University of Michigan alums

[stephei2000]

Originally Posted by e130478

The culture of U of M has changed drastically in the last decade. The administration is increasingly cash-hungry, and one way the habit is being satisfied is by increasing out-of-state enrollment, a student body which pays nearly 3x the normal tuition rate. You can probably guess the profile of these students: snobby, entitled, self-absorbed, hailing from some of the wealthiest zip codes in the country. Because of this, I found the place insufferable, and transferred out after a year.

The whole college-atmosphere is strange, marked by a major insecurity complex in which the administration and students are constantly sounding off about how remarkable they are compared to their peers (I can still remember feeling stirred and discomforted during orientation by all the talk about how special I was to be accepted by the University of Michigan. The administration labored this point relentlessly and worked to prove in numerous contexts over the course of the entire day). For some reason the school has attempted to elevate its image, rather than maintain its humble "harvard of the west" reputation. Because of this, the entire mood feels fake and inflated.

A friend recently remarked to me that U of M can be thought of in the following way: a bunch of spoiled, stodgy, know-it-all kids who lack intellectual image, but have money. A bunch of brilliant, ambitious, innovate faculty who have intellectual image, but lack money. The two complement each other in the worst way, and the outcome is increasingly proving regretful.

You could not have summed it up better. This is why I left my welcome orientation the first hour and did not chose to go there.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by stephei2000

You could not have summed it up better. This is why I left my welcome orientation the first hour and did not chose to go there.

Since you supposedly understood him, I'll ask you: what on earth is "intellectual image"? I can't figure out what he meant by that and he hasn't been back.

[MSwartz]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

Since you supposedly understood him, I'll ask you: what on earth is "intellectual image"? I can't figure out what he meant by that and he hasn't been back.

Allow me to speculate...

I can see and understand the division that they are talking about. I am attending a state school in Michigan right now and I've visited several other schools of varying reputation in the recent past.

It is my impression, especially from historical accounts, that higher education used to be way more prestigious than it is today. When I look at various media, especially video, from decades back, I get the sense that the people who went to school, especially at more well respected universities, seemed to have an air about them that is lacking nowadays.

I think that the argument these posters are trying to make is that sense of being has been somehow lost, or at least corrupted because of classism. The incoming student bodies rely more and more on financial means to gain entrance. I am not saying that the kids that are admitted aren't smart kids, but with tuition being less affordable it makes sense that less of the student body would be selected from the wider financial spectrum.

I think that you can really see this with international students. There are so many of them who can barely speak English at a very basic level and make little effort to do so. The schools just want them there because they mean big money for the universities. The students are there because they know their degress will bring big money back home. I actually feel sort of bad for them because in many cases it doesn't feel like the quality of education is up to par with what I assumed was required. It is less about the experience and more about the money.