A Quick Break During College Application Preparations

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These days we’re so busy with college application deadlines fast approaching – especially the Early Application deadline on November 1st. We’re sure it’s all the same for our fellow seniors. We’re pouring every bit of energy into these applications at this moment, aren’t we?

This post is a little different, but we think the topic is timely. We’re going to share a chat with our friend, a former soccer teammate who recently started his freshman year at the University of Michigan, focusing on engineering. We asked him about how he’s been adjusted to the new environment, dealing with homesickness, or his first impressions of college life.

M (we’ll call him “M” for this post) graduated from our school, and we played on the same school team for a few years. Our school is relatively small, with about 100 kids per grade (50/50 female and male students, grades 7-12, about 600 total).

Compared to our school, Michigan is ginormous, so our first question was about the size of the campus and if he has ever lost navigating it. Here’s the gist of our conversation.

Hey, it’s great to catch up! It’s been a while. You chose such as big university.  Has that given any challenges?

M:  I feel like if you’re an extrovert, being at a big school is great. You won’t face many of the challenges that people say to you about at big schools. 

Do you drive, scooter, or take the bus to move around campus? 

M: Yeah. It’s pretty big. Michigan has a central campus and a north campus, and they are about 10 minutes away by bus. And all the engineering classes are on the north campus, so I take a bus there. I thought it’d be a big problem, but it’s like commuting to high school. My brother goes to a small school in Maine, where he never has to walk more than three minutes to class. I would say don’t choose a school based on how far you get to walk but think about the size of the school. If you think you wouldn’t do well with a big suit of body, then sign off on that. 

What major did you choose, or if you haven’t declared one yet, what are you interested in right now? 

M: You don’t declare your major until sophomore year in Michigan. I applied for biomedical engineering, but over the summer, I switched to mechanical engineering after talking to a friend in mechanical engineering, and I thought I was going to go with that. But then, I’m currently taking an intro chemical engineering class. It’s an introductory, project-type class that all freshmen take, and I like it a lot. So now I’m thinking of declaring (chemical engineering as my major). 

What do you like about chemical engineering?

M: Well, I’ve always thought I wanted to be a biomedical engineer because I like biology, but I didn’t completely enjoy the mechanics part. So, as soon as I saw a class that combines engineering and chemistry, I was like, I want to do this. 

How’s the workload? Is your coursework challenging?

M: It’s manageable, but the teaching style is different. Classes are bigger than what we’re used to, but you’ll be still getting used to that.

Have there been any surprises at Michigan?

M: I’d say people here are really social. Everybody’s a freshman and everybody isn’t with their friends from home. So everybody’s trying to get to meet people. The fear of making friends didn’t happen to me personally. I don’t think it happened to a lot of my friends I’ve been talking to because everybody here is trying to make friends. 

What clubs are you part of? 

M: There’s one called Blue Lab, which we work with the community in Nicaragua to give them water security. And I’m also on a chemical engineering car team, where we design a car powered by a chemical reaction. We have to fine-tune the reaction so the car travels a set distance. Super neat! 

That’s cool. Do you miss home? 

M: Not too much. You go see your family a lot during the first semester. I moved in late August, parents’ weekend was in late September, and I went home for fall break just a couple of weeks ago. I’ll be back for Thanksgiving, too.

What’s a typical day like? 

M: You have way more free time than in high school… but the classes are longer.

What are you guys thinking for majors? 

(our Q&A turn suddenly switched here) We’re thinking of engineering.

M: The good thing with an engineering degree is that it’s flexible. You can always switch later to liberal arts or even architecture.

What would be your advice to your high school self? 

M: Honestly, don’t worry too much. The stress around college can feel overwhelming, but it’s easier to adapt than you might think.

All right. Thanks, M.

With that, our Q&A wraps up. We hope this post gives you (and us) a refreshing break during the college application process.

Good luck with everything!