Western Michigan University Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Coral

I wish I had known more about scholarship opportunities and about programs similar to mine.

Brooke

I wish I would have known this school is mostly a party school and I felt like everyone who goes to Western that is their main focus. Also, there is only a 52 percent graduation rate and now I know the reason and wish I would of known before I came to this school because I will probaly end up transfering.

Andreas

I wish I had better knowledge to have been able to transfer my courses more effectively. and understand the bus system. Other residence options apart from the ones provided by the university

Adriana

Before I came to Western Michigan University, I wish that I would have known more about how different the teaching methods are compared to high school. It is so different and the pace is a lot faster. Being in college, you definetely have to keep up. I would suggest studying during most of your free time. And please stay well rested because it will affect your learning.

Emory

One thing that I wish I would have known going into WMU is that their scholarships they award are very limited. I had great grades in high school and a decent ACT score, but the only financial aid I was awarded was government loans. They also don't have many extra scholarships available unless you are part of a minority group. It was a little frustrating!

Jordanna

oaky

Lisa

I did my research on this school, so I was pretty well informed

Jason

The thing I wish I had known before coming to Western was how intense my degree program was. I was not accepted in the school of music for my first semester, but after a lot of hard work (and I mean a lot) I was accepted as a music major at my dream school. Throughout the process of admission to my major program, I have learned a lot about the value of committment and hard work. They really do pay off in the long run! As my band director here always says: " The greatest rewards come from the greatest commitments."

Jennifer

Being a commuter student, having a better layout of the campus would have been helpful. Like where places/buildings I need are located at on campus and how to get to them from different locations.

Elizabeth

I wish I had know how hard it would be to make friends.

Shannon

How much different the classes are in size compared to a community college.

Nichole

I wish I had known about how spread out it was and how the transportation system worked both for on campus as well as off campus.

Katlin

I am the type of person that loves to look ahead and plan out my next steps. This is often a good quality but it put a lot of unneeded stress on my life in the months growing near to college. I wish I would have been more aware that if you just relax everything will work it's way out. After stressing myself out for months, I finally came here and realized that this is the place that I am meant to be. I wish I would have focused more on all the opportunities I have coming my way.

Kyle

I wish I had known how much snow they get, this way I would have packed some extra items for outdoor activities. I wish I would have found out if more kids from my hometown were going to attend Western Michigan University.

Alyson

Before I came to college, I wish that I already knew about how much time I really do have to put into my schoolwork. In high school, I got by easily and I thought that college would be the same. I was wrong. I learned that you have to work so much harder because this is when it truely counts and is so much more important.

Ryan

I wish I would have been better informed about what EXACTLY my chosen major was all about. I would recommend doing as much research about what your major is all about, what career paths are available when you graduate with that degree, and people you should talk to about your major. I guess what I am saying is I wish I had known everything about my degree before I decided to pursue it.

Ashley

To not wait to get involved. Once I did become involved it made college even more enjoyable.

Kristen

That most of the math teachers have a hard time speaking English well.

Emily

I wish i would have known how to be more prepared for orientation and the first day of college.

Jenna

More money and an idea of what I wanted to major in.

Elise

I wish I would have known how many reasources that our campus actually has, so I could use them more. The longer I've been attending Western Michigan University, the more I have learned about what it has to offer, and I've been doing better in school since I know more of the things I can use to help me. Tutors, Advisors, Office Hours, Study Groups, different computer labs, all the things the librarians can help you with, etc.

Scott

Before I came to Western I wish I would of known how spread out the actualy city is. The campus and city are very seperate and I do like it like that, but I would of brought my car up earlier.

Alex

Get real world jobs in your field so you can figure out if it's right for you. Get to know some professionals in your field as well so you can see what life is like.

Melissa

I whis i know how some of the people were more "rich" for they do look down on others. Also i wish i know the amount of Teachers at this school do not speak english very well.

Jennifer

Before I had come to this school, I wish I had been more aware of the drinking scene (especially in the valley resident halls). This college has a large drinking population, and freshman year, many students may feel an extreme pressure to drink to make friends. I suggest, that if drinking is not a prospective student's idea of a "good time", then they choose one of the residents halls not found in the valley's (such as any in the Big Three or Big Four).

Morgan

How the financial aid system works. I was really confused about how loans, grants, and cost of attendance worked together, and no one (including financial aid advisors at Western) was willing to really help me out. Last year, I was late to fill out my FAFSA due to my parent's late taxes- I lost out on a lot of money this way, and ended up having to take out a $10,000 private loan in order to pay for my first year I'm paying for my education, so I was pretty angry about this. C'est la vie!

Latoya

The help with financial situatiuon, being put out of school due to the lack of financial aid that was avalible.

Minamaree

N/A

Collin

Nothing

Alexandra

What you get out of WMU is what you put in---the more involved you get, the better your outcome

Angela

Financial Aid

Magdalena

I wished I knew that college life is the best part of my life. I have learned sooo much.

Alexander

That is all really not as terrifying as you think, so get active, meet people, and get out there.

Joseph

Nothing. I feel like i researched the school well enough before i came here. I think that I made a great choice in picking this school.

Matthew

Where every building is located, so im not late for class.

Robert

College is alot harder then high school. So be ready and study.

Jennifer

That the "large amounts available for financial aid" are actually so difficult to qualify for and obtain that they don't do diddly squat for the people who need it. And that some of the professors have such a large language barrier that you can't learn from them.

Amanda

The rate in which tuition increases each year. This year tuition increased by over 9{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}! This makes Western more expensive than some of the surrounding schools in which I may have attended instead because I would rather go to a smaller school with less activities and come out with less debt.

Andrea

Before coming to this school, I was not comfortable in who I was. Now after being at Western Michigan University and meeting the wonderful people I have, I am proud of who I am and what I represent. I wish I had known who I was before coming, because it would have saved me a lot of pain.