Adjusting to campus life

Whether you are an incoming freshman or a newly-arrived transfer or international student, adjusting to campus life here at Michigan Tech can occasionally be a difficult experience. While the vast majority of students who have been here a while really enjoy the Michigan Tech and the Copper Country experience, many admit that the initial adjustment was rough, sometimes for all of the usual reasons, and sometimes for reasons that are fairly unique to the Michigan Tech experience.

The hard stuff about Michigan Tech...
Michigan Technological University is a relatively small university located in a small city in a remote and obscure part of the state of Michigan. Many "trolls" from the Lower Peninsula (they're humorously called "trolls" because they "live below the Bridge") confuse the Upper Peninsula city of Houghton with the Lower Peninsula resort town of Houghton Lake. When they discover that Houghton is not Houghton Lake and is 400 miles further away, located in the Upper and not in the Lower Peninsula, they are surprised and sometimes even aghast that a major Michigan public university is located where they imagined only bears live and occasional deer hunters ever visit.

Non-local freshmen and transfer students who arrive at Michigan Tech for the first time are occasionally frightened at the prospect of living 110 miles from the nearest "large" city (Marquette: population approx. 30,000) and 600 miles away from the metropolitan Detroit area. It is disconcerting at first to realize that it is just as far from New York City to Detroit as it is from Detroit to Houghton. Weekend visits to Mom and Dad in the old hometown are just not as convenient as they would be if you were going to school in Lansing, Ann Arbor, Kazoo or Midland. Students attending Michigan Tech quickly realize they are attending MTU primarily because it offers a superior calibre of engineering and technological education, and because it holds out for its graduates much more promising career opportunities, and not because it is a great "party school" or because the local environment offers such a stimulating and diverse set of cultural and entertainment distractions.

There are significantly more males attending Michigan Tech than there are females. For both genders, this can present problems. For the males, the demographic discrepency means that it is harder to get a date or to find a steady girlfriend than it would be at another university. For the females, it means more males "pestering" you for a date, and fewer female colleagues in classes to share ideas and experiences with. For both males and females, the unique makeup of Michigan Tech and the distance from home sometimes means that it's easier to feel lonely up here than at the more southern schools.

The academics at Michigan Tech are truly demanding. Tech is indeed the "Marine boot camp" of Michigan and regional universities. Incoming freshmen and newly- arrived transfer students are often surprised and dismayed at the amount and intensity of studying and homework they must get used to performing every week just to stay in the academic running with one's classmates. Because so many highly intelligent and motivated students come to Michigan Tech, the academic competition can be intense, and the student who is flippant or disorganized in his or her time management or study skills can quickly and easily fall behind. Catching up is then even harder to do. Because the academic demands are so rigorous, it is common for Tech students to flunk a class once or even twice before they pass it and can move up to the next level of academic difficulty. Many students require five, six or even seven years of study in order to obtain their bachelor's degree. Nobody comes to Michigan Tech expecting to drift through their classes while obtaining high grades.

Winters in Houghton and throughout the Copper Country average anywhere from 150 to 350 inches of snow. Average January high temperatures hover somewhere in the middle teens. There are occasional blizzards and more than occasional days where the wind chill index is anywhere from -40 to -60 F. Feeling isolated in the dead of winter is common and many students report experiencing "cabin fever" or feeling "shack happy" staying indoors so much when the weather is lousy. Some students who are susceptible to seasonal affective disorder experience their symptoms very strongly at these times.

On the other hand, there is the good stuff...
Along with the cold and the snow, the Keweenaw Peninsula has far more sunny days during the wintertime than does the Metropolitan Detroit area. For a variety of reasons, the metro Detroit area is shrouded in clouds from late fall until early spring, and local television stations make a big deal out of the sun's appearance for even two hours during the month of January.

The clear winter skies make for spectacular displays of the Northern Lights when they appear. Amateur astronomers have a field day exploring the constellations they can observe from the top of Brockway Mountain Drive or from the MTU Observatory in Atlantic Mine.

Winter sports in the Keweenaw are abundant. For those students who enjoy skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding and ice fishing, opportunities abound. In late January, Tech features its Winter Carnival, with gigantic snow and ice sculptures that are nationally known. The spring, summer and fall seasons in the Copper Country are rich in natural attractions. There are numerous rivers and waterfalls, hiking trails, campsites, rockclimbing locations and fishing opportunities that will keep even the most adventurous outdoors enthusiast busy for a long time. Historical locations abound.

Going to school in a remote location has its benefits. For one, there are significantly fewer social distractions that get in the way of one's academic pursuits. The typical academic demands made on a Michigan Tech student are such that it is probably a major advantage that Houghton is fairly secluded. Going to a university with a small population makes for longer lasting and more intense collegiate friendships in the long run.

There are numerous student organizations.

You get to discover pasties!

Aids to adjusting to MTU life
There are a number of "little things" that can make life at Michigan Tech a bit easier until you finally adjust to living in Houghton and going to an academically demanding university.

Parents can send regular "care packages". Nothing is appreciated by a student as much as a care package sent by Mom or Dad containing homemade cookies or containing some of the basics of home like toiletries or photos of the family.

Students can car-pool it and drive downstate collectively for the weekend at reduced costs for all. While sharing driving expenses and duties, the other students can socialize or study, and thus make good use of the 12 hour drive.

The use of e-mail has shortened distances enormously. If parents have a computer and are Internet-literate, the use of e-mail can dramatically reduce the costs of staying in touch. E-mail travels 6, 600 or 6,000 miles in virtually the same instant. Tech students can stay in touch with their high school buddies who are now going to school in California, Florida or Israel just as easily as they send e-mail to their buddies who are over in the McNair or DHH dorms.

Getting involved in campus activities is an excellent way to meet new people and to establish friendships that will last throughout your collegiate career, and perhaps a lifetime. Perhaps because of its remote location, Michigan Tech has a surprisingly large number of student organizations devoted to a wide range of interests. If you enjoy martial arts and other sports there are numerous clubs, from tae kwon do to rock climbing to competition rifle to skiing and snowboarding to choose from. If you enjoy Japanese anime, then HARO wants to meet you. The Midievalist Club wants to meet all of you interested in jousting and staging elaborate Middle Ages feasts. If you like tinkering on the edges of technology, you might want to check out the Solar Car Club or get involved in the various clubs devoted to pushing the envelope of computer programming. Similarly, Michigan Tech has many other student organizations devoted to interests in politics, religion, ethnic affiliations, various types of service to the community, and to academic and fraternal pursuits.

Coming into Counseling Services is also a good idea if the transition to Michigan Tech campus life seems a little too problematic to handle. The trained staff can help you ease into life on campus, and can recommend personal solutions to situations you might find too stubbornly difficult to handle on your own. Call and make an appointment with a counselor if you are experiencing difficulty making the transition to MTU life or to Copper Country living.

It will make your time in Houghton seem all the friendlier.