Mills College
Reviews

Rigorous Academically Speaking, but Worth It

I love Mills. Of course it isn't perfect, but it's about as close as I am going to come to what I want in my college. Because I am a person with a disability, its hard to find a school that's willing to give you what you need so that you can get a degree. Mills is helping me do that.

I Love Mills College!

If I could do it all over again, I would definitely choose to go the Mills College. I love the petite, lush, beautiful campus. I love the small class sizes and personal relationships you build with your teachers. There is a very tight-knit community. I love how my school encourages and empowers women to do their best and be all they can be. I also love that they have a pre-nursing program.

Grades Matter

Mills provides excellent scholarships to students who are academically driven.

There's a Nightlife?

The campus doesn't offer much in the way of "exciting" nightlife, but there are some dances and student-run events occasionally. Most students go to Berkeley for more exciting nightlife options, which isn't too far.

It Was Great!

I had no difficulties at all! Staff were friendly, the application was simple, and the school offers scholarships to pretty much everyone, no matter what your parents' income is! The admissions counselors and sweets and upbeat and genuinely love their job. Definitely tour the campus and sit in on a class; that's what sold it for me.

Don't Get Caught

Most students are not heavy drug users or drinkers. Most people smoke pot at least occasionally. "Just don't be stupid about it" is what my RA told me. Just don't smoke in your room or where security could see you. There's not much besides pot circulating, which is fine with me. Everyone is very focused on their academics, but we like to let loose and have some fun as well.

Pot Seems the Main Thing

It is hard to tell here. There are definitely people who smoke pot here. Also there are people that drink but some of them are returning students and are legal. It definitely isn't a defining thing like it is on other campuses. It really depends who you hang out with. There have been people who asked if I wanted to smoke with them and I told them I wasn't into that and they were totally fine.

Gym

Gym is small but nice facilities. Div III sports but sport teams get fully paid trips to play across the country. PE are excellent.

Underclassmen Dorms Are the Best

The freshman dorms at Mills College have the best location. They are very big and spacious with no roommates but instead selected few have california sleeping porches that connect two rooms or a big single room.

Don't Hate on Founders!

Founders, the only dining hall at Mills, is actually really great. People love to hate founders but they make fresh, healthy (for the most part) food that varies every day. Some campuses have the same crappy food every day and Mills is lucky to have real chefs and fresh ingredients for student meals.

But can we talk about that terrible walk up the hill? Oh my god...

Perfect Weather

The weather doesn't really get any better than in Oakland, CA. It's November and we've only had 2-3 rainy days. Love it!

Completely Disorganized

Mills spends a phenomenal amount of money on scholarships but the financial aid officers are incompetent.

I lost my scholarship with no notification from Financial Aid until the day before school.. I petitioned to get it back, and once I did, they forgot to notify me that it was reinstated.

How can it be so difficult at a school of less than 1,000?

A Plus Diversity

There is no school more diverse than Mills College! Everyone regardless of religion, sexual orientation, and ability will find support and a group of friends.

Very Cold

Suprisingly, the wheather has been very sunny lately, which is amazing. But majority of the time it is cold.

Acess to Technology

Most students have their own laptop, and there is also a computer lab in all the dorms. The internet access is top notch here, and there are also printers available.

Getting Tight!

Every year Mills keeps accepting more students and parking is getting worse. I dislike the fact that commuters have to struggle the most because they come from off campus. They deserve to find a place before class begins.

No Greek Life at Mills

We have no Greek Life on our campus. Students party with the Greek Life in UC Berkeley, because it's our sister school. The closest thing we have to Greek is our Greek theatre since it has the work Greek in it, but nothing to do with the Greek Life.

Green!

Most of the facilities at Mills are new, clean, and (considering the school's focus on being environmentally friendly) green. The gym is rather small, but all the equipment is new. The library is small, though cosy and with lovely views. Everything is top notch, although most of the faculties keep weird hours or are just closed on the weekends.

Open to All

Mills athletics is less about competition and more about being open to all students. I am able to join the soccer team despite taking a 7 year break from the sport. My teammates complained about the lack of fitness work skills teaching involved, but I didn't mind because I was out of shape. Yet the coach responded and addressed the complaints, makes changes to how it was done.

Athletics Department Is Awesome

Mills is a NCAA Division III school, which means that no scholarships or financial aid are given for participation in athletics. This also means that Mills athletes tend to be very happy and passionate about being Mills athletes. We are strong, competitive people, and we embrace all Mills students who wants to participate in Mills athletics. The athletics staff are an amazing group of people who make it fun to participate in Mills athletics, pysical education, and recreation. They are very supportive of us in all aspects of our lives and incredibly understanding that we are students at a very academically demanding school. Athletes at Mills as a group consistently have a higher GPA than the rest of the student body.

Amazing Restaurants Wherever You Go

The Bay Area is a foodie's mecca. The Lakeshore area is only minutes away and has cheap, amazing food (Ethiopian, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Mexican, etc.). Rockridge, Piedmont, and College Ave in Berkeley have more upscale restaurants. The "Asian Ghetto" in Berkeley has cheap Asian takeout, as opposed to the "Gourmet Ghetto" on Shattuck, which has many great but pricey restaurants. Hop across the Bay to San Francisco, and you'll find thousands of amazing, affordable restaurants, from Vietnamese in the Tenderloin, to Chinese in Chinatown, to Italian in North Beach, to Mexican in the Mission. The Mission District has a lot of nice, trendy restaurants that won't break your budget, as the neighborhood is populated by hipsters who desire good food but still have their rent paid by Mommy and Daddy. The list goes on and on, and there is always something for everyone in every price range. There's even a vegan restaurant down Shattuck that serves organic wine and beer.

Mills - Green Oasis

Most everything at Mills is top-notch but there is a very secluded vibe on campus. There's not much to do in nearby Oakland and I get the vibe that Mills is my safe haven and I can't really go anywhere else.

Free AC Transit

The Mills shuttle is free and convenient. There is free AC Transit passes and bay area public transportation is pretty good although you do lose a lot of time.

Very Good

We have a shuttle that takes us to Bart, bus passes for the transit system which goes to a lot of places, and Bart is expensive but not always necessary.

People Work Hard

There is a lot of time spent by the people on teams to do their best, they have good places to practice and go to many off campus activities.