A Student Review of University of Miami

A Student Review of University of Miami The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teachtheyre sharing their college experiences as well. Michael earned his bachelors degree in psychology from University of Miami in 2012. He currently specializes in biology tutoring, algebra tutoring, and more. See what he had to share about his experience at University of Miami: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Michael: The University of Miami is located in a beautiful and affluent suburb fifteen minutes outside of Miami. The campus is extremely beautiful and very reminiscent of a tropical resort. It is very walkable, as it can take roughly fifteen minutes to walk from one end to the other. The university provides a shuttle that will take you around campus, as well as to local markets, malls, and other social venues. Freshmen are not allowed to bring a car to campus, but the majority of upperclassmen tend to have a car. The campus is very bike-friendly, and ZipCar is available for those who dont have a car but would like to rent one for the day. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Michael: Most classes at UM are fairly small, with the largest being around 120 students. Advising is integrated throughout your undergraduate experience at multiple levels, and students are given as much guidance as they desire. The university cares about ensuring students graduate on time, and there are many advisors to help you achieve your academic goals. Teaching assistants usually help with workshop sessions and laboratory segments of courses. They are usually graduate students at UM and are very approachable. How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students at University of Miami? Michael: The dorms are like most other college campuses, with a good mixture of single and double occupancy rooms. Upperclassman can live in beautiful on-campus apartments (ranging from a one bed, one bath to a four bed, four bath). There are many dining options available with convenient hours. Dorm life is what you make of it. Freshman year in the towers is a great social experience. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported? Michael: The College of Arts Sciences is probably the division of the university I am most familiar with. I was a psychology major and it was one of the largest departments at the university. The guidance, faculty, and support staff were phenomenal, and I still keep in touch with many to this day. I also took pre-med courses, and the university has a very comprehensive pre-health advising system to help students gain admission to highly competitive graduate fields in medicine. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Michael: Making friends is an integral part of the college experience. At UM, students come from all over the US and the world, making for a very diverse community. There is a strong sense of family amongst the students, and making friends that share interests in common with you is not hard. Greek life exists, although its not huge. Its there if you want it, and can open the doors to many life-long friendships and networking opportunities. How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services at University of Miami? Michael: The career center at UM is top-notch, and they will make individual appointments with you to help you with your resume, CV, and interviewing skills. They provide excellent career guidance and host many networking events and career fairs. Students at UM do very well finding postgraduate job placement. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Michael: If you havent seen pictures of the campus, you need to check them out online. Its beyond beautiful and many of these picturesque areas are devoted to academic studies. Overcrowding is never an issue, as UM is a relatively small university. Describe the surrounding town. Michael: Coral Gables is an affluent suburb of Miami that is exceptionally safe and beautiful. There are outdoor malls, concert venues, public parks, and waterfront dining all within a five-minute drive from campus. Downtown Miami and South Beach are only 15 minutes away via car, and there is a metro station right by the university. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Michael: I found the size of UM to be perfect. There are about 10,000 undergraduate students total. Typical class sizes were around 20 for me, with my largest being in introductory science classes (usually around 120 students). I never felt overwhelmed by the sizes of my classes. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Michael: I loved my academic experience at UM, and really fell in love with a course on abnormal psychology. The professor was outstanding and was really passionate about serving the community. The classes at UM are small enough to get to know your professors, which opens doors for many great networking opportunities. Check out Michaels tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

How To Improve Your Quantitative GMAT Score

How To Improve Your Quantitative GMAT Score The Quantitative Section may be the easiest section to improve in if you prepare correctly, giving you the golden opportunity to significantly improve your overall score. The following tips can help you understand how to boost your score, but working with a private Varsity Tutors tutor will be the major difference in actually doing so. Your tutor will guide you through the following tips and structures, ensuring you improve your GMAT quantitative score. See more from Varsity Tutors on how to improve your cumulative GMAT score. Focus on just the Quant. Section: Verbal, Analytical Writing dont even exist right now. First, you need to become proficient in one section. Then move onto another, then the last. Then review them all collectively. Studies indicate that the brain works best when it can see how all the information connects and relates. But, with the GMAT, its simply too big of a monster to tackle at once. So, try to get a solid understanding of each section; then connect them all. Step one Read up: Before you dive into practice tests, read, read, read and read some more. Some books specialize in GMAT Quantitative, and others simply have it as a section. Both will work out well. In this section, you will need to know arithmetic, elementary algebra and basic geometry. You will see two types of questions: problem solving and data sufficiency. Data sufficiency tips: These problems pose a question and then provide two potential answers. You must decide if one, both or neither of the statements are sufficient enough for the question. First off, memorize all five possible answers (they are listed below) to save tons of time. Then, look at each numbered statement individually and use process of elimination. It may seem odd, but dont trust your eye or your first instinct because that is exactly how test makers create traps. Instead, work through the problem. But most importantly, rely on common structures and themes instead of numbers to solve each answer. You can master that last technique by writing your own questions and changing the numbers in the problems. That forces your brain learn structures, instead of numbers, which can dramatically improve your accuracy and speed. Heres an example: 1) If the average size of 3 accounts is $1 million, is the smallest account less than $500,000? The largest account is $1.3 million. One of the accounts is $0.7 million. Answer choices: A) Statement 1 alone is sufficient but statement 2 alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked. B) Statement 2 alone is sufficient but statement 1 alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked. C) Both statements 1 and 2 together are sufficient to answer the question but neither statement is sufficient alone. D) Each statement alone is sufficient to answer the question. E) Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient to answer the question asked and additional data is needed to answer the statements. The correct answer is C. See the explanation here. Problem Solving: For these questions, you will need your basic mathematic skills (geometry and algebra and not calculus or trigonometry) Here, you will see multiple choice calculations and word problems, most of which will be pretty similar to what you saw in previous math classes/standardized tests. Make scrap paper your new best friend and use as much of it as possible. Writing out all the steps to the problems can help you avoid careless mistakes. Read the problems very carefully because test makers load questions with traps. Making educated guesses can be very effective for this section, as it will save you buckets (and we mean buckets) of time without sacrificing a lot of accuracy. Practice test: Okay, now youre ready for your first practice test. Dont be over-concerned with your score. Just take one to get through it. Highlight any questions you were confused on or any that took you an incredibly long time. Then, review those questions at length with your tutor to learn how to use themes and structures to answer them correctly and quickly. Practice questions: Not tests, but just questions. Have your tutor create a list of questions that are problematic and time consuming for you. Run through them over and over and over again. In time, you will be amazed at how much easier these questions will become. Real practice test: Your brain likes consistency; so try to mimic the test scenario by taking an entire, timed test in a public place on a computer, like a library or coffee shop to help you get used to thinking with other people around. After you do this, start all over again until youre satisfied with your score. Understand time: You have to answer 37 questions in 75 minutes, which gives you about 2 minutes per question. So, if you find yourself taking more time, then you need to speed it up and maybe even start guessing. Always finish the test: There is a penalty that some estimate to be as high as 30-50 points for not finishing the test. But, if you blindly guess on the last 10 questions, the test will know and penalize you for it. So, pace is incredibly, incredibly important. But, if you must blindly guess on the last questions.