Western Michigan University Top Questions

Classmates vary, I tended to like most of them; however group projects for general credits were the worst.

All of the classmates I have had so far at WMU are supportive and push eachother to succeed.

My classmates are helpful and usually respectful

Western Michigan University's 25,000+ students are very diverse, meaning my classmates are from a variety of different backgrounds.

My class mates are funny, entertaining and very knowledgable.

The students here are diverse and accept diversity. I can't think of any "type" or person that wouldn't be able to find their niche here, although sometimes these "niches" do cement themselves a little to well and can become hard to penetrate. Because the populous and the programs are so broad here different kinds of people are constantly being made to interact with each other, it's just the nature of the place. Know this: if you come from a place with a homogenized population, be ready for a bit of shock and relearning some old behaviors. I'd guess about a third of the student population comes from the immediate surrounding area od Kalamazoo, another third from the rest of Michigan and some of the surrounding states, and the final third as exchange students from other countries.

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College is the experience of a life time and one of the major reasons for that is the diversity that all students get to experience. There are students of all different races, sexual orientation, SES, cultures, and countries. Everyone is thrown together based on the classes they take and their major, not by anything other than that. In high school students worry about popularity and clicks, what tables they sit at in the cafeteria, and what they wear everyday. In college it’s about being you, if you want to wear yoga pants everyday to class go ahead, if you want to sit by yourself one day for dinner at the cafeteria nobody is going to make fun of you. Being yourself and knowing where you are going is more important. New students to college especially at Western Michigan don’t have to worry about being different. College is a new experience that allows you to find out who you are and what you want to be. It was a sigh of relief when I went off to college where I can express myself without being judged; I could wear what I wanted and be who I wanted to be. SES isn’t important, how much money you are going to make in your job isn’t the top priority of every student. The number one thing to remember about the college experience is that you will make friends, you will interact with students of all shapes and sizes and you will never feel out of place once you get used to being apart of a brand new community of students. College is about learning new things about the world. College is the first step to help you learn about the differences of the real world between the diverse classes that students can choose from, to the different types of students and professors from all over the world. Western Michigan isn’t the type of college environment for people who don’t want to learn and have new experiences with people that are different from them. It’s not the type of school for students who aren’t ready for a bigger college and being farther away from home. Students who have a hard time with people from different back grounds than theirs will have problems. For those students who do wish to embrace college and everything that it has to offer will really enjoy Western Michigan and all it has to offer.

I have definitely encountered every one of those groups on campus. They all spread awareness and reach as many students as possible making them intriguing to learn about and easy to join. They aren't too aggressive where they annoy everyone but they do have a purpose. Really extremely smart students might feel out of place because they may not be challenged the way they should be but otherwise Western and the Kalamazoo area in general has tons of different types of people so everyone's welcome. Most students wear casual clothes to class. I typically wear jeans and a shirt or something comfortable. Some students come to class in sweats or their pajamas and some come with tights and a dress, it really doesn't matter. Different types of students do interact which I found surprising. Most people have a solid group of close friends but all of the people in the group have other friends and everyone is friendly to one another in most cases. The jocks hang out with the stoners, the musicians hang out with the jocks. The fraternities are typically more exclusive but intermingle with each other. They welcome in as many girls they can fit but deny entry to guys most of the time. One table will be the kids from one floor that think they're the best, one table is the theatre kids, one table is the people that have been friends since grade school and one table with kids that keep to themselves all spaced out. Most of the students are from Michigan or Chicago area. Most people attending Western have lived comfortably their whole lives but the majority of students have taken out loans to pay for their education. The students that are politically aware are typically more liberal but there's a good balance between politically aware students and students that aren't aware at all. Students often are just determined to graduate with a degree and hopefully get a job so they can pay off their loans. Honestly, students are just happy to get a job after graduation.

There are so many different people at Western. I don't feel like anyone would feel out of place here at WMU. There are so many registered student organizations here at WMU that literally anyone is able to find their niche. Although, I have to say that if you don't personally make the effort to enjoy yourself or get involved, it may be difficult to enjoy WMU, let alone college anywhere. WMU offers opportunities and clubs for literally any type of person if you are willing to get involved. There are all types of religious groups on campus, clubs for all majors, a fantastic LGBT group, and even even recreational clubs. There is even a club on campus called "the squirrel club" to honor the many squirrels on campus.