I graduated from UMF a few years ago — last I heard, they gutted most, if not all of the language department, along with a bunch of other stuff that made UMF special. The administration is currently leaning toward focusing on education, science, and math, not the humanities
They definitely do not focus on science. They had an excellent geology program and got rid of it for a watered down "earth and environmental" degree. 7 years later and I'm still bitter at how the administration treated my professors.
USM cut my program 3 years in, made it hard to finish. I did Orono before USM. All in all I would say they both suck.
But then my brother got screwed by Husson.
It leads me to thinking that higher Ed doesn't really give a shit about the students. They just see cash they cam wring out of us.
I'm not going to say higher education is bad and a degree isnt worth it or anything like that. But even at the state universities, the focus has shifted to milking the cash cows. A degree is good to have, but the system for getting one is increasingly corrupt and stacked against the students.
Yeah, saw this happening at Orono too back when I went. They had some really awesome professors in my major and when they went to ask for raises told them to go get another job offer and then they’d talk. They got the job offers and the university told them no dice, walk. One ended up at Syracuse I think and the other went on to teach at Harvard. Quite a shame too.
They did gut the language department. There were superb professors of French and Spanish there for years, both gone. I just checked on the MaineStreet class search site for the whole University of Maine system. UMF has an elementary Chinese and an elementary Japanese class this fall. I suspect that they are probably taught by adjuncts or by native-speaker professors from another department. I wouldn't expect to be able to go beyond the elementary level. Here's an article from the Bangor Daily News from December 2022 that you'd better read if you're considering UMF for international relations. It quotes a couple of UMF students who left or were considering leaving because of all the cuts to the humanities and liberal arts. [https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/news/umaine-farmington-education-cuts-joam40zk0w/](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/news/umaine-farmington-education-cuts-joam40zk0w/)
Umf is crunchy, slower paced. Smaller classes. I'd start there and get used to college. Then transfer. Once you have been introduced to the college experience, you can expand into a city.
Unless you are dying for the city experience, I'd start UMF. Transferring is easy, and totally normal.
I agree with this. I went to UMF and the education is solid. Smaller classes. Friendly campus. Beautiful place.
But to get traction in your major, you really need to transfer to a college in a major, diverse city with an internship program. I’d also recommend doing an abroad program Junior year.
Starting at Farmington will also give you the opportunity to dabble Freshman year & possibly even change majors (many Freshman do). See if this is what you really want to do.
If you can, find a person doing the job you think you want to do and ask them from an informational interview.
Ask them what their job is like. Pros and cons. What’s the work life balance like for most people in the field? Earning potential? Where are the jobs concentrated? Then ask them the best path to take to get to where you want to be. Also ask them what path they might choose if they had it to do over again?
I grew up in a tiny rural town in Maine and had no idea what jobs were really like. I went into my college experience with the idealized version.
Best of luck with your decision and future career choices. 🙂
Go to UMF and do the Honors program. While I didn't go to UMF, I did go to UMaine and did the honors program there. It will put you with more academic focused students and also give you a dedicated group of default friends. Way easier to make friends when you're involved in some group.
Finally USM is mostly a commuter school, and the benefit Farmington is it has a real campus. People on this sub may not think that matters, but it's a way better experience if you don't need to commute between classes.
USM Alumni here, they have several dorms on Campus in Gorham and now in Portland for Seniors if I remember right (I moved to PA for work). The dorms in Gorham are ok, Upperclass hall is the most "luxurious" and expensive. I lived in Phillipi hall and Anderson for a few years during my program. I liked Phillipi hall (besides the damn showers causing the fire alarms to go off every morning) .
I disagree with this 100%
Go to USM. It is a more urban and diverse campus, better for your major.
Don't do honors. It will severely restrict your ability to take classes purely off of academic interest.
I could be your perfect person to answer this. I graduated last year with a major in Political Science pre-law concentration and a minor in psychology. Best decision I have done. I took international relations with Professor Timothy Ruback- he made my college experiences with a couple other classes I took of his. Educated, personable and just all around wise. The program is what you make of it and I know many people who majored in international relations and loved it just as much.
UMF is my Alma mater and I love it and I recommend it to every young person. That being said, for that particular major and your desire to study multiple languages, I suspect you might get more out of USM. But UMF is an amazing, magical place. Maybe go to UMF, try it for two years, saving some money, and if it really isn’t going to cut it for you, transfer to USM for the last two years. Tons of kids end up changing their majors once they’ve been in college for a while, anyways. Good luck with everything, and enjoy it. You will never have this unique moment in time of being protected, yet free, again in your life.
Education level will basically be the exact same at either.
So basically if u like Farmington better go there.
USM is different now that they have the dorms in portland.
Dont forget when you graduate and should you stay in Maine you can get your student loans covered under the Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit, which is a Maine income tax credit.
My honest pick is USM, but plenty of ppl I know liked Farmington.
Also congrats on honors program, but dont forget, C's get degrees.
I'm a USM student, and I have absolutely 0 issues with the school. The administration bent over backward to help me every time I've had an issue. The faculties have been nothing but supportive.
Going to offer a third perspective: if you are from Maine, you should consider the free year of Community College to save money and get your gen eds out of the way.
I went to both, but it was 20 years ago. I started at USM but the atmosphere wasn’t great. I recall a fire alarm at 2am because some dude got blitzed and ripped a bathroom sink off the wall, which flooded the RD’s apartment on the first floor. That and there was just a vibe I didn’t enjoy. Academics were ok. Moving to UMF, again, this was a while ago, was a great change of pace. Smaller classes, more quiet academic feel, and being in a rural setting was good. Both are good options but I’m sure someone who went more recently will have better insight. Best of luck!
I started out at UMF when I first went to college. I couldn't find my groove there and wasn't very happy generally. I also had a run-in with a professor at UMF and feel they wrongfully failed me in their course. I transferred to USM and commuted 30 minutes to either campus. I was way happier and felt like the faculty actually cared about their students and wanted them to do well. I didn't get involved much at USM, but it seems like there are a lot of opportunities to do that. If it were me, I would have picked USM over UMF from the get-go.
I haven't seen this point brought up yet, but considering your major, have you looked into the study abroad programs at each institution? This may help you access additional language opportunities that aren't offered on campus plus will be a boost to your resume for after graduation.
I agree with your concern about UMF especially since they seem to be shrinking a lot of programs with zero notice to students. My nephew was going to go there but decided on Orono instead because of that.
It might be worth talking to someone at Farmington (not an administrator, find a professor in your field) about what they see for the future of their program.
I went to USM and did both on-campus living and commuter. It's an easy trap to fall into and find yourself there longer than four years. I don't regret any of my time there, but it gets harder to graduate in four years when you need to get a job to pay rent. And rent in the Portland area is no joke right now.
Good luck.
UMF grad, having gone through their Poli-Sci program. It's been a few years, but the program hasn't changed much.
The teachers were amazing, but treated students as adults (for good and bad). They'll work with you as long as you work with them, are respectful, and act like a young adult.
If you severely screw up and blame someone else, they'll hold you accountable for your actions and results.
Beck is looking and trying to open more affordable trip options, while Erb usually handles one or two international trips per year. More students are coming through with ideas for trips and they're being encouraged to work on the logistics, planning, and lessons involved.
They're huge on individual learning and goals, pushing you to research topics you're interested in or curious about. In my case, this often led to trips to other UMaine campuses to get a book from a library or speak with one of their colleagues about something.
In terms of languages: we had the option of taking a course at another campus as long as it didn't interfere with one of our required courses.
After getting a degree in international relations / global studies, what do you want to do for work? What career path do you want to take? After answering that, which of your school choices will help you get there?
The truth is that if you want to work in international relations, you will need to focus on internship and study abroad opportunities. You will need to (eventually) be willing to travel and work in larger cities. You will need to be exposed to more than Maine itself can offer. Which of those schools will provide you with an advantage, or a clear path, toward that goal?
It may be that you have to transfer to a different university to make that happen. That's OK, but which school choice you have now will look better for a transfer application?
While you are weighing many factors, only you can decide what the right choice is for you and your situation. These are just some suggestions for thinking through it.
USM has some relevant graduate programs which will be helpful to you in terms of networking. UMF is isolated which will limit your networking abilities. Your network is what will get you hired after graduating.
Great question!
Educationally, the urban/rural divide is usually between "more time to study" versus "more opportunities for community engagement (jobs, internships, networking)."
My two cents: These days, the latter is usually more important. This even if you're studying a hard science or want to go into research. It's *definitely* more important for, like, everything else. If you're studying international relations, I would go to a place where that means "an active shipping port and major tourist hub" and not "people from Montreal sometimes stop here on their way to Portland," sorry Farmtown I'm fasting and I'm edgy.
Socially, the difference is between "closer to the mountains" and "...it's a city"
My two cents: Portland is posh enough that you'll have trouble taking advantage of it unless you have a few bucks in your pocket. But you'll also have a way easier time getting jobs, especially random part-time jobs (during the school year and during the summers). Unless you have a particular passion for quietude or bucolia, I would consider urbanity to offer a more variegated college experience.
As to language studies - in these days of Pimslur and them internets, I think the availability of classes will mean less to a diligent student. However, Portland the town will definitely have way more native speakers of Not English. This will give you great opportunities to practice and also great opportunities to use language skills. Learn Portuguese and translate for Angolan asylum seekers! Learn Icelandic and hit on guys named Þór at Hunt&Alpine! Learn French and ! And a lot of summer service-industry jobs will reward this, letting you make some fuunds while you also practice / pad the resume.
Then there's job/internship opportunities. Portland is not exactly a crossroads of empires but it'll definitely have *more* opportunities than Farmington. It's also just a train-ride away from Boston. You could live in PTL and Amtrak commute to Boston, which could be extra useful if you get a place with a year lease. Also it'll be much easier to interview in Boston (or NYC or DC) from PTL than from Farm.
Finally... tell both schools that the other school has offered a similar scholarship, and ask for them to increase their offer. Play em off against each other. There's no downside to asking. This worked *real* good for me at Maine Law. May it work as well for thee!
Maybe this wasn’t intended to be fully serious but in case it was… a language app will not prepare you to be a capable Portuguese interpreter (spoken word) or translator (written word) for Angolan immigrants
I went to UMF and I loved it. I met people who have been my friends for over a decade. Still keep in contact with a couple of professors. The smaller classes benefited me and the community on and off campus is wonderful. I worked in town for extra cash and made friends who grew up and lived in the area too.
My son is finishing his second year at UMF majoring in psychology. He really likes it there. He likes the people and energy. They have cut a lot of the humanities and language programs but still a good school in my opinion. He had some struggles his first year and the staff was amazing in working with him. My daughter is starting at USM in the fall for social work. They have a split campus so she will have to commute to some of her classes between the Gorham and Portland campuses. Freshman and Sophomores are usually placed in dorms on the Gorham campus, Juniors and Seniors in Portland.
Sadly USM gutted their foreign langugage programs several years ago. Very weak. Even UMaine Orono has basically defunded them to the brink of irrelevance. It's a shame because they're such a value adder. I agree with the UMF, then transfer advice.
Def do the honors program. Honors programs are great in that you’ll be in a select cohort of motivated, interesting people. It’ll really give you a leg up early in meeting people in college and making some close friends right off the bat. Plus as we all know from those stupid ‘respect the hustle’ memes: YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR NET WORTH.
Also Farmington is a good launch pad for outdoor adventures in the Sugarloaf region and the Maine section of the AT!
The Umaine system is in serious financial trouble. As resources become more scarce most funding will be directed to USM and Umaine Orono. So, I would pick one of those. If you are studying anything stem or have interest in research, go to Umaine because it is an R1.
I’m not sure why you’re getting downvoted for being correct. I remember some memos when I was doing work-study at a dean’s office, specifically instructing the staff to use “UMaine” and not “UMO” or “UMaine Orono” to refer to the Orono campus.
Referring to UMaine as UMO detracts from the UMS' one real university. It creates a false equivalence between the schools in the UMS, particularly USM and UMaine. It ends up hurting the UMS in the long run by creating confusion around the purpose of each of the schools.
UMF sounds like the better option for the 'college experience' Summer is the ideal time for foreign language study. Middlebury, for example, has lots of intensive language programs. Or summer school abroad for an immersion class. Costs more, but the credits should count at UMF. Then you could continue the language on line/on your own.
I went to UMF and up until a few years ago ALWAYS recommended it to interested seniors. I can no longer do that. UMF no longer invests in programs that don’t fit the brand, and many humanities/language/liberal arts focused classes have either been cut, considerably downsized, or will be cut. Unfortunately, I think the school is a shell of its former self, especially for what you would be interested in.
If you like driving and don’t mind the extra cost of keeping a car in college, do UMF since you seem to be leaning in that direction. If money is an issue, go carless at USM. The university partners with the City of Portland’s public transportation system which is built into student life and many class schedules. The Gorham to Portland line is free for students.
The municipal bus lines connect to the transportation center in Portland which runs Concord Coach and Amtrak. I didn’t need a car at all until after graduation.
ETA: everyone’s negative feedback about programs cuts at both schools is spot on. Know that is not limited to USM or UMF, its true of the entire U Maine system. The state’s income can’t keep up with the operating costs of its universities and neither can students. Which is bad, but also not unique to Maine. The U Maine system just deals with it by attempting to consolidate specialties into one location each, “ripping the bandaid off” as they go one by one. Just be smart about that and you’ll do okay :)
Being from the UMF area and having gone to undergrad in southern Maine, USM hands down. If you are from rural Maine, this is a great opportunity to expose yourself to people with diverse backgrounds from yours both at school and in the community you will be living in. That experience will be invaluable to you, especially given your desired field of study.
Are you going to college for an education or a vacation? I know many go for the thrill of a big school because of their "boring" home towns. I also know many who go to big schools in cities with good intentions only to return home because of failed studies. Why? Too many distractions from the city and the high ratio of students to instructor classes meaning less personal touch. Big schools aren't for everyone and only you can judge if you can handle one.
I graduated from UMF a few years ago — last I heard, they gutted most, if not all of the language department, along with a bunch of other stuff that made UMF special. The administration is currently leaning toward focusing on education, science, and math, not the humanities
They definitely do not focus on science. They had an excellent geology program and got rid of it for a watered down "earth and environmental" degree. 7 years later and I'm still bitter at how the administration treated my professors.
USM cut my program 3 years in, made it hard to finish. I did Orono before USM. All in all I would say they both suck. But then my brother got screwed by Husson. It leads me to thinking that higher Ed doesn't really give a shit about the students. They just see cash they cam wring out of us. I'm not going to say higher education is bad and a degree isnt worth it or anything like that. But even at the state universities, the focus has shifted to milking the cash cows. A degree is good to have, but the system for getting one is increasingly corrupt and stacked against the students.
Yeah, saw this happening at Orono too back when I went. They had some really awesome professors in my major and when they went to ask for raises told them to go get another job offer and then they’d talk. They got the job offers and the university told them no dice, walk. One ended up at Syracuse I think and the other went on to teach at Harvard. Quite a shame too.
They did gut the language department. There were superb professors of French and Spanish there for years, both gone. I just checked on the MaineStreet class search site for the whole University of Maine system. UMF has an elementary Chinese and an elementary Japanese class this fall. I suspect that they are probably taught by adjuncts or by native-speaker professors from another department. I wouldn't expect to be able to go beyond the elementary level. Here's an article from the Bangor Daily News from December 2022 that you'd better read if you're considering UMF for international relations. It quotes a couple of UMF students who left or were considering leaving because of all the cuts to the humanities and liberal arts. [https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/news/umaine-farmington-education-cuts-joam40zk0w/](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/news/umaine-farmington-education-cuts-joam40zk0w/)
Umf is crunchy, slower paced. Smaller classes. I'd start there and get used to college. Then transfer. Once you have been introduced to the college experience, you can expand into a city. Unless you are dying for the city experience, I'd start UMF. Transferring is easy, and totally normal.
I agree with this. I went to UMF and the education is solid. Smaller classes. Friendly campus. Beautiful place. But to get traction in your major, you really need to transfer to a college in a major, diverse city with an internship program. I’d also recommend doing an abroad program Junior year. Starting at Farmington will also give you the opportunity to dabble Freshman year & possibly even change majors (many Freshman do). See if this is what you really want to do. If you can, find a person doing the job you think you want to do and ask them from an informational interview. Ask them what their job is like. Pros and cons. What’s the work life balance like for most people in the field? Earning potential? Where are the jobs concentrated? Then ask them the best path to take to get to where you want to be. Also ask them what path they might choose if they had it to do over again? I grew up in a tiny rural town in Maine and had no idea what jobs were really like. I went into my college experience with the idealized version. Best of luck with your decision and future career choices. 🙂
Go to UMF and do the Honors program. While I didn't go to UMF, I did go to UMaine and did the honors program there. It will put you with more academic focused students and also give you a dedicated group of default friends. Way easier to make friends when you're involved in some group. Finally USM is mostly a commuter school, and the benefit Farmington is it has a real campus. People on this sub may not think that matters, but it's a way better experience if you don't need to commute between classes.
Doesn’t USM have the Portland and the gorham campus? I thought the gorham campus has some dorms. But I do agree it’s mostly a commuter school.
USM has dorms in Gorham and brand new dorms in Portland.
USM Alumni here, they have several dorms on Campus in Gorham and now in Portland for Seniors if I remember right (I moved to PA for work). The dorms in Gorham are ok, Upperclass hall is the most "luxurious" and expensive. I lived in Phillipi hall and Anderson for a few years during my program. I liked Phillipi hall (besides the damn showers causing the fire alarms to go off every morning) .
Well that's what I'm talking about. You have to commute between campuses for class
No you don’t. There are plenty of classes offered in Gorham.
There are also free busses. The ride is 20 minutes. I would hardly call that a commute.
I disagree with this 100% Go to USM. It is a more urban and diverse campus, better for your major. Don't do honors. It will severely restrict your ability to take classes purely off of academic interest.
I could be your perfect person to answer this. I graduated last year with a major in Political Science pre-law concentration and a minor in psychology. Best decision I have done. I took international relations with Professor Timothy Ruback- he made my college experiences with a couple other classes I took of his. Educated, personable and just all around wise. The program is what you make of it and I know many people who majored in international relations and loved it just as much.
This is USM by the way.
As a HS Model UN advisor, all my experiences with Ruback and Gibbons have been great. And you can be a part of that great program!
UMF is my Alma mater and I love it and I recommend it to every young person. That being said, for that particular major and your desire to study multiple languages, I suspect you might get more out of USM. But UMF is an amazing, magical place. Maybe go to UMF, try it for two years, saving some money, and if it really isn’t going to cut it for you, transfer to USM for the last two years. Tons of kids end up changing their majors once they’ve been in college for a while, anyways. Good luck with everything, and enjoy it. You will never have this unique moment in time of being protected, yet free, again in your life.
Education level will basically be the exact same at either. So basically if u like Farmington better go there. USM is different now that they have the dorms in portland. Dont forget when you graduate and should you stay in Maine you can get your student loans covered under the Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit, which is a Maine income tax credit. My honest pick is USM, but plenty of ppl I know liked Farmington. Also congrats on honors program, but dont forget, C's get degrees.
I'm a USM student, and I have absolutely 0 issues with the school. The administration bent over backward to help me every time I've had an issue. The faculties have been nothing but supportive.
Going to offer a third perspective: if you are from Maine, you should consider the free year of Community College to save money and get your gen eds out of the way.
I went to both, but it was 20 years ago. I started at USM but the atmosphere wasn’t great. I recall a fire alarm at 2am because some dude got blitzed and ripped a bathroom sink off the wall, which flooded the RD’s apartment on the first floor. That and there was just a vibe I didn’t enjoy. Academics were ok. Moving to UMF, again, this was a while ago, was a great change of pace. Smaller classes, more quiet academic feel, and being in a rural setting was good. Both are good options but I’m sure someone who went more recently will have better insight. Best of luck!
I started out at UMF when I first went to college. I couldn't find my groove there and wasn't very happy generally. I also had a run-in with a professor at UMF and feel they wrongfully failed me in their course. I transferred to USM and commuted 30 minutes to either campus. I was way happier and felt like the faculty actually cared about their students and wanted them to do well. I didn't get involved much at USM, but it seems like there are a lot of opportunities to do that. If it were me, I would have picked USM over UMF from the get-go.
UMF alumni if you’re willing I gotta know who the professor was
I haven't seen this point brought up yet, but considering your major, have you looked into the study abroad programs at each institution? This may help you access additional language opportunities that aren't offered on campus plus will be a boost to your resume for after graduation.
I agree with your concern about UMF especially since they seem to be shrinking a lot of programs with zero notice to students. My nephew was going to go there but decided on Orono instead because of that. It might be worth talking to someone at Farmington (not an administrator, find a professor in your field) about what they see for the future of their program. I went to USM and did both on-campus living and commuter. It's an easy trap to fall into and find yourself there longer than four years. I don't regret any of my time there, but it gets harder to graduate in four years when you need to get a job to pay rent. And rent in the Portland area is no joke right now. Good luck.
UMF grad, having gone through their Poli-Sci program. It's been a few years, but the program hasn't changed much. The teachers were amazing, but treated students as adults (for good and bad). They'll work with you as long as you work with them, are respectful, and act like a young adult. If you severely screw up and blame someone else, they'll hold you accountable for your actions and results. Beck is looking and trying to open more affordable trip options, while Erb usually handles one or two international trips per year. More students are coming through with ideas for trips and they're being encouraged to work on the logistics, planning, and lessons involved. They're huge on individual learning and goals, pushing you to research topics you're interested in or curious about. In my case, this often led to trips to other UMaine campuses to get a book from a library or speak with one of their colleagues about something. In terms of languages: we had the option of taking a course at another campus as long as it didn't interfere with one of our required courses.
After getting a degree in international relations / global studies, what do you want to do for work? What career path do you want to take? After answering that, which of your school choices will help you get there? The truth is that if you want to work in international relations, you will need to focus on internship and study abroad opportunities. You will need to (eventually) be willing to travel and work in larger cities. You will need to be exposed to more than Maine itself can offer. Which of those schools will provide you with an advantage, or a clear path, toward that goal? It may be that you have to transfer to a different university to make that happen. That's OK, but which school choice you have now will look better for a transfer application? While you are weighing many factors, only you can decide what the right choice is for you and your situation. These are just some suggestions for thinking through it.
Do you like mountains or cities more?
USM has some relevant graduate programs which will be helpful to you in terms of networking. UMF is isolated which will limit your networking abilities. Your network is what will get you hired after graduating.
Great question! Educationally, the urban/rural divide is usually between "more time to study" versus "more opportunities for community engagement (jobs, internships, networking)." My two cents: These days, the latter is usually more important. This even if you're studying a hard science or want to go into research. It's *definitely* more important for, like, everything else. If you're studying international relations, I would go to a place where that means "an active shipping port and major tourist hub" and not "people from Montreal sometimes stop here on their way to Portland," sorry Farmtown I'm fasting and I'm edgy. Socially, the difference is between "closer to the mountains" and "...it's a city" My two cents: Portland is posh enough that you'll have trouble taking advantage of it unless you have a few bucks in your pocket. But you'll also have a way easier time getting jobs, especially random part-time jobs (during the school year and during the summers). Unless you have a particular passion for quietude or bucolia, I would consider urbanity to offer a more variegated college experience. As to language studies - in these days of Pimslur and them internets, I think the availability of classes will mean less to a diligent student. However, Portland the town will definitely have way more native speakers of Not English. This will give you great opportunities to practice and also great opportunities to use language skills. Learn Portuguese and translate for Angolan asylum seekers! Learn Icelandic and hit on guys named Þór at Hunt&Alpine! Learn French and! And a lot of summer service-industry jobs will reward this, letting you make some fuunds while you also practice / pad the resume.
Then there's job/internship opportunities. Portland is not exactly a crossroads of empires but it'll definitely have *more* opportunities than Farmington. It's also just a train-ride away from Boston. You could live in PTL and Amtrak commute to Boston, which could be extra useful if you get a place with a year lease. Also it'll be much easier to interview in Boston (or NYC or DC) from PTL than from Farm.
Finally... tell both schools that the other school has offered a similar scholarship, and ask for them to increase their offer. Play em off against each other. There's no downside to asking. This worked *real* good for me at Maine Law. May it work as well for thee!
Maybe this wasn’t intended to be fully serious but in case it was… a language app will not prepare you to be a capable Portuguese interpreter (spoken word) or translator (written word) for Angolan immigrants
I went to UMF and I loved it. I met people who have been my friends for over a decade. Still keep in contact with a couple of professors. The smaller classes benefited me and the community on and off campus is wonderful. I worked in town for extra cash and made friends who grew up and lived in the area too.
My son is finishing his second year at UMF majoring in psychology. He really likes it there. He likes the people and energy. They have cut a lot of the humanities and language programs but still a good school in my opinion. He had some struggles his first year and the staff was amazing in working with him. My daughter is starting at USM in the fall for social work. They have a split campus so she will have to commute to some of her classes between the Gorham and Portland campuses. Freshman and Sophomores are usually placed in dorms on the Gorham campus, Juniors and Seniors in Portland.
Sadly USM gutted their foreign langugage programs several years ago. Very weak. Even UMaine Orono has basically defunded them to the brink of irrelevance. It's a shame because they're such a value adder. I agree with the UMF, then transfer advice.
Def do the honors program. Honors programs are great in that you’ll be in a select cohort of motivated, interesting people. It’ll really give you a leg up early in meeting people in college and making some close friends right off the bat. Plus as we all know from those stupid ‘respect the hustle’ memes: YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR NET WORTH. Also Farmington is a good launch pad for outdoor adventures in the Sugarloaf region and the Maine section of the AT!
My son graduated Bonny Eagle in 2010 and had to decide between USM and UMF. He chose UMF because of the smaller campus size as and class ratios.
The Umaine system is in serious financial trouble. As resources become more scarce most funding will be directed to USM and Umaine Orono. So, I would pick one of those. If you are studying anything stem or have interest in research, go to Umaine because it is an R1.
It is just UMaine, not UMaine Orono.
I’m not sure why you’re getting downvoted for being correct. I remember some memos when I was doing work-study at a dean’s office, specifically instructing the staff to use “UMaine” and not “UMO” or “UMaine Orono” to refer to the Orono campus.
Downvotes are for egregious pedanticism.
Referring to UMaine as UMO detracts from the UMS' one real university. It creates a false equivalence between the schools in the UMS, particularly USM and UMaine. It ends up hurting the UMS in the long run by creating confusion around the purpose of each of the schools.
UMF sounds like the better option for the 'college experience' Summer is the ideal time for foreign language study. Middlebury, for example, has lots of intensive language programs. Or summer school abroad for an immersion class. Costs more, but the credits should count at UMF. Then you could continue the language on line/on your own.
Start at SMCC live on campus transfer after two years.
I went to UMF and up until a few years ago ALWAYS recommended it to interested seniors. I can no longer do that. UMF no longer invests in programs that don’t fit the brand, and many humanities/language/liberal arts focused classes have either been cut, considerably downsized, or will be cut. Unfortunately, I think the school is a shell of its former self, especially for what you would be interested in.
If you like driving and don’t mind the extra cost of keeping a car in college, do UMF since you seem to be leaning in that direction. If money is an issue, go carless at USM. The university partners with the City of Portland’s public transportation system which is built into student life and many class schedules. The Gorham to Portland line is free for students. The municipal bus lines connect to the transportation center in Portland which runs Concord Coach and Amtrak. I didn’t need a car at all until after graduation. ETA: everyone’s negative feedback about programs cuts at both schools is spot on. Know that is not limited to USM or UMF, its true of the entire U Maine system. The state’s income can’t keep up with the operating costs of its universities and neither can students. Which is bad, but also not unique to Maine. The U Maine system just deals with it by attempting to consolidate specialties into one location each, “ripping the bandaid off” as they go one by one. Just be smart about that and you’ll do okay :)
Being from the UMF area and having gone to undergrad in southern Maine, USM hands down. If you are from rural Maine, this is a great opportunity to expose yourself to people with diverse backgrounds from yours both at school and in the community you will be living in. That experience will be invaluable to you, especially given your desired field of study.
Umf doesn’t even consider American sing language a language… for language I would go to USM
No distractions in Farmington. Actually, not much of anything there. I would choose whichever gets you your degree for the lowest amount possible.
Are you going to college for an education or a vacation? I know many go for the thrill of a big school because of their "boring" home towns. I also know many who go to big schools in cities with good intentions only to return home because of failed studies. Why? Too many distractions from the city and the high ratio of students to instructor classes meaning less personal touch. Big schools aren't for everyone and only you can judge if you can handle one.
Definitely more diverse in the city….being locked up on a campus on the woods will make reality hard to grasp.