Oakland, CA
Mills College

I love it here!!! But it isn't the utopia that they will lead you to believe it is. It isn't as inter sectional and committed to activism as the pamphlets claim BUT it is still much better than most colleges in that respect. Also there are lots of hills so be prepared to get ripped.

I love the professors and the students. The campus is beautiful. There was a great atmosphere of social justice and political awareness. The classes were rigorous but offered plenty of out-of-the-classroom support. Sometimes, though, I felt like more money was being put into the carefully manicured lawn than into supporting the students and teachers. The campus is pretty remote, so does not offer easy access to stores, restaurants, public transportation, etc.I felt that the school was not set up to cater to commuter students.

Mills College is a space for a very specific type of person. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the atmosphere and general sense of being at the school can become dull and alienating very quickly. Progressiveness is nearly a given attitude, so people of conservative mindsets have often left the school entirely. Mills is also a bit infamous for its price. The budget seems to be spread thin, so policies and campus life blatantly seem to revolve around money. As for the social scene, the student body is both diverse and bubbled. Like I said, this school is a great fit for a very specific type of person. The best way to get a sense of what I mean by this is to visit the campus in the middle of the weekday, observe the students and staff, possibly hold a few conversations, and determine if you could really see yourself flourishing in this small but special environment.

The classes here are for the most part taught effectively, as far as I can tell. I like most of my teachers. The environment is great for queer people and people with disabilities. Politically, everyone is very liberal or too scared to be moderate to conservative. It can be excessive. Cishet white people are not very welcome. I've been mocked just for being bi because I'm not gay enough. The campus is lovely and a nice mix of well-groomed gardens and more unkempt, wild areas.

I had a mostly negative experience here - not enough social engagement (people keep to themselves), some very poor classes and teachers, lack of diverse and necessary classes, zero career advice/guidance/preparation, and the financial aid department was a nightmare to deal with. One good thing that came of it was that I learned a lot about social justice and feminism. Other than that, it didn't help at all with securing my current job- I could have gotten a generic degree from anywhere at a fraction of the cost.

The cost of attendance is 60k per year and I have no money.

I always brag about the large, supportive community of LGBTQIA* identifying students, and the school's focus on social justice and creating an environment that is happy and healthy for all students.

Any female-identifying/presenting person who is looking for a safe, healthy, creative outlet to express themselves and prepare to move forward int he working world is perfect for mills.

How it's like going to an all women's college.

I sincerely believe that Mills is an amazing place to become the well rounded person we all want to be when we finish college. The academics are rigorous, but show us that we can keep up with fast paced work. The campus is beautiful and gives us an opportunity to look around and just enjoy the moment and appreciate the space. The people on campus are very diverse; you will learn about cultures, traditions, different perspective--ultimately helping you grow as a person. However, that is not to say that I believe Mills to be perfect; quite the contrary. Mills has it's issues, but everything does. What I am saying is that for all of Mills' faults, there are at least 3 additional merits at any given time.

The stereotype of the students at Mills is Lesbian or LGBT+. While there are students who affiliate with LGBT+, there are students of all kinds at Mills. Mills has this reputation because of the schools committed sense of all-inclusiveness; when you are Mills student you realize that everyone is different and you discover how to enjoy that fact.

If I could go back in time and give my high-school self some advice for college, I would tell my self to learn not to avoid doing the assignments for my classes. In high school, I managed to skate by in a lot of my classes by either being able to understand the material without doing the readings, and therefore, without doing the assignments, or by manipulating my teachers to give me extensions, or even to think that they had lost the assignment. The biggest transition that I had to get used to was the fact that I needed to do the readings to understand the content of the classes was very difficult for me, especially dealing with the stress of realizing that I was behind in the class. Trying to play catch up for the material that I never really learned in the first place, while simultaneously trying to learn the current material is very difficult, and if someone could have told my younger self: “Really, really learn to do the readings! Complete the assignments!” I would have really appreciated that once I entered college because that was the hardest thing for me to learn.

Mills College has a really welcoming envirornment, both through the atmostphere of the sudents and faculty, and that community, and also the fact that the there are lots of trees and plants on the campus. Mills is in the middle of downtown Oakland, which is really ugly, and then you come on campus and it's like a sigh of relief because there is just an oasis of green and everyone will talk to you and smile. There is a large meadow in the middle of campus and there are chairs to sit in and chat with friends.

The M Center- the part of the administration that handles financial aid, major/minor declarations, meal plans and housing is really not tech savvy with a lot of red tape bureaucracy to deal with that makes it very annoying to deal with, and no one likes to go change their major, or their roommates because the M Center is so obnoxious to deal with.

I came to college fairly prepared. I wouldv'e told myself to relax and not be nervous

Having to remember everyone's preferred gender pronouns because it's not in the norm to do so.

An extreme right-wing conservative against gay rights, and a man, because they are not allowed (expect in the graduate school).