There are many reasons to love the Residential College.
We've gathered our top 10 reasons why you should consider applying to be a part of this creative, intelligent, and just plain fun community. In no particular order, here they are:
1. With incoming classes of about 250 students, the RC provides the best of both worlds - a small, liberal arts college experience AND the world-class resources and opportunities of the College of LSA.
2. With a ratio of 15:1 students to faculty, RC students form close bonds with their instructors who teach and have offices in the building where you live.
3. The RC benefits from a multicultural and multidisciplinary community, and has a long history of supporting activism on campus. Our faculty and students come from many disciplines and from around the world, which fosters rich dialogue and sees current events from a global perspective.
4. With an average of 9-20 students per class that are taught in seminar style, students get lots of chances to contribute to discussions. Every RC student earns a letter grade as well as a personalized, narrative evaluation from their instructor that is recorded on their transcript.
5. East Quad is unmatched for its unique facilities and resources including the RC Art Gallery, Keene Theatre, ceramics studio, printmaking and drawing studio, sculpture studio, photography darkroom, music practice rooms, RC Academic Services, and Community Garden!
6. The RC is the only place at UM where students can study a foreign language in a semi-immersion program in five languages. More RC students study abroad than their LSA peers, and the College offers scholarships exclusively for RC students to pursue these opportunities.
7. On any given night, you may get to choose between a theater performance in the Keene Theater, an open-mic night in the cafe, a guest lecture in the Greene Lounge, or a student-led environmental justice workshop in one of our classrooms. There’s never a dull evening in the RC.
8. About 50% of RC grads earn double majors and the vast majority graduate in four years. Typically, over half of an RC class graduates with distinction, double that of their LSA peers. In fact, many RC-ers also participate in Honors, CSP, UROP and campus research, or complete dual degrees in SMTD, Taubman, or STAMPS.
9. From partners in law firms to senior editors at national newspapers to environmental activists to filmmakers at major studios, RC's 6,000+ alumni are movers and shakers in very diverse fields.
10. You’ll be joining a community of independent thinkers and doers that get support from the College for exploring their unique academic and social interests. The RC seeks students who show initiative and academic excellence, especially those who combine them into innovative projects and research.
