Oakland University

Date: Oct 03 2009
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
I'll try to give an unbiased review as I have been at Oakland University for around 2 years now and have experienced more of what the University has to offer.

Lets first begin with the coursework/academics. I would say that my overall academic experience has been about 7 on a scale of 10.

The worst thing I found about the University was the quality of the students; not the Professors. In some of the classes I have had similar minded peers next to me but a large percentage of people who go to this University didn't have a very high quality of education in high school and it can really show in a College environment. To them, the most important thing in high school was the Basketball team, the Football match, or something similar and it really starts to show when they go to College and are simply too lazy to even read the textbook. Even in the 300/400 level courses some of the students don't read the textbook; but they think getting a 2.0 GPA and passing the class is good enough anyway.

I won't even go into the liberal arts courses I took; because the grading policies in these classes were pointless and most of the material was both a waste of my time and money.

However, once you get outside of the liberal arts courses the classes get a lot more interesting and challenging. The Science courses(Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and Engineering/Math courses(Calculus, Statistics, ENG 200+) are rather difficult at this University and if you want to get an A you will have to devote a great amount of time to achieve a 3.9-4.0 grade. They are not as difficult as the classes I went to at the other University I attended(University of Michigan in Ann Arbor) but some of the coursework was challenging. And www.ratemyprofessor.com is such an inaccurate description of professors here; just ask other students what professors to take some of the professors ranked 2.0 on ratemyprofessor are very good.

My advice is that if you are going here for academics then study Math, Physics, Engineering(Although there are much better places to go in Michigan, Business(Once again, there are much better places to go), Economics, Finance, Accounting, Nursing, or Education. I would not recommend a student to go to this school for Liberal Arts.

But there are better schools in the State to attend(The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo College, Albion College, Kettering, and some others) but you can still get a quality education here at Oakland for a lower price(Considering that you live at home and commute). Well, as long as you don't major in basket weaving you can get a good education provided you pick the right courses.

Next, onto the social side of the University. Given that I am writing this article on 8:45pm on Saturday night, was doing a homework assignment about an hour ago, and am 22 years old and never been to a night club in my life probably already says something about my lack of talent in this individual area. I really wouldn't know what to say- Most of the time I have spent in College has been working, studying, read, and exercising so I really wouldn't know(And could quite honestly don't care)just how good this place is for a social-person.

It seemed like Ann Arbor was a much more lively town than Rochester but I wouldn't know because I spent all my time in the library anyway. When I went to a football game(Which didn't happen very often) the students at Michigan were very lively and full of energy. I don't see much of that at Oakland. Most of the people here are quite and some are even a little depressed. I don't know if it is because they live at home and commute as oppose to living at the dormitories or because they just don't like College.

The nightlife in Ann Arbor was much more active than in Rochester. Not that I participated in it; but it was sort of a strong part of the community. At Oakland, people go to class and then drive home and go to work. Or drive home and go and play video games. Many students have never left living at home so the maturity level has not increased since attending College.

I work and attend College full time(15-17 credit hours) so I really don't have time for much else. I also try to get a high grade point average which consumes even more of my time.

Parking is also another problem; but there is no need to keep on repeating this. Right now I commute from home and I park on the opposite end of campus and just walk to the classes. It isn't worth the frustration of spending 20 minutes trying to find a parking spot closer to the classroom.

The gym is also decent and I go 2-3 times a week and exercise. It is good to take advantage of facilities like the gym because they are free with Oakland tuition.

If you are living at home and commuting because you cannot afford to go to a more expensive University and/or you are just afraid to move out of your parents house(Horrible idea by the way) then you will probably get stuck going to Oakland. The education isn't that bad but make sure you do extracurricular activities here; you can easily get stuck in a routine of driving straight to class and then going straight home and have a miserable College experience.

If you are still in high school and would like to contact me about this review(Or about University of Michigan) then feel free to email me if you have an academic-mindset. If not, talk to somebody else.