Eastern Michigan University Admission
Eastern Michigan University Undergraduate Program
Eastern Michigan UniversityApplication

The Facts

Eastern Michigan University is a large public university located in the oddly named town of Ypsilanti, Michigan (try saying that 10 times fast... or even once!) and is home to over 20,000 undergraduate, graduate and part-time professional students. EMU has actually been around for a very long time, and was actually founded in 1895. The university is actually divided up into several smaller undergraduate colleges including schools of arts and sciences, business, education, health and human services, technology, and it has one general graduate school. The school offers its students a wide variety of mostly preprofessional programs and majors; some of the most popular choices are business administration, psychology, management, and elementary education. As previously stated, most of the programs are indeed preprofessional, and there is definitely a heavy emphasis on preparing students for the working world; this preparation includes many internship opportunities and fellowship programs that allow students to get working experience before they head out into the job market.

Admission to Eastern Michigan University is not academically competitive; however, the amount of students that have been applying increases with each passing admissions cycle. Last year, over 10,000 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 9,000 of these students were accepted; of those, about 7,300 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 990 to 1100, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 18 to 22. Additionally, over 32% of those admitted were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.05.

For such a large university, the rather manageable student to teacher ratio of 20:1 is quite impressive. Most of the introductory classes are quite large and held in massive lecture halls, however, as the level of specificity and intensity increases in classes, the number of students in each class decreases significantly. In general, professors get high marks from students in terms of accessibility and willingness to speak with students outside of class; there are, however, the occasional professors who seem to be more interested in their own research and careers rather than the well-being of their students.

The Social Scene

The town of Ypsilanti is pretty dull, and doesn’t really offer students much in the way of entertainment. It hasn’t yet embraced its status as a college town, and all it really offers are some strip malls and a few local bars that are heavy on the carding. Students instead create their own fun, and we hear that the party scene on campus is going almost 24-7. Greek life is a big social factor, and many students join a fraternity or sorority early on in their college careers. Drinking is one of the most popular modes of social interaction; however, if it isn’t your thing, there are plenty of student-run clubs and organizations you can get involved in that are alcohol- free.

The dating scene is vibrant, but pretty homogenous. If you like prepsters clad from head to toe in Gap and Abercrombie, this just might be your school.

What’s Good

“Even though the university is quite large, it’s pretty easy to find your niche, and things to get involved in.”

“The on-campus social life is amazing; you really never need to leave campus to have a good time on the weekends.”

“The dorms are actually quite nice, and you actually have a fair amount of space to do your thing.”

What’s Bad

“Even though the university is large, it feels waaaay too small. People don’t have anything to do but gossip about each other.”

“Ypsilanti is incredibly boring, and if you don’t have a car, you’re pretty much trapped here.”

The frat guys think they own the school, and unfortunately, they kind of do.”

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