18 Things I Learned as a University of Michigan Freshman
There are just some things one can only learn from experience. Take it from the voice of students who have already completed their University of Michigan freshman year. Whether or not you are a freshman, these helpful tips are useful for any University of Michigan student, so keep reading!
1. Welcome week is the best time to expand your connections and friendships on campus.
Leave your door open, meet your hall mates, and bring them out to all of the fun festivities you are planning on attending with your orientation friends. Take advantage before everyone gets too busy and splits off into cliques!
2. It is important to check out Festifall.
If clubs are your thing, be sure to check out Festifall and the accompanying mass meetings to get involved in student organizations across campus during the second week of school.
3. Not all dining halls serve the same meals.
If meatless Mondays at East Quad are not your thing, check out “Umich Freshman 15” on the App Store. It’s the quickest and easiest way to see what meals are being served where and which dining halls are open when. You can also keep track of meals that you eat to count calories, carbs, and protein!
4. UMich provides unique opportunities for risk taking and free thinking.
If there is an organization, club, charity, greek organization, business idea, that you are shocked isn’t on campus or out in the greater world around you, be the one to start it. Our campus is full of resources, like the Center for Entrepreneurship, that can help you build something meaningful.
5. While Ann Arbor is a very safe city, bad things can happen anywhere.
“Companion,” a mobile application founded at the University of Michigan works with Ann Arbor and University of Michigan police to keep you safe during your night time travels. It’s free so you should definitely check it out!
6. If you’re living on North Campus or if we are in the midst of a classic Michigan Winter, Uber will be your savior.
Buses run every 15 minutes, but stop running after 2 am most nights; some routes are even shutoff completely during the weekends. Be sure to have a warm winter coat as well!
7. Saturday mornings of game days are filled with endless tailgates to attend so there is plenty of fun for everyone.
However the dining halls and busses have weird hours on the weekends so be sure to plan accordingly and not let an empty stomach ruin your day. Also if you didn’t buy season tickets, don’t worry too much; you can almost always find someone selling their ticket for dirt cheap at a tailgate or on the street.
8. Download Venmo if you haven’t already.
Paying back friends during a night out or splitting the bill for some delivery food is often a hassle and hard to keep track of. Almost everyone uses the Venmo app to easily pay and charge your friends.
9. Scope out your appropriate class Facebook page to know what’s going on around campus.
If it has not become abundantly clear to you the University of Michigan Class of 20__ Facebook Page you are apart of is one of the best resources to ask about teachers, find and sell used textbooks, athletic tickets, parking spaces, subleases and so on.
10. Everyone will complain about the dining hall food, but it is low-key pretty good.
Eat as much as you can as a freshman because it’s like 12$/meal if you want a meal plan after freshman year. But Ann Arbor is a city that’s well known for its food scene, so don’t sleep on it. From South U, Blue Lep, Charley’s and Frita Batidos to Sava’s, Zingerman’s and the Gandy Dancer, go explore the many food offerings in the area.
11. Michigan Football is definitely not a secret, especially with the return of the Great One (read Jim Harbaugh).
..And neither is the Men’s Basketball team, but athletic success is hardly a rarity here at the University of Michigan. Be sure to check out other sporting events and support teams like Men’s Hockey, Baseball, Lacrosse, and Swimming as well as Women’s Softball, Basketball, and Swimming. These events are full of world class athletes; some are even competing in the Olympics this summer.
12. Housing in Ann Arbor is neither cheap nor plentiful.
You will want to begin making arrangements for where you are going to live the following year by October at the latest. Cribspot, an Ann Arbor based University of Michigan start-up that’s been taking campuses and cities by storm, is a great resource for finding lease listings around the city.
13. Ann Arbor is the most educated city in America with students from all over the world.
Talk to as many people as you can, especially those outside your typical friend group. You’d be surprised by how much you learn from stepping outside your comfort zone and seeing some new perspectives.
14. Rethink your major.
Even though you think you might have it all planned out, chances are that you haven’t even begun to discover what’s out there. Industries have changed a lot since your parents’ days so do some research on new career opportunities. You don’t have to set anything in stone for a while so use that time to explore what truly interests you.
15. The Chrome web-browser has an extension called “University of Michigan Course Guide+”
You want to install this because it lets you see the Rate My Professor review for the teacher and the course, which will help when you are trying to decide what academic breadth courses to fill your schedule with. Check it out here!
16. Stay in Ann Arbor for the spring/summer!
Get a job, take a class or two, and enjoy the city for a few months when the weather is actually warm. You can catch up on prerequisites so that you’ll have a less demanding schedule during the year. Most other schools don’t have a summer as long as we do so sublet a nice apartment for dirt cheap with a few friends and take advantage of the extra time.
17. Understand Michigan Greek life.
Although there’s been some controversy around it lately, it has historically, and continues to, play a very major role in social life on campus. There’s no harm in rushing in the fall or winter with some friends to see what it’s really all about.
18. Always remember, you go to the University of Michigan, one of the greatest institutions in the world.
…From research to business to art to athletics. It’s a competitive environment so be ready and do whatever it takes to succeed. With our work hard play hard attitude, we are truly the Leaders and Best.
