newms Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 I'm considering attending UMich in the fall. Anybody else considering UMich or already decided to attend Michigan?
wanderlust07 Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 Seriously contemplating as I wait for the remaining chips to fall. But you knew that I will be attending my department's recruitment week in late March.
eklavya Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) Take this from my roommate, who's from Michigan: People at UofMichigan are drunk for 6 days out of 7 in a week. The one day they aren't drunk, they are in hangover. I don't know if you like/watch American football, but Michigan has an awesome football tradition. You will most definitely enjoy the environment coming from another country. It will certainly be cold, but if what my roommate says is true, cold should be the least of your problem Congrats on the acceptance!! Edited February 22, 2011 by bhikhaari
newms Posted February 22, 2011 Author Posted February 22, 2011 Take this from my roommate, who's from Michigan: People at UofMichigan are drunk for 6 days out of 7 in a week. The one day they aren't drunk, they are in hangover. I don't know if you like/watch American football, but Michigan has an awesome football tradition. You will most definitely enjoy the environment coming from another country. It will certainly be cold, but if what my roommate says is true, cold should be the least of your problem Congrats on the acceptance!! I'm guessing your roommate is talking about undergrads. I don't get the impression that it's a 'party school' at the grad level - at least I hope not I do like football and I'm familiar with Michigan's tradition, even though they've slipped recently, so I'm looking forward to seeing the Big House when I visit next month. I'm not too concerned about the cold, I think I'd manage ok.
newms Posted February 22, 2011 Author Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) Seriously contemplating as I wait for the remaining chips to fall. Yeah, me too. I'm waiting to hear how I did at other schools before I make a decision. Edited February 22, 2011 by newms
eklavya Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 I'm guessing your roommate is talking about undergrads. I don't get the impression that it's a 'party school' at the grad level no school is party school at grad levels.. kinda not-so-fun
wanderlust07 Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) Really, I just prefer not to commit sight unseen, no matter how thrilled I am by the offer. I can't imagine that I would receive a better offer in my field or subfield than U-M, but I do prefer to get a feel for the department and campus in person before agreeing to spend the next 6 years of my life in Ann Arbor (or anywhere else). re. football and undergrads....eh. Calling U-M home to raucous football fans is sort of synonymous with calling it a Big 10 school. I am now adding "far from the stadium" to my list of apartment criteria to avoid the home game effect on my work, but other than that, it's impact at the grad level is really pretty minimal. I don't know if it's true of Ann Arbor, but a strong athletic program can give a town a very cohesive, close-knit feel. (or a creepy Stepford one...) Edited February 22, 2011 by wanderlust07
Iknownothing Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 I also am considering accepting an offer at UM. I can't imagine getting a better offer from another school; however, I am going to check it out in March as well. Aside from the typical football/drunk undergrads/cold arguments, I hear nothing but lovely things about the school and the Ann Arbor area. Really, I just prefer not to commit sight unseen, no matter how thrilled I am by the offer. I can't imagine that I would receive a better offer in my field or subfield than U-M, but I do prefer to get a feel for the department and campus in person before agreeing to spend the next 6 years of my life in Ann Arbor (or anywhere else). re. football and undergrads....eh. Calling U-M home to raucous football fans is sort of synonymous with calling it a Big 10 school. I am now adding "far from the stadium" to my list of apartment criteria to avoid the home game effect on my work, but other than that, it's impact at the grad level is really pretty minimal. I don't know if it's true of Ann Arbor, but a strong athletic program can give a town a very cohesive, close-knit feel. (or a creepy Stepford one...)
kdilks Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 re. football and undergrads....eh. Calling U-M home to raucous football fans is sort of synonymous with calling it a Big 10 school. I am now adding "far from the stadium" to my list of apartment criteria to avoid the home game effect on my work, but other than that, it's impact at the grad level is really pretty minimal. I don't know if it's true of Ann Arbor, but a strong athletic program can give a town a very cohesive, close-knit feel. (or a creepy Stepford one...) I'm guessing you've never been to a game at Northwestern or Minnesota. Also, go the hockey games. Don't ask questions, just do it .
wanderlust07 Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 I'm guessing you've never been to a game at Northwestern or Minnesota. Also, go the hockey games. Don't ask questions, just do it . Ha. Indeed, all of my sports spectatorship has been confined to the Pac10 and Mizzou, which are perhaps their own brand of crazy. I'm not generally in places where the hockey ends in anything other than slaughter...
Designated Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 One of my acceptances is Michigan and it's my top choice. I was invited by my program to attend Graduate Recruitment Weekend March 17-March 19. I wasn't sure if it was just for my department (Anthropology) or if all grad programs are doing this. Anyone else heard of this and is planning on going?
newms Posted February 23, 2011 Author Posted February 23, 2011 One of my acceptances is Michigan and it's my top choice. I was invited by my program to attend Graduate Recruitment Weekend March 17-March 19. I wasn't sure if it was just for my department (Anthropology) or if all grad programs are doing this. Anyone else heard of this and is planning on going? No it's not just your department. My department has a similar visitation/recruitment weekend.
Designated Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 No it's not just your department. My department has a similar visitation/recruitment weekend. Great! Anyone else going? Besides the planned events, I want to explore Ann Arobor. If anyone has suggestions on must-see or must-do things, I'd appreciate it. I'm actually a Michigan football fan so must stop by The Big House... even if it's just outside.
Iknownothing Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 I'm going toward the end of March, so I'm curious to hear everyone's impressions. I've never been to Ann Arbor, but according to Wikipedia ( lol ) it is known as The People's Republic of Ann Arbor. Great! Anyone else going? Besides the planned events, I want to explore Ann Arobor. If anyone has suggestions on must-see or must-do things, I'd appreciate it. I'm actually a Michigan football fan so must stop by The Big House... even if it's just outside.
wanderlust07 Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 I will also be there toward the end of March, for the better part of a week.
electrifice Posted February 24, 2011 Posted February 24, 2011 What do you all plan on bringing with you (in terms of clothing) to these visitations in March? I've never lived in cold/snowy places so I have no clue how to dress for this.
Iknownothing Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 I would say business casual with a nice jacket (overcoat) scarves, gloves. Although I'm going at the end of March and I am hoping that Spring will have arrived by then
newms Posted February 25, 2011 Author Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Remember to wear nice, comfortable shoes - I'm sure there's going to be a lot of walking involved. The visit confirmation email I got from my department stated DRESS CODE Unless you are otherwise notified by your department, casual dress is acceptable for ALL Department Visit events. I'm not going to be too casual though. Edited February 25, 2011 by newms
Nurse Wretched Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 I'm going toward the end of March, so I'm curious to hear everyone's impressions. I've never been to Ann Arbor, but according to Wikipedia ( lol ) it is known as The People's Republic of Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor fancies itself much more liberal than it is. I moved here from Large West Coast City, and it's not especially liberal compared to that, but is compared to Michigan in general. If you've never lived in snow (I never had), it's a little hard to get used to. But there's no lake effect snow like west Michigan or Chicago, and you deal with it. The tornado warnings in the summer are much more nerve-wracking. We don't run errands in A2 on game days, but otherwise the football thing doesn't bother us much. If you live within a mile or two of the stadium, you can rent out your yard for parking -- $20 a car, minimum. The drunken undergrad thing -- yes. I've never really seen a party grad school, but maybe when I'm a student I'll have to eat my words.
newms Posted February 26, 2011 Author Posted February 26, 2011 The tornado warnings in the summer are much more nerve-wracking. Tornado warnings?? Ok. I know I can handle the snow, but tornadoes? Please tell me they're not frequent.
Nurse Wretched Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Tornado warnings?? Ok. I know I can handle the snow, but tornadoes? Please tell me they're not frequent. Last summer there were five. The summer before, there were none. There were two or three touchdowns near A2, not big. It's precautionary. It's okay; you take your laptop into the basement and sit there for an hour or so, then come up. Look, I come from a place built on two fault lines. At least with tornadoes there's a warning.
Lizzla Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) I'm weighing a couple of offers and holding off on the decision until I've done my visits, but I am leaning U of M. Ann Arbor is absolutely beautiful. Last summer there were five. The summer before, there were none. There were two or three touchdowns near A2, not big. It's precautionary. It's okay; you take your laptop into the basement and sit there for an hour or so, then come up. Look, I come from a place built on two fault lines. At least with tornadoes there's a warning. I think last summer was unusual..I live a couple of hours from A2, and we had more tornado warnings last summer than any other year I've lived here. As long as you've got a basement or an interior room without windows, it's no biggie. Edited February 26, 2011 by Lizzla
newms Posted February 26, 2011 Author Posted February 26, 2011 Last summer there were five. The summer before, there were none. There were two or three touchdowns near A2, not big. It's precautionary. It's okay; you take your laptop into the basement and sit there for an hour or so, then come up. Look, I come from a place built on two fault lines. At least with tornadoes there's a warning. Yeah, there are earthquakes where I'm from too, but I've never had to worry about tornadoes, so that would be an adjustment.
Nurse Wretched Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 So, you know how west coast kids do earthquake drills? Well, kids here do tornado drills. It's really not a big deal, though I about s*** my pants when my kid came home and said LOOK WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY! I also used to worry about frostbite and losing digits. But it's such a good school, and Ann Arbor is beautiful, and there's so much going on for a town its size, that I got through the reflexive west coast fear of OMG I'M MOVING TO A PLACE WHERE THE SNOW IS HIGHER THAN MY HEAD. Because you're really not. Buy a coat and some gloves, and a pair of good waterproof shoes, and you're all good. I promise. We still have 80 digits among the four of us.
kotov Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) Tornado warnings?? Ok. I know I can handle the snow, but tornadoes? Please tell me they're not frequent. Nah, Michigan is outside both the traditional "tornado alley" and the secondary major tornado zone in the Ohio Valley known colloquially as "Hoosier Alley", named for the relative frequency of violent, long-tracked tornadoes in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, etc. given the relatively lower number of tornadoes they have to the traditional tornado alley. Michigan has only had two F5 tornadoes in its history, and none since 1956. http://www.tornadohi...m/custom/289287 <-- There's a map of every tornado that's occurred in Michigan since formal record-keeping started in 1950. Yeah, in another life, I might be applying to meteorology grad school instead of history grad school. This is relevant to me too, since I'll also likely be moving to Michigan in the fall. Edited February 27, 2011 by kotov ZeChocMoose and newms 2
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