Student Success at UMaine (transcript)
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Jade McGuire: I think I originally chose the University of Maine, for the same reason a lot of people do. It was close to home, but not too close, and it fit within my budget. The reason that I stayed at UMaine, is because I really feel that it fit for me. The school is not too big, but it’s big enough that I can get different perspectives, which is really important to me. I’ve always just felt safe, and comfortable, and welcome here.
Josh Savoy: I was undecided, when I came here originally. The amount of opportunity that’s here was huge.
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Phoenix Throckmorton: I didn’t have much of a plan before I came to the university. Once I came to the university, I discovered all the tools that are available to me to help me develop a plan for moving forward along my future.
I’ve always been interested in space and aerospace. I took a tour here at the Composites Center, and I got to see all the projects. I realized that there is a NASA project right here in the Composites Center, and I was like, “Wow. I really want to get involved with this.”
I would say that you definitely don’t have to have your plan set in stone, but you just have to keep your mind open, and be aware of the resources around you.
Dominika Trzilova: I think UMaine has given me a lot more than I actually hoped for. I came in not knowing a whole lot, and I got great experiences, and great people that I’m going to have for the rest of my life. It has definitely helped me get to where I want to go, which is a PhD program.
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Meghan Frisard: I think 30 is the idea that, you can take 30 credits over the whole school year. Because the minimum number of credits to graduate is 120 credits, if you take 30 credits every year, then you’ll graduate in four years.
Eric LeVasseur: I’ve taken a few summer classes so far this summer. I’ve taken eight credits in total. It’s been helping me with the fall and spring semesters, though I don’t need to load myself up with so many credits. I can ease up on the amount of credits I take during the fall and spring. That way, I can really enjoy my college experience, and get involved with a whole bunch of different organizations on campus.
Meghan: If you graduate in four years, then you’ll have less debt, which is pretty much the biggest thing. An extra year or two is an extra year or two of student loans, which no one really wants to pay off.
Andrew Krause: Learning leadership skills. In any major, there are always classes that are geared towards leadership and teamwork. Not only just classes that have to do with your major, but classes that have to do with being a better person, and working conducively with other people.
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Leila Wojtowski: People think that at large universities, that nobody knows your name, and that it’s going to be hard to really stand out and get the attention that you need. Here it’s completely different. We have the large-scale university with the small-scale feel.
Ashley Cooper: We have a writing center, the math dens, Econ labs, accounting labs, we have a counseling center. Just with that alone, there are a lot of different resources. A lot of the advisors and professors are really great too.
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Taryn Lane: I would say the opportunity to get involved, is one of the most important things about the University of Maine. You can expand your horizons in ways way beyond your area of study, that you wouldn’t think that you’d be interested in outside of academics.
We have all kinds of musical ensembles, sports groups, club sports teams. Getting involved with the student organizations, and making friends, and expanding my social circle made me more comfortable here, and actually really made me fall in love with the university.
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Liz Wood: What I didn’t realize is that UMaine would affect me so greatly, and that I would have so many opportunities here just to expand, and do research, and learn from great professors.
Noelle Leon-Palmer: I feel like I have been so prepared to not give up. It’s midnight, I have an assignment due, I have to wake up early for practice, I still have to finish the assignment. [laughs] It doesn’t matter. I feel like, in that sense, I’ve also been really prepared. I think medical school will be a good test, for what I’ve learned so far in the past four years.
Liz: A great place to be with great people that really care about you.
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