First-Year Experience

Choosing a university is exciting, but a school with tens of thousands of students can also feel overwhelming. The Residential College (RC) is the only four-year Michigan Learning Community within the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), Founded in 1967, the RC welcomes about 250 new students each year into a community where you live and take many of your classes in the same place, East Quad, so your classmates quickly become your neighbors and friends.

From orientation to graduation, the RC is built to support you, and it starts in your very first year.

What Makes the RC First Year Different

U-M is a big school. The RC is the small part of it, and that changes what your first year actually feels like:

Your entering class is about 250 students. Most RC classes run 10 to 20 people as discussions, and faculty and staff learn your name.
RC advisors work with a small group of students, so you see the same advisor over time instead of dropping by a large central office only when something breaks.
Every RC first-year takes a First-Year Writing Seminar, focused on writing to reflect and engage, not just turning in essays.
You get the University's campus-wide Welcome Week and the RC's own smaller one in East Quad.
Through RC MAP, you are matched with an experienced RC student the summer before classes start.

Here is how the RC first year compares to a typical LSA first year:

	LSA Residential College Student	Typical LSA Student
Academic Advising	RC advisors serve about 700 RC students	Newnan Advising Center serves about 17,000 LSA students
First-Year Writing Seminar	Highlights writing for reflection and engagement	Focuses on rhetorical and analytical writing
Language Courses	immersive learning, 2 semesters to proficiency	Traditional classroom, 4 semesters to complete

And you do not give anything up: you can still choose any LSA or RC class and major or minor, and join programs like the Honors Program, the Comprehensive Studies Program, or UROP, with the RC as your home base for advising, living, and community. Check out more in the RC Academics! Read more about your experience in the accordions below.

Before you move in...

Your RC community begins before the end of your senior year! You’ll get introduced to your classmates through your class’s GroupMe chat, where you can ask questions of current students, connect with your fellow RC’ers, and even find a roommate. There will be more opportunities to connect in the summer through the RC Summer Pen Pals program. It’s run by RC students, and you can be matched with another member of the community and exchange letters before move-in, so you arrive already knowing a friendly face. You could also be matched with a peer mentor through RC MAP, so you have someone who has been in your shoes before classes even start.

Your orientation is with the RC

Like all incoming U-M students, you will complete the University's summer orientation, which includes academic placement and registering for your first classes. As an RC student, though, your orientation will be with the RC specifically. RC Orientation will connect you early with RC advisors who help you understand RC classes and requirements and build your first-year schedule.

Your first-year writing seminar

Ways to get involved

An advisor who knows you by name

You live where you take classes

Questions?

We are happy to help. Reach the RC Admissions team at rcadmissions@umich.edu.

Last Updated: 07/03/2026

Search: {{$root.lsaSearchQuery.q}}, Page {{$root.page}}