UMSI Visiting Days - one fun-filled weekend, three fast-paced days, 48 non-stop intense hours - admitted students were invited to Ann Arbor for UMSI Visiting Days in March to talk to faculty, staff, and current students to learn about the school and its programs. It was the time when incoming students meet new friends and have a taste of the school (Yes, when school starts, life at UMSI can be as busy and intense as those 48 hours, if not more).
A year ago, when I was an incoming student, I hopped on the Megabus and traveled to Ann Arbor with no idea what I should be expecting. I sort of knew the agenda would be intense, but fortunately, the staff made the weekend very busy but not hectic at all.
Even though I had received emails from current students then, I was still surprised when I saw the warm and smiling faces at UMSI when I arrived. No matter whom I talked to that weekend, they were always patiently listening and were ready to offer great insights and supports. That was a new thing for me as an international student - I graduated from a big public university in Pittsburgh, PA, where the staff had never provided such strong supports to us and I always had felt,,, forgotten. I thought to myself, this was where I wanted to be and where I would thrive. I was sold on that weekend. I felt loved and not left out.
Being a skeptical person, I had this little silly concern that what happened during Visiting Days wouldn’t last, and that the whole weekend might have been a lure to get students to come to UMSI. I was SO wrong. UMSI Visiting Days was the start of everything. The best is yet to come…
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