Just got back from the Boston National College Fair and I spoke with someone, an admissions counselor from UMaine Farmington. It sounds like a great school, just wondering if anyone on AZ has any experience with this school.
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University of Maine Farmington
- Thread starter sullydog
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Angus
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I don't know anything about the academics or social life but I can say Farmington is a small town. You need to be pretty prepared for a big change if you are from the Boston area. I would think you really need to enjoy the outdoors to be happy/prosper there. I know a couple of grads who all seem to have enjoyed their time there. I think they had a resort mgmt program but it was discontinued - I may be wrong. Whenever I drive through (on the way to/back from Sugarloaf) I always want to stop and spend some more time there. I stopped at UMaine Orono last summer and was surprised at how small a campus it was considering it is the primary campus of the UMAINE system. Goodluck! Also, don't just visit in the summer go in the dead of winter if it makes your short list - that's advice from experience!
No experience, but it is 30 miles from Sugarloaf and about 50 miles from Sunday River.
My inlaws live in Orono and I have spent time up there visiting them. UMaine Orono is a good school and the facilities are nice. It is a good location because you are about 1:30 from Katahdin, 1 hour from Acadia, and 2.5 hours from Sugarloaf. That said, it is a smaller school and Orono/Old Town is going to feel small compared to Boston. I like Orono a lot.....but I am from a small town in the NEK of Vermont.
Have you considered UNH? It is a very good public school and you can take Amtrak into Boston and are pretty close to Gunstock, Sunday River, and the Mount Washington Valley.
My inlaws live in Orono and I have spent time up there visiting them. UMaine Orono is a good school and the facilities are nice. It is a good location because you are about 1:30 from Katahdin, 1 hour from Acadia, and 2.5 hours from Sugarloaf. That said, it is a smaller school and Orono/Old Town is going to feel small compared to Boston. I like Orono a lot.....but I am from a small town in the NEK of Vermont.
Have you considered UNH? It is a very good public school and you can take Amtrak into Boston and are pretty close to Gunstock, Sunday River, and the Mount Washington Valley.
riverc0il
New member
Great access to skiing from there. Loaf, Sunday River, and Saddleback all within about an hour. Only 1:45 to Wildcat and Pinkham Notch. Can't speak for the education but looks like a great spot for skiing, especially with a Loaf/River combo pass at the college rate. Maybe a Loaf/River pass and a Saddleback pass. Can't beat that with a stick. Doesn't seem like there is much going on up there, though, that is for sure. That could be good or bad depending on your perspective.
To give you some reference, out of UVM, U Maine, and UNH, with regards to academics and reputation, I'd put UNH first, UVM second, and UMaine third (but close). It also depends on what you want to do with your life....I was able to do what I wanted to and still skied at Sugarbush and other great places!
BackLoafRiver
New member
As the others have said, it totally depends on what you are looking for.
Farmington is a small school and, as you get with small education, I think the teacher/ student ratio is pretty small which gives you a personal feel.
The town of Farmington is small. Very small. There isn't much there BUT during the weekend I would say 90% of the students leave for one mountain or another during ski season. The lady said her dorm emptied out.
UMF is well respected for their Education Majors. We send tons of our students there who aspire to be teachers. What are you planning to major in?
I second the nod to UNH and UVM. Durham is a cute town but has a killer campus. UVM has great programs AND Burlington is wonderful. Where else have you looked?
Farmington is a small school and, as you get with small education, I think the teacher/ student ratio is pretty small which gives you a personal feel.
The town of Farmington is small. Very small. There isn't much there BUT during the weekend I would say 90% of the students leave for one mountain or another during ski season. The lady said her dorm emptied out.
UMF is well respected for their Education Majors. We send tons of our students there who aspire to be teachers. What are you planning to major in?
I second the nod to UNH and UVM. Durham is a cute town but has a killer campus. UVM has great programs AND Burlington is wonderful. Where else have you looked?
For ski area management, the best school is Lyndon State College. It is right off of Interstate 91 and 15 minutes from Burke Mountain, 45-60 minutes from Jay Peak, and 45 to Cannon. Jonni went there (I haven't seen him here for a while) and Zand is currently there. Contact them both.
Bill Stenger teaches part of the program at LSC. Don't know who he is? Well, he is the President of a certain well-known ski resort. :wink:
billski
Active member
Well that is going to split you in half.
Most good architecture schools are located in large cities. Architecture can be quite a grueling career (I socialize with several and know a number of kids in college architecture programs.) Architecture is one of those careers that you have to commit to fairly early in your college career.
I also went to that school's booth, didn't seem as interested in me as the Umaine woman, but the school did seem like a place I need to visit. Also my grades are far from good due to some family problems and a school change mid year last school year.
billski
Active member
How did you determine Lyndon has the best program?
http://www.sierranevada.edu/803
http://www.coloradomtn.edu/cms/one.aspx?pageId=3629767
http://www.farmington.edu/majors/ORBA.php
I attended UMF from 1996-98, then transferred out after switching majors and not quite ever really feeling at home there.
The good:
excellent faculty
great student to prof ratio most classes
proximity to the loaf
good dining hall
classic small liberal arts school
very good teachers school if that is what you want to do
the granary and a few other cool bars/restaurants
the bad:
small town
weird cliques..sports teams acted like BMOCs
irritating preppy faux hippie types
UMF is well regarded for its ski industries program, this is true. I went there ostensibly to do this but quickly decided it was not for me. YMMV.
The good:
excellent faculty
great student to prof ratio most classes
proximity to the loaf
good dining hall
classic small liberal arts school
very good teachers school if that is what you want to do
the granary and a few other cool bars/restaurants
the bad:
small town
weird cliques..sports teams acted like BMOCs
irritating preppy faux hippie types
UMF is well regarded for its ski industries program, this is true. I went there ostensibly to do this but quickly decided it was not for me. YMMV.
Out of the schools he listed, LSC has a better program and it is in New England. http://rec.lyndonstate.edu/ LSC is recognized as having a great program. As to who has the "best," that is something that is hard to quantify, but in my experience folks from LSC have gone on to great jobs in the industry.
eastcoastpowderhound
New member
I graduated from UMF in 95, bus/econ major and the ski industries program. I grew up in Cranston, RI so the small town of Farmington was certainly a big change, but a welcome one...I couldn't wait to get out of RI and the tough guy attitude that prevailed in my HS. I had an absolute blast at UMF...partied my ass off, but still graduated with a 3.4 gpa. Girl to guy ratio was around 5:1 at the time... I had a great relationship with my business professors, Tom Maroney, Sheena Bunnel, and Roy VanTill...most classes had about 20 students in them so you got plenty of personal attention. Its small enough to make you feel really connected, but big enough that you can meet new people all the time. I was one of the founders of the rugby club so that kept me busy, active, and partying all fall and spring. ski industries and the loaf kept me busy all winter. after my freshman year I moved out of the dorms and into one of the biggest party houses on campus my sophomore year...meet plenty of new people when you're pumping the keg all night. If I had a chance to do it over, I'd barely change a thing. Farmington is one of those places that can be as good, or as bad as you make it. there isn't a thriving metropolis just off campus that is fulll of things to help you waste your time away so you've got to make your own fun...there's great hiking all around, great mtn biking right off campus, etc. If you're looking for a more intimate, smaller school feel, and like to be outdoors, its a great place to go...if you like the hustle and bustle of city life and all the trappings...look somewhere else. If you're primarily interested in the ski industry program, talk with Leigh Breidenbach from the program and get an idea of what its like now...they've changed the format since I was there...but if you want to work in the ski industry, the connections you make through UMF will be an asset to you in the future. I deal with a bunch of people on a regular basis that went through the program when I did and a few others who were there before or after. Ski shop owners in Vail, the children's ski school director at Beaver Creek, a ski magazine tester from Copper, a boot fitting guru in Aspen, the hardgoods buyer for The Sports Authority...there are UMF grads at Salomon, K2, Volkl, Tecnica, Fischer, Red Bull, and more. The only caveat is that I graduated 15 years ago..so things have changed for sure...but I've been back for some rugby alumni weekends and it seemed like everyone still knew how to have a good time. Oh, and its consistently ranked as one of the top public liberal arts colleges in the northeast...so you'll get a solid education too...or at least the opportunity for one. GO BEAVERS!
MaineSkier
New member
Pretty much spot on. I graduated from UMF in 2007 and had nothing but a great experience. The classes are small, great faculty, and a nice population of down to earth kids. I grew up in Southern Mass and went to school down there for a year, but hated it. Moved to Maine, fell in love with it and never left. If you're interested in the club scene and shopping malls you'll probably be disappointed, but if you like being outdoors and PBR you'll love it.
They have changed the Ski Industries major to an Outdoor Recreation Program so I'm not overly familiar with it now. There's countless opportunities in the area from skiing to whitewater rafting if you're interested in the resort world. I skied all winter and guided whitewater trips all summer...not a bad way to work your way through college. I still get paid to do both of those today. Even if you don't do the Outdoor Rec program there's a lot of opportunities in the resort industry no matter what your major. As long as you can get your foot in the door and work hard, you can get find some great opportunities.
Bottom line, you get out of college what you put into it. I had a great time but also put some effort in and I ended with a great job after college. There's no reason you can't get a Harvard level education from a place like Farmington as long as you're willing to put the effort in. Good luck!
They have changed the Ski Industries major to an Outdoor Recreation Program so I'm not overly familiar with it now. There's countless opportunities in the area from skiing to whitewater rafting if you're interested in the resort world. I skied all winter and guided whitewater trips all summer...not a bad way to work your way through college. I still get paid to do both of those today. Even if you don't do the Outdoor Rec program there's a lot of opportunities in the resort industry no matter what your major. As long as you can get your foot in the door and work hard, you can get find some great opportunities.
Bottom line, you get out of college what you put into it. I had a great time but also put some effort in and I ended with a great job after college. There's no reason you can't get a Harvard level education from a place like Farmington as long as you're willing to put the effort in. Good luck!
Oh yeah, LSC's program is in Outdoor Recreation as well. All I saw those kids do was hike, ski, rock climb, and talk about business!!!
riverc0il
New member
Wouldn't hurt to slap a double major in business if you can, or at least a minor. Perhaps a ski area management program already crosses over into business?
Sounds like it is time to make a call to the admissions office and arrange a visit or a tour. Good luck!!!
(my comments below are regarding the conversation in general, and aren't necessarily directly related to the OP's question :wink: )
This is a very difficult comparison, as schools like Colorado Mt College and Gogebic (Michigan) are not 4 year schools. The programs are geared very much toward hands-on ski resort operations. The programs at the 4 year schools are generally more business-oriented, usual with very general, broad operations studies (often just one or two classes out of all 4 years).
I'm certain the 4 year business programs are excellent. But I opted for Colorado Mt College due to the quality of instruction as it relates to the actual daily operation of ski resorts. The classes are about the ski business: snowmaking, ski patrol, grooming, events management, vehicle maintenance, ski resort planning, ski area risk management, etc. The profs are ski industry pros.
I shied away from the liberal arts programs like Lyndon's because the focus is really on a 4 year business degree, which happens to be tied into the ski industry. You'll come out there best suited for the administrative positions. You will learn to be a business man, and you'll learn how the fundamentals of business management apply to resort operations. What you won't get so much of is how to adjust air/water mix for the best snowmaking, or how to choose tiller settings for different snow, or what a swash plate is, or the difference between an Akja and a Cascade toboggan and how to safely run each rig, or why an AC VFD prime mover is more efficient and offers 100% torque at 0-100% speed, etc. You probably won't come out with OEC certification, Avalanche cert, or certs from the Rocky Mountain Lift Association.
So it comes down to one basic question, if you're interested in getting into this crazy business: do you want to manage the business, or the operations?
I chose an operations-centric program, because for me it was about learning every single little thing I possibly could about ski resort operations. I wasn't there to get a slip of paper with a big "B.S." written on it. If want, I can get a business degree at any number of colleges. Even online these days. But I wanted to learn about the ski industry. And I did. Had a blast, learned a ton, and I'm loving every minute of working in the business. Well, almost every minute.........
This is a very difficult comparison, as schools like Colorado Mt College and Gogebic (Michigan) are not 4 year schools. The programs are geared very much toward hands-on ski resort operations. The programs at the 4 year schools are generally more business-oriented, usual with very general, broad operations studies (often just one or two classes out of all 4 years).
I'm certain the 4 year business programs are excellent. But I opted for Colorado Mt College due to the quality of instruction as it relates to the actual daily operation of ski resorts. The classes are about the ski business: snowmaking, ski patrol, grooming, events management, vehicle maintenance, ski resort planning, ski area risk management, etc. The profs are ski industry pros.
I shied away from the liberal arts programs like Lyndon's because the focus is really on a 4 year business degree, which happens to be tied into the ski industry. You'll come out there best suited for the administrative positions. You will learn to be a business man, and you'll learn how the fundamentals of business management apply to resort operations. What you won't get so much of is how to adjust air/water mix for the best snowmaking, or how to choose tiller settings for different snow, or what a swash plate is, or the difference between an Akja and a Cascade toboggan and how to safely run each rig, or why an AC VFD prime mover is more efficient and offers 100% torque at 0-100% speed, etc. You probably won't come out with OEC certification, Avalanche cert, or certs from the Rocky Mountain Lift Association.
So it comes down to one basic question, if you're interested in getting into this crazy business: do you want to manage the business, or the operations?
I chose an operations-centric program, because for me it was about learning every single little thing I possibly could about ski resort operations. I wasn't there to get a slip of paper with a big "B.S." written on it. If want, I can get a business degree at any number of colleges. Even online these days. But I wanted to learn about the ski industry. And I did. Had a blast, learned a ton, and I'm loving every minute of working in the business. Well, almost every minute.........
Thanks alot to all who have replied, especially the last poster, bushmogul, I'm not really sure what I'm more interested in, the ops or the business, but I'm leaning more towards the business side, if for no other reason than that a business degree could help me out in other industries should the ski industry not work out. There's a bunch of schools I'm thinking about, there's Lyndon State, UVM, and UMaine Farmington. Oh the selection!
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