I wanted to get away from home but I didn't want to be too far away, because we also have a university in my home town. So I went to USM where I had friends and other family going as well. I also liked that it was near Portland which is one of our biggest cities in Maine and that I could have a lot of opportunities there.
Course Curriculum
I think the University of Southern Maine makes sure the curriculum follows the subject of the class closely. It never really strays. I am a freshman and every class I've taken (ex. World literature, women's gender studies, and more) have all only spoken about those topics.
Exams
I took the ACT and the SAT, but the University of Southern Maine doesn't pay much attention to your score. You can get an average score and get into USM.
Fees
I had to pay for housing, tuition, and my books and class materials. In my first semester, I lived in enhanced occupancy where three people lived in one room instead of two and that chopped off 500$ from my bill.
Examination Structure
I've only had one class so far that had serious exams, but it was structured to cover one section of our course and involved 10-15 questions with paragraph answers. We had four for that class and that was what our grades were averaged from.
Faculty
I haven't yet had a professor that I disliked. All of my professors have always been nice and understanding about reasons for missing class and in terms of making up missed work.
