University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Top Questions

This school is an excellent institution, it has a very high standard and comprehensive education programs. However, there is very little student faculty interaction and it does not seem to be encouraged by the professors. If you are a parent, there is very little readily available support and it takes extensive digging to find the resources for student parents. I have not had a single good experience with this University and would not recommend it to anyone.

I think that one of the best things about the University of Minnesota is its size. I have always gone to big schools, and I am comfortable with it. The U of M is unique, though, because there is so much individualized attention and support even with the insane amount of students attending. The campus is big enough to get lost in, but easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. Coffman is a popular place for students to meet, but Nicollet Mall is a great place to study on the grass and take in the nice view.

For a school of 25,000 undergrads, it seems much smaller. The people I met living in the Superblock are still some of my best friends, and they are truly the highlight of the U. Stumbling back home through Dinkytown, too drunk to feel the cold does a lot for group unity. The campus is in a great location, right on the Mississippi and close to downtown Minneapolis. There are distinctly 'college' neighborhoods, but they blend seamlessly into the rest of Minneapolis. Mesa Pizza on 4th Street is the Center of the Universe on Friday nights.

I love the size of the University of Minnesota. For me it is perfect. There are so many places to go and things to do. It is never dull. There are three parts to the university. The West bank is for business, law and the arts. It has a nifty little museum full of the art of traveling artists as well as exhibitions by students. It's pretty nice. The st.paul campus is a quite a distance from the rest of campus and is most easily accessible by bus. It's like a whole other world there. This is where the school of design is, as well as all the animal and most of the biology classes are. It's so quiet and peaceful here. While the East and West bank are full of hustle and bustle the st. paul campus is very calm and laid back. The gym on this campus has a rock climbing wall that is lots of fun. The East bank which is my favorite holds most of the restaurants and frat row. University ave. is almost only fraternities for quite a ways. Coffman Union is on this bank and there are protests, demonstrations and performances all the time in front of it. Most of the student organizations have a room in this building. I think it's safe to say that everyone will have at least one course on this bank. Almost all the buildings are connected underground by tunnels. These are awesome for the wintertime so you never have to go above ground. Gophers after Dark are activities run by students at Coffman that are always a lot of fun. Nearby restaurants will bring in free food, bowling will be free, there are hypnotists and other performers usually. My favorite time was when they had giant inflatables and my friend and I had a gladiator match. We stood on pedestals and tried to knock each other off. I lost but made myself feel better by getting a free air brush tattoo. If you want to get away from all the study and work of college the city is just a couple minutes away by bus. The metrodome is very close to the city and here you can see the Gophers though it will be far more amazing when they play at the new stadium being built on campus. There are also tons of amazing clubs, malls, museums and restaurants downtown. The U of M is next to Minneapolis and anyone with common sense will not travel alone after dark. There have been muggings and sexual assault reported to people who do. But there are campus escorts available for anyone needing to get anywhere and neither I nor my friends have ever had a problem with that. The U of M is full of so many different types of people. Different races and religions and they are everywhere, talking about themselves, drinking coffee and studying just like all the other students. At the U of M it's a gurantee that you'll find someone who your share interests and perspectives on if you just look.

I went from a high school where there was no school spirit, to a college expecting there to be no school spirit. And even though that school spirit never formulated around a sports team (except maybe hockey!) there was definitely a pride in going to the University of Minnesota because of its world class engineering research facilities, and the associated extracurricular activities that gave us the chance to compete against other schools in a different way. For civil engineering there is steel bridge and concrete canoe; mechanical engineering has solar car and formula competitions, etc.

The best thing about UMN is the endless help and availability of opportunities. It is amazing how many people are there to help you succeed and what opportunities can arise. I also enjoy the amount of people because you get to meet so many different people and open yourself up to new experiences.

I love the University of Minnesota. It is located in Minneapolis and it has everything to offer: music, food, concerts, the Mall of America, many different cultures, volunteering opportunities, outdoor activities, and many more things. You can get to them all on public transportation by purchasing a buss pass for less than $70 a month which saves a lot of money because you don't need a car to get around near campus or far away from campus. Many of the popular sports you have to buy tickets for because of the high demand, but there are also sports that are free for all students. The campus is really large and confusing at first but there are buses that students can take between all three campuses and it's really easy to use. There are hundreds of clubs on campus and they are all open to new students joinging in. One of the best things about the University of Minnesota is that there are hundreds of majors. Many students end up changing their major in their first year or two, but people rarely have to change schools because the UofM offers so many majors and minors that you are likley to find somethign to fit you. There are a lot of research opportunities for undergraduate students and it's a good way to gain experience.

The University of Minnesota is the second largest university in the country; largest by student body and campus area (at least it was when I started 2 years ago). I came from a small community college in California and to be at the second largest University in the country is awesome, especially when it's in the midwest. I love big cities and this is a good place. Most of my time is spent in "Dinkytown" which is the best place for college parties, bar hopping, and just hanging out. On campus, I spend a lot of time at "Rapson Hall" which is the college of design building. It seems that people have more respect for me when they realize that I go to the U of M. Our sports teams are in the big 10 but we suck. I don't go to the football or basketball games cause we usually lose. I'd rather go to the Minnesota Twins games, which is just a short bus ride from campus (about 5 minutes). For some reason, I think the hottest girls in Minnesota all go to the twins games. It is unreal. We like to call them Twin honey's. Anyways, most of the schools administration is good, there's always a few professors that suck hard, but you can find that info on rate my professor.

The University of Minnesota is a perfect size. Yes, it is the third largest school in the country but the teachers, administration, and orientation officers do a wonderful job of encouraging students to get involved and to be active in their college community. If you are not involved in student groups or rec activities, I could see how one would feel they were just a number, but for me, I enjoy that I don't know most of the people that go to my school. The school pride is not what I expected at a large university. I feel as if Madison does a better job at school spirit then we do at most every sport, especially football. Once we get the stadium on campus, I believe that will change. The things to do around or on campus is vital to a students experience at that school. Sure, academics is what you are going to school for, but without a social life with social activies it can become draining. The U of M has thousands of things to do everynight of the week from free movies, to huge shopping trips at the major target dowtown, two huge cities fifteen minutes away, three malls within 10 minutes including the biggest one in American! There are so many places to explore, resteraunts to try, music to listen to, and clubs to dance in. The variety of activies in and around campus is a huge turn on to any student. The weather is a little harsh but the U's unusual underground tunnel system called the gopher way makes the campus weather friendly which I used more than I expected. The gopher way is a wonderful name for that system.

The best "thing" about the UMN is that it is in Minneapolis/St. Paul. These are two wonderful cities that need to be explored. There is a lot to see and do outside of "campus life". People here often fall into the trap of not exploring the city or surrounding areas at all. This is a shame. The administration also falls into this same trap of trying to sell itself as a place to enter in order to receive an education. However, the administration here is hypocritical. It is just like any other "big business" in capitalist America or elsewhere and concerned only with its own bottom line. This capitalism is evident in classes too. It all trickles down. However, as a student of the UMN, we need to pick our battles. Thus, in attending a "big name" school we are forced to make sacrifices, suck up our pride, and all of our beliefs and do the work in order to graduate. We do this because we know that in the end we need to make a living and through a bit of suffering, we are awarded our degree so that we can enter the workforce.

I came from a small town so I was a little nervous coming to a big school. I have spent most of my time on the St. Paul campus. I really like this campus and it really feels like a small community in a big city. I was never a huge fan of the Minneapolis campus but I learned to navigate it well enough to get by.

The size of the campus is just right, not too big and not too small. There's a ton of stuff to do here on campus and immediately surrounding. The options for majors is huge, except they don't have law enforcement. They really should consider adding since they have a police department and instead of students going to another school and learning there, they could take the classes here.

The campus is huge and holds tons of opportunities for anyone willing to try. Also, you are right in the midst of two amazing cities. You get the urban atmosphere and big ten feel all in one

I used to hate the campus because its pretty damn ugly, but I have come to appreciate how close to the city it is and how easy it is to get away from the campus.

The best thing about the University is the different students groups available for students. I wish I could change some of the priorities here at the U. We are a top research university, therefor certain departments are neglected, especially the foreign language departments. I'm also tired of our tuition increasing every year. I still think the University is a good school. It's a big school situated in the Twin Cities, so there are always something to do. Many people like to go to the sporting events, especially hockey and basketball games. Students here are pretty politically involved.

I think one of the best things about UMN is all the opportunities it has, both academically and socially. From politics, to sports, to arts, everyone can find something they enjoy and become involved with a student organization about that. Sometimes UMN seems a little big, but I don't think I would want it any smaller, so it's just right. There are so many activities in and around campus that you can never get bored. When it's nice outside you can explore nature by the river because it's part of the campus. Opportunities and activities are endless.

It's big but I like the independence and being able to focus on the things I enjoy. People recognize it as a great University that produces excellent students. I spend most of my time either in Rapson Hall (as most architecture students do) or else on the way to Rapson. It's not a college town but rather a University with a great location near Minneapolis. Student complaints as far as the architecture program goes is that the professors are snooty. As far as Recreational Sport Clubs go -- we get fields that have more litter and goose poop on them than grass. In fact the only grass-like plants are usually weeds. We also only get enough funding to cover two tournament fees; this is about 5-10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of what we have to pay out-of-pocket: basically if you don't get enough financial aid you can't afford to play. The exception is varsity sports - you know, the ones that are considered to be 'real' sports. Maybe instead of creating a new stadium for our football team that seems to be going nowhere quickly, they could distribute about 1{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the stadium cost so everyone else can afford to play sports.

The best thing about the University is the size ( you can make the school as big or as small as you want to make it) and the Wakeboard Team. I spend most of my time at the lake or the hill, but on campus at the art building. If your thing is school spirit, you can get into that here, but it isn't you have to get into if you don't want to. I haven't had a problem with the administration. The most frequent complaint I hear is campus is too spread out.

When I first started to go here I felt like people did not really think of it as a great institution. They would think that I could have gone to a better school. Since the time I started here and now this institution has greatly improved. It has become more of a name internationally and nationally. The students that go here are extremely proud of this school and this state. There are many tee's that are sold at the bookstore that 'dis' other school, such as Iowa and Wisconsin. I love this school because it is a large university in a large city. There are so many different things to do every night I never really get bored!!

I like the fact that this is a big school. New people are easy to get to know and hang out with. There is a lot of school pride and student involvement. Being on the crew team is the best experince by far I've had at this university. I think people overlook sports such as crew that are sports clubs and not NCAA, even though we train just as hard and are very competitive. Most students complain about the cold weather, but it's easy to get over and it makes spring that much better when it comes around.

The best thing about UMN for me is the wide variety of majors and other extra groups that smaller campuses don't have. I think the school is too big. If I have a problem that I need to fix I have to go to many different places and jump through many hoops just to fix it. When I tell people from back home that I go to the U the main reaction is how far away it is from home, or something about city life. Not many people know a lot about the academics or specifics where I am from. Most of my time spent on campus is working. I feel that the U overcharges their students and should give out more financial aid. The U's administration doesn't really instill an opinion on me much. I think the system treats you like a number, and as long as you are willing to be treated as one appeasement will get you through. I don't feel that there is much school pride, but that is because I compare it to Madison's school pride. There just isn't the same aura like at Homecoming or football games.

The best part about the University of Minnesota is the availability of anonymity, accompanied with the ability to be a social butterfly. With a campus over 50 thousand strong some high schoolers think that they'll fall between the cracks and never get noticed, but this is not the case. Teachers are always willing to speak with students and small discussion groups offer the ability to make new friends and allow for personal relationships. When I came to the university I was excited at being a face in the crowd. I came from a small town of 3,000 where everyone wanted to know everything about everyone. It was nice to have some privacy and control over what other people heard about me. I spend most of my time on campus at the rec center. I am on the women's rugby team so physical fitness is very important to me. I usually lift weights or work on the elypticals, but recently a friend of mine got me into some rock climbing. There is a bouldering wall in the bottom level of the rec center and my roommate and I often go there after class and hang out on the big bean bag chairs and do some climbing to unwind. There is a lot of controversy over the new football stadium that is going up. Its no secret the U has had some problems with its football team and a lot of students feel that a loosing record and poor personal choices are being rewarded with a gift of a new stadium for the players. In reality the stadium is a gift for the students to create more of a community on campus. Even with a losing record the football team still contributes more gross funds than any other sport on campus and a football stadium is a very good investment for the college. In the future it will increase the university's income, and hopefully promote a winning season or two.

Size is great. Programs within the school allow for the small school feel. Diversity is a big bonus. GREAT city to live in. So many different things to do on the weekends, and even during the week.

The best thing about the UMN, is that it is a bargain compared to schools in Michigan since I have reciprocity. I like that it is a large school, so there is always something going on and new people to meet. However, I get personalized attention from being in the College of Biological Sciences which only has about 300 students per class. People still haven't thought of anything cleverer than "Cold enough for you?" when I tell them I go here. I live on campus. Outside of class, I'm in my or a friend's dorm or at the American Student Cultural Center in Coffman. I'm living in Lavender House, the GLTBA living and learning community, which is really fun! I love learning from and hanging out with people different from myself. The adminstration is pretty good, especially compared to Oakland University. I took a summer class there last year and everything was nuts compared to here. One-Stop, here at the U makes everything convenient. On the rare occasion they cannot help you, they can at least tell you exactly where to go, or fax it for you. Everyone complains about it being cold, but if you like snow, this is definitely the place. The campus is really beautiful in the spring and fall. Lots of people hang out on the Mall and people watching is always fun.

The U is a great place for academics, meeting people, and to have a great time. For many students like myself coming from a small town can make adjusting to the cities difficult, but it will most likely happen. Give it time, and be open-minded. There is tons of stuff always going on around campus, take advantage of them (many are free, or very low-price). The first couple weeks of school are going to be the least stresful involving homework, use this time to explore. I love Coffman Memorial and the Northrop Mall. Both of these areas are great for studying but also double for recreation. Every weekend there is tons of things to do in Coffman, such as Gophers After Dark activities, which is a gret oppurtunity for those that would like to avoid the partying atmosphere. I also love going to the Gopher games, a great way to get involved with our school spirit is to purchase season football tickets. It is great to see so many people coming together to cheer for our beloved gophers!