A Day in the Life at The University of Michigan!

The Public School with Private School Charm

I never toured UofM before I committed, so my first day on campus was when I moved in. Of course I was intimidated; from the thousands of other freshmen moving in, to the massive size of the 3000 acre campus! It also didn’t help that I was moving into the largest dorm (Bursley) with 1300 students there; however, I quickly came to love the beautiful Michigan Fall on North Campus. This past year; however, I moved into an apartment on central campus (like many other non-freshmen that move off campus after their first year), right next to Ross, the Business school. It was so nice to be within walking distance of the football stadium (I didn’t miss a single home game) as well as great Ann Arbor food (Joe’s Pizza, NYPD, and Pita Kabob come to mind). Although Ann Arbor is by definition a college town, it definitely has a personality of its own and the locals are always friendly and there are so many gems, from the graffiti wall to state street theater. If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of college life, that is also super easy since North campus is very quiet, and the arboretum is walking distance from a lot of central campus dorms. Although it is currently the summer, below is a snapshot of a Tuesday in my life from this past semester as a sophomore studying Mechanical engineering!

Mornings: Breakfast and Research! 

On Tuesdays when I have research, I get up at 8:30 am to go to my lab. I wake up and brush my teeth and then I usually eat something quick, like a bowl of cereal with a banana, that way I can get to the lab on time. My commute from my apartment on Tappan Avenue is about 30 minutes with a 15 minute walk to the bus stop and a 15 minute bus ride to North Campus. The bus system is always hit or miss; sometimes I have to wait 10 minutes for a bus and sometimes there are buses right there waiting for me. Usually on the bus I listen to music or scroll through my social media and news apps to get ready for the day. I work on North Campus in the Automotive Laboratory studying Biodiesel Optimization in Internal Combustion Engines, which is a fancy way of saying “working with different diesels to make engines more environmentally friendly”. I work in data analysis with a PhD student as an advisor. I’m usually there until about 10:30-11:00 am before I go back to Central Campus for lunch. Lunch usually consists of some leftovers from dinner the night before  or some  quick eggs to get me fueled up. 

Afternoon: Classes and Studying! 

After I eat my lunch, I have my one class of the day, ME350, Design and Manufacturing 2. It’s a very interesting class focused on mechatronics and combining controls with mechanical engineering. This year our project was building a linkage that can detect the color of washers and deposit them into appropriate bins. The class takes place in the Industrial and Operations Engineering Building on North Campus. However, some days if there is bad weather or I’m not feeling up to the 30 minute North Campus commute, I will watch the zoom section at the same time. Finally, I take the bus either home to study, or to the Union where I meet up with my friends to study together until it’s time for dance practice! Usually we meet in the IdeaHub which is a student organization coworking space, but we also meet up occasionally in the UGLI (Undergraduate Library) or in West Quad (one of the residential halls).  

Evening of Dance and Good Food! 

At UofM, I am part of a competitive dance team, Michigan Wolveraas! We dance a traditional style of Indian dance called Raas and compete across the country. This past semester we competed in Atlanta, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Orlando! We practice three days a week, three hours a day. Although it is a significant amount of time, it’s something I thoroughly enjoy and it's become a significant part of me. Practice is usually from 9:00 pm – 12:00 am, and after I walk home from practice, which is usually in West Quad, I have a little snack, like a bowl of cereal or some Oreos and milk while watching Netflix. The walk home is about 5 minutes so it’s not too bad. After that, I’m pretty exhausted so I take a shower and crash to get ready for my next day! 

Written by Madhav Bhat, PathIvy University of Michigan Ambassador