U of M Alumni Membership
Sorry, if this has been discussed previously, please ignore. I've been debating whether to join the lifetime alumni membership. Was wondering what kind of experience others have had. I read something on the website about the football ticket program ending? What other benefits do you like? I appreciate any feedback from current/past alumni members.
GO BLUE!
September 12th, 2016 at 7:24 PM ^
did the trial membership after graduation, but didn't really get much out of it. maybe i just didn't know how to take advantage of things, but not worth the money imo.
most big cities have alumni clubs, and you only get a slight discount for the functions iirc. most meet up things like watching games are free entry anyway.
September 12th, 2016 at 7:25 PM ^
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September 12th, 2016 at 7:31 PM ^
It is worth it if you want to be involved with a local alumni club especially if you are no longer in Michigan. It's very helpful if you are in a larger city with a larger alumni base. I signed up for it last year and mostly appreciate it for the networking and discount on my insurance through liberty mutual.
However, you don't need to be a lifetime member to get those benefits. I would advise to get a yearly and see if you use it. If you don't then no big deal.
September 12th, 2016 at 7:42 PM ^
I got the lifetime membership a long time ago, They raise the dues from time to time so the lifetime membership locked me in at what now seems like a great deal. I didn't want to keep paying annual dues only to end up buying the lifetime membershp. I think the biggest reason I joined was just for the pride of being a member rather than the tangible benefits. The benefit I use the most is Michigania because you need to be alumni member to go but they have group membership benefits and special events from time to time. Last year they had a skating event at Yost which included a tour which I liked. They have also had events during art fair and football tailgates among other things. They often have incentives to buy the life membership - last year on Black Friday there was a 20% off special.
September 12th, 2016 at 7:44 PM ^
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September 12th, 2016 at 8:50 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 7:55 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 7:56 PM ^
I did it for the Nike t-shirt. "Always a Wolverine." Totally worth it.
September 12th, 2016 at 9:50 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 7:58 PM ^
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September 12th, 2016 at 8:01 PM ^
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September 12th, 2016 at 10:11 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 8:10 PM ^
Almost immediately after joining I began to receive resumes from Dearborn and Flint campus graduates. Sorry, but I matriculated U-M/Ann Arbor and have nothing but the name in common with the other campuses. I dropped participation like a hot potato and haven't looked back. We meet up on an informal basis in Chicago if you're on the private emailing list AND you graduated from the Ann Arbor campus. Different schools, love the Wolverines regardless.
September 12th, 2016 at 8:34 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 2:29 AM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 8:08 PM ^
Love it. Local clubs all over the country offer discounts for members, and you never have to worry about being bugged about membership. Plus there are other random perks from time to time (for example a life member exclusive ticket giveaway a couple of weeks ago).
September 12th, 2016 at 8:35 PM ^
If you're a lawyer, doctor or general science enthusiast, the access to the umich scientific databases is well worth the price of membership. However, that seems to be a much more niche benefit. Beyond that, your money can probably be spent better elsewhere (unfortunately).
September 12th, 2016 at 8:54 PM ^
Wait, like total Umich library journal access? Or just Michigan-funded research?
September 12th, 2016 at 10:14 PM ^
Here's more info:
http://alumni.umich.edu/educational-enrichment/online-publications-reso…
Not quite the gamut of our library journal access, but certainly well worth the price of the annual membership.
September 12th, 2016 at 11:51 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 5:52 PM ^
They don't post their research to peer reviewed databases?
That being said all universities should offer lifetime access to their online libraries to alum. I can't tell you how often I researched crap for work and used the excellent research databases available through school.
September 12th, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^
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September 13th, 2016 at 12:51 AM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 8:48 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 8:55 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 10:04 PM ^
You can find the benefits below:
http://alumni.umich.edu/membership/benefits/
I haven't been able to take one of the trips they offer under Travel, but it looks like a lot of those trips would be fun.
They also help fund scholarships for students who need financial help. It might not be a direct benfit to members, but it's nice they do that.
http://alumni.umich.edu/scholarships/
Plus, I just found this UM graduate Physician Directory. I can't speak for everyone on the board, but I'd rather see a doctor who went to UM than some douche who went to OSU or MSU.
http://physicians.umalumni.com/
For those wondering, I tried to use the link so people could just click on it, but I keep getting blocked (it's being considered Spam).
September 12th, 2016 at 10:12 PM ^
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September 12th, 2016 at 10:48 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 11:04 PM ^
It's nice if you love the University enough to pay for membership, but it sorta takes the "Alumni" out of "Alumni Membership!"
September 12th, 2016 at 10:34 PM ^
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September 12th, 2016 at 11:09 PM ^
I really appreciate it.
September 12th, 2016 at 11:29 PM ^
I jumped at it when they offered the free fleece jackets and Ohio State tickets for face value last year. It was really worth it and I was tired of renewing each year.
September 13th, 2016 at 7:14 AM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 7:31 AM ^
As an older alum, I joined from time to time on yearly subscriptions. Been moving around outside of Michigan and lost contact w/ UM events and issues for periods of time. Now following things more closely, as I have more time/interest. I'm now able to get the reduced "senior" rates and will do the lifetime membership. Should have done this 3 decades ago, would have saved $$$ and been better connected to UM along the way. If you can afford the money, it is a good investment when you do it early.
September 13th, 2016 at 8:37 AM ^
Like someone mentioned earlier, the local Alumni Clubs get money from AAUM to host events throughout the year. Watch parties, happy hours, etc. By being apart of the AAUM, you are supporting these local clubs in addition to any benefits you might get. These clubs also support scholarships that help get students to Michigan.
September 13th, 2016 at 9:11 AM ^
Had an offer this fall for a lifetime member ship for the wife and I for $499. Normally it's $1400, so I jumped at the chance. Got the two fleeces, discounts, yadda yadda, but the real benefit to me is that a good chunk of your dues if you're in an out of state alumni association goes to a student scholarship fund for your area, administered by the local alumni club. When I was in Dayton, we would usually give $4-5k in cash scholarships to local incoming freshmen.
Self-servingly, the ability to get on the Radrick Farms eligibility list was a big benefit as well.
September 13th, 2016 at 9:48 AM ^
The Alumni Travel program offers truly great trips. We've taken them to South Africa, Italy, Switzerland, and will be going to Tanzania and Alaska next year. We haven't had one bad experience on any of the trips. The travel program requires a membership. It cracks me up that my Buckeye wife now has a UM Lifetime membership.
September 13th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^
I've never seen discounts that beat what you can get from Costco Travel, assuming you're already a Costco member.
Discounts are great and for family trips you get an additional driver included for no extra charge.
September 13th, 2016 at 5:55 PM ^
Is it really an "Alumni Group" if anybody can sign up?
September 16th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
I finally joined (I know, since they're sponsors here I should have done so long before). I'm meeting sometime soon with the Detroit AAUM club to talk about doing more volunteer events together. Their access to tickets is almost worth the $70/year anyway if you're not a season ticket holder or you go to away games. And their big homecoming tailgate is getting more and more awesome.