
<p>I can not speak about the college reputation, but I did take a computer night class. The campus is adjacent to a nice neighborhood, and golf course.</p>
<p>We lived up in Rattlesnake Canyon and even then there is a VERY SERIOUS smog condition in the winter months and wood burning stoves were banned. I hope they have resolved that problem because the sun would be shining in the canyon and as you drove into town it was completely covered in brown, soupy haze. It was awful.</p>
<p>The people in Missoula were extremely friendly, since many were transplants at the time, and if the college meets your standards, and you are a mountain enthusiast .........you might love it there.</p>
<p>Hope this helped, as you can see from my name I am from NJ, but the southern part, and there is a BIG difference :)</p>
<p>I spent some time in Missoula in the summer and got to meet some faculty members who were absolutely delightful. THe town in pretty but I don't know about surviving the winter there.
(I am a South Jersey girl myself--my blood is too thin for the northern frontier!)</p>
<p>Wolfpiper -dcmom3 brings up a good point about the weather. We were / are avid skiers so the winter months did not stop us from skiing in the MT resorts or going to Jackson Hole. So if you are a skiier you might not mind the cold. You might want to check the average snow fall amounts for Missoula in the last couple years, because I don't recall awful snow storms back in 79 and 80 :) and f there were, it meant good skiing condiditons !</p>
<p>A friend of my D's from high school attends UM and likes it. We are out of state for Montana. She was on their soccer team but can't play any longer due to an injury. I think she is majoring in communications or business and she has a paying internship on campus in the sports area for next year. Her mom seemed happy with her D's situation when I spoke with her recently.</p>
<p>I have been through Missoula twice, and it seems like an OK college town. Very western though.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! Missoula sounds like it might be a very good town for me, as I'm liberal, from the Western, and love the outdoors. I'm okay with cold since I grew up in Utah ans spent a lot of my childhood skiing.</p>
<p>I am, however, conscerned about the drinking rep, as I am not a dinker myself by any means. Do you think getting classes what be less of problem in the Honors program and by skipping intro courses with APs?</p>
<p>Wow, it's nice to see somewhere new discussed on this site! One would think by reading CC that there are fewer than 100 colleges and universities in America!</p>
<p>Here's my banal input on UM - without a doubt, the coolest school colors in all of academia - gold, silver, and bronze (the home uniforms for the football team use the bronze color, which comes out as a sort of rusty shade of burgundy).</p>
<p>Wolfpiper--I think that it would help you a great deal by skipping intro courses with APs. I also think that the Honors College is good. It may be competitive to get into. But that would be an opportunity to meet more serious students. There wasn't such a thing when I went to school, but I wonder if there might be an honors dorm? </p>
<p>As someone else said, MSU at Bozeman is equivalent. Depending on your interests, Bozeman is better for engineering, film, architecture and nursing. It used to be just a cow college attracting only ag majors. Now Bozeman has changed, too, as the rich and famous are moving there to become pretend ranchers.</p>
<p>Wolfpiper, after taking my daughter to visit:</p>
<p>Boston College
William & Mary
Washington & Lee
Bucknell
Franklin & Marshall
Dickinson (twice-second visit 2 weeks ago for an overnight)
Gettysburg (twice-second visit 2 weeks ago for an overnight)</p>
<p>She had yet to be "grabbed" by any of these schools. After spending the night and attending classes the next day at each of the last two she thought she "could probably be happy here." </p>
<p>then last week we stepped foot on the beautiful campus of
U of Montana - Missoula, and, lo and behold, halfway through the tour she leaned toward me and said "this is where I'm going to college!"</p>
<p>She said it felt like a cross between Vermont (where we live) and New Zealand (where she spent 3 glorious weeks with her school's wilderness club).</p>
<p>The ONLY hesitation she had was that it was so easy to get in and she knew she could get in to a more difficult school. I asked her if she thought she'd be happy at Montana and if she thought that was the most important thing in this college search. She agreed and her decision has been made.</p>
<p>After two years of my guiding her toward small LACs and other schools that I figured were a good match for her, I've come to realize that statistics, ratings, and bragging rights are simply ridiculous. My daughter could never tell me where she wanted to go based on books. The campuses we visited just never appealled to her instincts or her heart and she didn't even know why. </p>
<p>Trust your intuition. Follow your heart and it will lead you where you need to go!</p>
<p>Glad to read a bit about U of Montana. My son announced the other day that he might go to school in Montana. He isn't sure which one but that a friend is considering it. His criteria at this point for a school is anyone that will take him. He is a jr so I am hoping his criteria gets a little more specific.</p>
<p>We have a friend who is going there and she is very happy
On the equestrian team- planning to major in journalism-
Beautiful area- good dorms- I havent visited but she likes it very much which make her parents happy</p>
<p>That's funny, baseballmom; my reaction was almost identical to your D's. I really felt at home at the school and like it offers the programs I want (and a gorgeous campus, too), but it feels odd telling people I'm applying to UM. You get kind of a mixture between a "whaa?!", an "oh," and an "Isn't that really cold?" At least, I know if nothing else works out (admissions/moneywis), I have a school I believe I'll be happy at. Best of luck to your D!</p>
<p>PS. I posted a trip report here for anyone interested: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=83623%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=83623</a></p>
<p>wolfpiper- get that app in my friends D has already heard back. Then you can have one in the bag.
Thanks for the link to your trip report. I missed it the first time around.</p>
<p>also check out Univ of Alaska at Fairbanks....</p>