University of Maine Admission
University of Maine Undergraduate Program
University of Maine Application

The Facts

The University of Maine is a public state-funded school located in the tiny town of Orono, Maine, and is fairly small compared to other public institutions of higher education.  It is perhaps best known for its engineering program, but it also offers a very wide range of options and programs that even include a Canadian studies major.  (only in Maine folks!)  The school is made up of several smaller undergraduate colleges including schools of business, public policy and health, education and human development, engineering, liberal arts and sciences, natural sciences, forestry, and agriculture.  The school also boasts several interdisciplinary programs, including an innovative program in new media.   Some of the most popular majors with students include majors in the areas of business administration, nursing, elementary education, psychology, and secondary education.

Admission to the school is not nearly as competitive as other state schools.  Last year, about 5,540 students applied and approximately 4,204 students were admitted.  Of those admitted, only about 1,698 actually enrolled for the coming fall semester.  The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 970 to 1190, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 20 to 27.  Over 54% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of 3.25. 

University of Maine has a pretty high student to faculty ratio of 15:1, but students say that their more advanced classes are usually no more than 30 students.  Teachers usually make themselves quite accessible to their students, particularly during office hours.  Many students say that even if you catch a professor while walking around on campus, they will usually be more than happy to speak with you.  Students say that their workloads can be quite heavy, and in some cases, students get very competitive especially in the cutthroat engineering program. 

The Social Scene

The town of Orono is basically just comprised of the university itself.  In fact, the university’s campus is actually located on an island in between two rivers.  The campus is a haven for nature lovers; however, students say that the campus isn’t terribly conducive to wild social activities.  The campus does boast three museums, a fantastic, large research library, a concert hall, planetarium and a whopping 16 dorms. There are fraternities and sororities, but students say that they don’t actually have too much of an influence on campus life in general.  They do throw the inevitable keg parties, but students aren’t generally big partiers.  Instead, students prefer to hang out in small groups, or head out to the nearby mountains to go skiing.

There are sports at the school, particularly of the winter variety.  Hockey and skiing and both big deals, and women’s basketball is quite popular as well.

The dating scene is pretty good; expect a lot of cute snowboarders of both genders...

What’s Good

“People here are soooooo friendly, it’s almost surreal!  They really welcome newcomers with open arms.”

“The campus is really beautiful and just walking from class to class is a real treat.”

“The academics are fantastic, and the atmosphere is really conducive to staying focused.”

What’s Bad

“The town is all but non-existent.  There isn’t anything to do here.”

“The classes can be kind of uninformative, especially the core curriculum.”

“The frats and sororities think they are amazing, but they are really just kind of annoying.”

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