U of M, the College next door

Introduction
I've always lived around the stadium, even as a kid I would go to the big games because my parents were both alumni (my dad from the College of Engineering, my mom from the School of Nursing). That gave me two of the main reasons why I came here: the top-notch football team--where a "bad" year is when we don't get to the Rose Bowl-- and the vast alumni network. All across the world, you will find U of M alumni, from James Earl Jones to Arthur Miller to former President Gerald Ford.

Also, the Engineering College boasts some of the best degree programs in Aerospace, Naval Architecture, Nuclear Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The solar car team, a popular club for all branches of engineering, regularly places in the top 3 in the US College races as well as the World race in Australia. If you want an excellent engineering education at a fraction of MIT's cost, come to UM.

Campus Life and Social Life
If you're an engineer, the truth is, you won't have as big of a social life as you would wish. While you won't be locked in your room all day, Football season might take a serious bite out of your grade. That said, the football games (and pregames on frat row) are amazing. To put into words some of the games that have taken place in front of the 100,000+ fans in "the Big House" is impossible, though nothing beats being surrounded by thousands of screaming students as UM wins last second games (vs Penn State) or overtime nailbiters (vs MSU) or even the complete blowout in the biggest rivalry in college football (OSU).

Clubs are amazing, and vary from the student activist groups, to one of the many student run newspapers, to the mock debate and engineering "brain" clubs. If you make the effort, you will certainly find your niche. Advertisement
Academics
Engineering, while one of the school's strong points, is a really big demand on you. The courses are tough, and the core courses in Math and Physics are hated by all. That said, the professors are some of the best you can hope for. Even though they bury you in homework, many will go out of their way to help you, and they all are excellent lecturers. A B from the College of Engineering would be an A+ anywhere else.

Stay away from the Math department. I ended up taking one of my math classes at a community college for transfer credit just because I could not stand the teachers.

Student Body
The typical student is usually left of center, by what degree typically varies with the school they are in (Residential College students are far-left, while engineers tend to be more moderate to conservative/libertarian).

My roommate freshman year was from Tokyo (he spoke accentless english, which is something that you will find from an unusual amount of foreign students), and my hall had people from all over the US. That said, you will most likely meet about 3 Michigan natives for every 2 out-of-state students.

In Closing...
The person that gave this University a 'F' is probably from Ohio State, so don't pay attention to what they had to say. This is a great place to be, though Ann Arbor housing can get a little expensive for the quality that they provide.