Looking for University of Michigan insight

[mcse]

Hey everyone. Seems there have been a lot of questions about GSI positions. I'll give some numbers to give you an idea of how competitive the GSI position is. The 2nd year class consists of 65 to 70 students. There were about 10 positions that were filled by students in our class during the entire two years. Most of them are in the core classes in the graduate program, and 3 positions have been for an undergraduate planning course. The number of positions do change from year to year. PhD students also get placed in the mix to teach classes like theory, and dual degree law/planning students will usually get chosen to GSI planning law (the 10 number includes GSI for planning law, but not positions that have been given to PhD students).

So it is competitive, but definitely possible. There are also many qualified students who may choose not to apply because of time constraints, etc. It can be a huge responsibility. I would suggest working really hard in the core courses if you want to increase your chances at the positions!

[akshali2000]

An upside is that students can apply to other areas of the university to be GSI if it relates to your undergraduate major(s) and/or job experience and comes with the same benefits. However the challenge is that most of those areas likely have a preference for their own respective graduate students.

Also adding to that, many of the liberal arts GSI positions posted on the University of Michigan jobs website are 50% and depends on the class schedule of that particular department. The sad part is if you were offered a partial scholarship you can't hold a GSI position and the scholarship at the same time, even if it's only 50%. At least that is what I gathered. :/

[nkobel]

I went to UMich for undergrad (Bach. General Studies), and took a few courses through Taubman. I applied to their Master's program and was admitted (they offered me $10k+$10k in scholarships for the first year), but I declined admission. Honestly, it was my backup school for University of Washington and Portland State University - I got in to both.

When I took Intro to Urban Planning at UMich, my GSI was a second-year MUP student, but without an undergraduate planning program, those are few and far-between. My second GSI for my GIS course was a PhD student. He bashfully said that while UMich's PhD program is good, the quality of the MUP program has decreased over the past few years due to expansion of the program (in WI 2011).

Some really cool things you may not have known about Taubman/UMich:

• TCAUP has an awesome study abroad program in Scandinavia - a whirlwind tour through Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, and finally a six-week urban design studio in Iceland filled with hiking and outdoor trips (a close friend of mine attended it).

• UMich provides kick ass financial aid. I transferred after my second year to UMich from a very bad, unnamed state school in close proximity to UMich and ended up taking out 2k less per year in loans because they awarded me better financial need-based scholarships. So while UMich's MSRP tuition might seem like a lot, wait for your financial aid package to come through.

• Their law, policy, and business schools are among the top ten in the country, and with Taubman's rich dual-degree program options, it's something to consider.

Questions? PM me!

[Headway]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently a second year student in Michigan's urban planning program. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have so feel free to send me a PM or whatever. Glad to see that there are a few of you considering the program.

The issue of increased "cohort" size watering down the quality of students in recent years, which has been raised repeatedly on this thread, remains a concern. As a student with first-hand knowledge could you elaborate on this? Has the issue been resolved with the additions of new faculty or is the program simply attempting to grow class size with no regard for maintaining previous academic standards?

I'm interested in attending a larger program, and loved my visit at Michigan, but I also don't want to get lost in the shuffle of an over-sized cohort. I would appreciate any feedback you can provide.

[mcse]

The issue of increased "cohort" size watering down the quality of students in recent years, which has been raised repeatedly on this thread, remains a concern. As a student with first-hand knowledge could you elaborate on this? Has the issue been resolved with the additions of new faculty or is the program simply attempting to grow class size with no regard for maintaining previous academic standards?

I'm interested in attending a larger program, and loved my visit at Michigan, but I also don't want to get lost in the shuffle of an over-sized cohort. I would appreciate any feedback you can provide.

Since I started the program, I honestly haven't seen this as an issue, either from the student side or the faculty side. I can't speak to other programs, but I truly feel that the faculty at Michigan are a huge strength. They are all very dedicated and willing to help, as much as possible, and whenever possible. I've never had a request for help been turned down, or felt that I was burdening any of them by asking.

In the the past few years, the program has added new faculty to accommodate the increase in class size (I believe we lost 2, but gained 4, and have another search for 2 ongoing). The recent additions have really been quite fantastic. I think students will naturally gravitate towards some faculty more than others based on their concentrations/interests. Regardless, I don't think I've heard a single bad thing about any of our professors from other students. There may be people grumbling about assignments, etc, but that's to be expected anywhere…

I haven't felt that any student has been "lost in the shuffle," even among those who are more introverted. It's also up to you to establish a relationship with the faculty, but all of them are pretty open and friendly, which makes it easy to do. As you progress through the program, you'll likely find at least a couple of faculty members that you're comfortable with enough to talk to regularly.

On the student end, I've found that I do learn a lot from my cohorts. The diversity of concentrations attracts students with a diversity of interests, and that brings so many interesting viewpoints into the classroom. I remember in one Planning Theory class, our professor made us take a survey on what planning priorities we value the most, and you wouldn't believe how greatly our opinions diverged. There are also some really brilliant and hardworking people in the program to keep you on your toes.

So, yeah… not to worry. You'll be in good company and in great hands.

Personally, I was successful getting into most of the programs I was looking at, including a few with great names and even greater price tags. Ultimately, I made my decision based on a combination of financial considerations and school reputation. I've found that Michigan really has been the perfect place for me. The faculty have been instrumental in helping me find my particular niche/interest/passion and develop the skills necessary to pursue it. It's much more than I would have ever expected out of any program.