First-Year Experience

The Residential College (RC) is a four-year living-learning program within LSA where students combine the opportunities of a large research university with a smaller, close-knit academic community.

Each year, about 250 first-year LSA students join the RC in their first-year and live together in East Quad, where many RC classes, faculty offices, events, and community spaces are also located. That means the people you meet in class are often the same people you see at dinner, study with down the hall, or run into at an event later that week. 

Founded as an educational experiement in 1967, today the RC is the only four-year Michigan Learning Community within LSA. Students stay connected to the RC throughout their undergraduate experience while having full access to everything LSA and the University of Michigan have to offer. 

What Makes the RC First Year Different

U-M is a big school. The RC offers a homebase for LSA undergraduates from which to explore everything campus has to offer.

Your first year will be shaped by experiences such as:

• 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 can choose to be 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:

RC students 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! The RC will act as your home base for advising, living, and community; helping to turn a big university experience into a supportive community environment.