University of Minnesota
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Men's and women's hockey. Given that winter lasts a good six months here, it should come as no surprise that my students obsess over our hockey teams. Both my men's and women's teams vie for the championship on a nearly yearly basis.
- Undergraduate and graduate research. You've never seen so many white lab coats outside of a hospital. My research program is really well-known, and comes with some awesome perks. For example, many students are offered "research guarantees" with their acceptance letters, and most undergrad research positions are for-pay positions. Cha-ching.
- Business. My Gophers know how to hold their own in the boardroom. My Carlson School of Management is one of the top in the country, and it focuses on experiential learning, which means you'll get to spend time in the swanky offices of Minneapolis' most successful companies.
- Education. Given that Minnesota's public school system is ranked within the top ten in the nation, I'm under a lot of pressure to churn out teachers who are awesome enough to hold that bar high. You won't find any "Wah Wah Wah" Peanuts-style teaching going on here.
- Law. Being nice doesn't stop me from maintaining one of the best law programs in the country. The University of Minnesota Law School is consistently ranked extremely high, and we pride ourselves on the talent we churn out. Who knows, maybe nice is the next big thing in the courtroom.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- The perfect hipster uniform (a flannel and cuffed jeans). If you choose to embrace the hipster vibe of the University of Minnesota, you've got to rep the gear. Find the best flannel you can—extra props if it's your grandpa's.
- A puffer jacket. Winters in Minnesota get frigid, and you'll be doing a lot of walking around campus to get from class to class. The warmer and frumpier, the better. Also, if you don't want to blend in with the masses of black, knee-length, North Face puffers for six months out of the year, buy something bright.
- A six pack of craft beer. We Gophers (who are all over twenty-one, of course), love our craft brews, and with five local breweries within a few miles, the possibilities are endless. Show up at a bonfire in Dinkytown with a new craft brew and you'll be the life of the party.
- A bottle of Tums. Okay, if you have a little restraint, you may not actually need the whole bottle…but between the comforting campus grub and the high diversity of foods in Minneapolis, you can bet that you're going to be eating a lot here. Students spend a ton of time exploring different types of restaurants around the city, and the options are endless.
- A pair of good walking shoes. With a campus the size of mine, comfort comes before style in the realm of footwear. It's likely that you'll be walking multiple miles each day just getting from building to building, so protecting those feet is vital. Make sure they're waterproof, as well. Snow melts.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- Given that I'm a Big Ten school, it's pretty likely that you've heard of my sports teams. Goldy Gopher is famous.
- Hockey fan? Love the movie Miracle on Ice? Just an aficionado of 1980s U.S. culture? Then you probably know that I churned out about half of the roster for the "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Hockey team in 1980. Another thing I like to take credit for? Those haircuts. #flow
- An apple a day keeps the doctor away—this is a fact that we all know well. My Gophers created the well-known sweet, crispy, delicious Honeycrisp apple on my campus in 1960. You're welcome.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
I'm probably at Dinkytown, a popular hub for weekend bar-hoppers, restaurant-goers, and fro-yo runners alike. The neighborhood has three bars—Blarney's, Burrito Loco, and the Library—within two blocks of one another.
Most twenty-one-and-ups spend Saturday nights either bopping back and forth between bars or going from house to house in Dinkytown for some mingling and festivities. Dinkytown also has a few ice cream parlors and fro-yo shops, which makes it a popular place for people looking to grab a quick, low-key sweet treat.
There's also Gophers after Dark. Every Friday and Saturday night, I sponsor some after-dark fun at Coffman Memorial Union. Activities range from movies in Coffman's movie theater, to campus-wide capture the flag, to hotdog eating contests. There is generally a lot of free food and Minnesota swag, and the place is always packed full of students looking to mingle with their fellow Gophers.
Favorite Hangouts:
- Dinkytown: During daylight hours, Dinkytown's streets are bustling with students and professors grabbing burgers, Chinese food, sandwiches, and lattes in between classes.
After 10:00PM, you'll find the streets filled with students making their way from bar to bar for some weekend festivities. One of Dinkytown's classics is Annie's Parlour, a diner that serves massive milkshakes, huge baskets of French fries, and your standard diner fare.
- Coffman Memorial Union, During the school week, Coffman Memorial Union is always bustling with students. In the cozy lobby, you'll find students studying on couches, snoozing by one of the two fireplaces, or grabbing a quick bite in the food court. Some popular choices include Erberts and Gerberts, Starbucks, Panda Express, Einstein's Bagels, and Chick-Fil-a.
- Al's Breakfast. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, Al's breakfast—located in Dinkytown—is packed full of students grabbing greasy, delicious breakfasts and reminiscing over the events of the previous evenings. Bring cash—Al's doesn't accept cards.
- Mesa Pizza. Also located in—you guessed it—Dinkytown, Mesa Pizza is a hot spot for late-night grub on campus. This by-the-slice pizzeria offers unbeatable pies, including macaroni pizza, southwest steak and guacamole pizza, and gyro pizza. Beware: The lines at this walk-in joint grow exponentially around bar close (2:00AM).
Quirks:
- One thing that sets me apart from other college campuses is the long, chilly winters. While winters do get frigid and long, we Gophers generally embrace them. Where else can you go sledding down campus streets at midnight or have campus-wide snowball fights for six months out of the year? Once the snow starts falling, we bundle up and milk it for all it's worth—frostbite and all.
- My campus has a really "college town" feel, even though it sits smack dab in the middle of a city. As you wander between the historic buildings around campus and the cutesy, bustling streets of Dinkytown, you definitely don't feel like you're in the heart of a metropolitan area. My Gophers get the best of both worlds—we reap the benefits of the city while enjoying the cozy vibe of a college town.
Famous Alumni:
- Bob Dylan. Yep, that beautifully nasally musician walked the sidewalks of my campus in his day.
- Hubert Humphrey. The former Vice President may have picked up a trick or two in a U of M political science lecture.
- Walter Mondale, another former Vice President…I sure know how to churn them out.
- Tony Dungy. Though he never experienced the swanky new TCF stadium, football player Tony Dungy, who coached the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl Victory, tossed the ball around here.
- Garrison Keillor, the famous host of "A Prairie Home Companion," raves about his Gopher days on the reg.