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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • Boynton: Local hospital/health services office
  • CBS: College of Biological Sciences
  • CHE: College of Human Ecology
  • CLA: College of Liberal Arts
  • Coffman: Coffman Union/student union
  • Csci: Computer Science
  • The Cube: A study/lounge area in the Coffman Union
  • The Daily: School newspaper (The Minnesota Daily)
  • IT: Institute of Technology
  • The Knoll/Grassy Knoll: Lawn area by Peik and Folwell halls
  • The Mall: Northrop Mall
  • MOA: Mall of America
  • The Rec: The University Recreation Center
  • TC or Twin Cities: The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul
  • U of MN/The U: Abbreviation for the University of Minnesota
  • The Weisman: The Weisman Art Center near Coffman Union
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • How bad the winters can be
  • How big the campus is
  • How good or bad the food is
  • How long the classes are if they are only two days a week and which teachers to avoid
  • How much there is to do in Minneapolis and St. Paul
  • Some of the common slang used by Minnesotans
  • What dorms were good to live in and which were not
  • What the dorm rooms looked like
  • Where to find jobs or job postings
Tips to Succeed
  • Do well your freshman year, and you won’t have to struggle the other three or four years to make up your GPA because of partying too much that first year.
  • Don't be worried if you feel overwhelmed. There are ways to deal with it, and you are not alone.
  • Form study groups in your classes.
  • Go to class, and buy and read the books for the class. Either way, just make sure to know what will be on the tests and quizzes in order to properly prepare. You should really go to class, though, because the teachers like to be sneaky at times and have pop quizzes or questions on tests that are worth a large percent of the test grade.
  • Leave old study habits at home; professors expect more than your high school teachers.
  • Participate in class. If you help lead the class, you will get more out of it.
  • Stay in touch with your adviser about your graduation progress.
  • Take advantage of the many study abroad opportunities.
  • Take required, core classes in the first two years so that your last two or three years at the University are not full of boring, younger-college-student-filled classes.
  • Use the resources available at the library.
  • Use Web resources available to U of M students because it lessens the amount of outside exposure during the winter months.
  • Utilize the career center services. They are really helpful.
  • Utilize your professors' office hours; it will be beneficial to your grade, and it may present you with post-grad opportunities.
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UMN Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

deespizz08

Health Care '15

4.6
A

Location, Location, Location

My school's location could not be better. The U is located right outside of Minneapolis giving it an urban feel but still maintaining a typical college campus.

May 17, 2012

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Inside Scoop at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

kennethdeutz

Veterinary Medicine '17

4.2
A-

Diversity in the U of MN

Diversity at the U of MN comes in both people and groups. There are hundreds of student groups and tens of thousands of students to be in a group with. As a result, the U also has so many courses - anything you could think of to take as a class is there. This characteristic gives me flexibility in setting my schedule that I think I've been spoiled with it. And as a result of that same diversity, the opportunities don't stop with classes, but as well as seemingly endless opportunities to get internships, career advice, networking connections; anything.

Apr 22, 2012

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Inside Scoop at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

TeeTee21

Chemical Engineering '16

3.8
B+

Higher Standard

Twin Cities sets itself apart by having students express themselves on a daily basis and helping them form into better individuals.

Apr 06, 2012

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Page 1 of 13
User rating for University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Inside Scoop is 4.6 out of 5 based on 37 user reviews.

Facts

Traditions
  • The "Golden Gophers": Minnesota became known as the "Gopher State" in 1857, after a cartoon was published depicting nine gophers with the heads of local politicians.
  • Regents Seal: The antique lamp featured on the regents seal depicts the metaphysical sciences; the telescope, the physical sciences; the plow, the industrial arts; and the palette with brushes, the fine arts.
  • School Colors: English instructor Augusta Norwood Smith, “a woman of excellent taste,” according to University president William Folwell, chose the school’s colors: maroon and gold. First used between 1876 and 1880, the colors weren’t officially approved by regents until 1940.
  • Ski-U-Mah: This phrase was coined by two rugby players in 1884. They combined "Ski" (a Sioux battle cry meaning "victory") with "U-Mah," which represented "rah-rah-rah!"
  • Spring Jam: This is an event that takes place during a spring weekend; it's full of music and performances.
Urban Legends
  • A famous psychic predicted on a TV show that a serial killer dressed as Little Bo Peep or wearing a "Scream" mask would strike on a Big Ten campus on Halloween, killing several students. The mass murder is predicted to take place on a Big Ten campus that starts with the letter M or W and near a pond, lake, river, railroad track, or cemetery.
  • Anneliese Michel (on whom the Emily Rose character from "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is based) lived in Pioneer when she experienced her exorcism. Another variation of this is that she lived in the psych ward of the University's hospital, which is now Pioneer Hall.
  • The "shoe tree" by the Washington Avenue bridge has a lot of shoes hanging from it. Rumor has it that University alumni threw off their shoes onto the tree to celebrate their graduation.
  • The ghost of a man who fell into the concrete foundation of the library when it was being constructed, whose body was never found, still haunts the stacks and asks people for directions out of the library.
  • The statue of the first president of the University stands on the residential quad facing the library, and if he does not have his gaze on the library at all times, it will crumble and fall. The student union in front of it has a whole section made of glass.
  • Tuition goes up each year to fund the president's private houses and investments.
Did You Know?
  • The Zombie Pub Crawl is an event in Minneapolis/St. Paul during which thousands of people pretend to be dead and wander the streets, boozing and dancing and carousing and having the time of their lives. It is during the Halloween season, and it takes place in the West Bank neighborhood in Minneapolis and the Lowertown neighborhood in St. Paul. People walk around the street dressed as zombies and yelling "brains" throughout the night.
  • The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity has lions as one of their symbols. It is said that the fraternity changes the colors of the lion when one of its members accomplishes something.

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Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
Vishakha Mathur
Hometown
New Delhi, India
Major
Communication Studies
Grad Year
2014

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. The statistics on our site are from the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.
We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
For additional information we encourage you to visit school websites or contact the schools directly.