Submitted by thesleazye t3_yd7gt8 in Maine
Hey Maine,
I’m from outside Maine looking at completing my bachelors at UMaine Presque Isle (they have a special adult learners, completion program in my field). The program is online, but if I do it, I’d like to visit campus and check things out - be an active member of the school, etc.
I know it’s a small school, but I wanted to ask: where does it fit in the overall UMaine system? Is it considered a pretty good school?
Thanks!
If I decide to go this route, I’ll come visit, but my program is completely online. I live in California and there isn’t a school like it here.
Their admissions team is perhaps the most supportive I’ve ever experienced in my academic career.
What’s the deal?
> What's the deal
Probably just that Presque Isle is a pretty isolated little town and there's not much to do besides hunting and growing potatoes. But if you're doing it online you don't have to worry about it.
Got it, got it. I lived in West Texas - it’s kinda like that too, but trade the trees for open, desert prairie.
Plus, I love me some potatoes and when I could eat it, venison!
Matters where you lived in west Texas- I live in rural Maine but northern Maine is next level isolation- expect to drive hours for access to some pretty basic stuff.
Presque Isle is like Los Angeles compared to some rural places in Maine.
Woof. I'm 90 miles from LA and want to GET AWAY. I thought NYC was intense. Yikes.
I get your point, though. Very interesting.
If you're tired of LA, and CA in general, and want the opposite of whatever you're tired of there, Presque Isle is the place for you. LA has everything, and PI has nothing, which might be kinda nice if you like that sort of thing. Also one of the safest places to be in a nuclear Armageddon.
https://survivalfreedom.com/us-nuclear-target-map-most-safe-and-unsafe-areas/
Noice. Even though I’m trying to enroll into an online program, it’s good to know where to bug out.
I came across that info recently with all the nuclear war talk. We lived in Greenville at Moosehead lake for a winter while I worked at the 100 mile wilderness property. Really loved Maine in the winter, snowmobiling, snow plowing, snowshoeing, all things snow! But summers are super buggy ugh. Best wishes for your education.
No worries - If all goes well, I'm going to try to convince my wife for a random flight from CA to ME for funsies and exploration. I'll leave the nuclear armageddon fun facts until we get there.
Thanks for the wishes - hopefully it all works out as I'm getting it together.
So interesting - I know a minuscule amount about Maine. Given the ages of the states, I thought Maine was like CT in its population. Ignorant Texan, here.
Ehhh, I graduated from UMPI and live in PI. It's easily the most "urban" city in Aroostook County, though that's not saying a lot. It's population bounces around the 9k mark, is less conservative than other areas of The County, has decent, though sparse, amenities, and is all-round not bad. Is the degree the same caliber as UMO? Not really, but that may not be what you care about. I moved her from FL and am overall satisfied with the area, though I have zero interest in outdoor recreation, which is really the only entertainment available.
That being said, Bangor is only 2 hours away, Portland 4, Boston 6 (or so), and if you enjoy exploring and idyllic surroundings, you can't go far wrong. I've known some that have decided that they can't live without a diverse range of restaurants and entertainment, but there's a reason that so many people move back here after leaving in their youth. Honestly, I'd recommend checking it out.
Thank you!
If it hasn't been said elsewhere, Presque Isle also has a very, very, very small airport but it does have one and does commercial flights daily out to JFK (I think? Or DC), which should get you where you need to go if you need to travel from a connections perspective.
Aside: I left city life (Charlotte, DC, Seattle, elsewhere) for northern Maine (I'm an hour from presque isle) and love it. Presque Isle has all the commercial establishments you might want, but is probably missing the social scene - I've heard it's stayed subdued from pandemic. There is at least a weekly karaoke night??
Flights are to Newark…and I can’t say that they are consistently on time.
It's a great English speaking area to stage your exploration of Canada. Quebec city is closer than Boston if you've got your passport! Plus all of New Brunswick is basically at your doorstep. I grew up in Fort Kent and Loved going to Canada almost every weekend. People are fun and friendly over the border and up around there!
Northern Maine/ P.I is not as bad as people say. It has a decent night life when college students are in town, has enough amenities for most regular people. Also, it has an airport you can fly direct to, No 3 hour ride from Bangor needed. If you like hunting,fishing, hiking or exploring deeply wooded areas then you would enjoy it.
It's not about population, but geography. Maine is a big state and there's a lot of distance from the bottom to the top (5 hours driving). Presque Isle and all of northern Maine is remote and you will likely experience some level of culture shock. There's no way around that, but depending on who you are, it could be an interesting experience.
What are you talking about? Apparently you've never been to Presque Isle. Huge hospital, tons of restaurants and fast food, Walmart.
Wonderful farmer's market!
Well, I have worked up there a bit. They have all the necessities.
Plus a demonologist is visiting soon.
It's not really that isolated, southern Mainers are usually like whoa its way up there but its also on the border and there is way more up in Canada that is closer than the bottom of the state. It's also hella beautiful up around those parts so if a small town and lovely country is your jam you certainly have options.
Where in West Texas? I moved from West Texas to Presque Isle and then Caribou back when I was 29.
I'm from Houston, but did a small stint for work out in the Permian: Pecos and Odessa. That's a pretty big move - how'd you like Maine in comparison?
We lived in San Angelo. Both my husband and I grew up in that area but wanted something new and different and moved in 1980 to Presque Isle and then Caribou and five years later to southern Maine. He worked at BU in Boston. Still here. Love it. So glad we left Texas. I have family in Houston. And I have good friends in Seattle whose daughter and son in law moved to League City. They love it there after growing up in Seattle. I guess it’s all about trying something new. I do miss cheap good Tex Mex.
How cool! San Angelo is very nice, but I understand the desire to get out. New England has a charm that I have always loved. It's far more kind than Southern California, where we are currently. It's nice, but fake here. I'd rather someone yell at me for doing something stupid and correct me than the opposite.
Houston is my heart. It's a lot easier lifestyle than where we are in California, but for as big as it is, it can be small and not have a lot of touristic options. It has a lot of restaurants and jobs, but didn't have the right opportunities for my wife, and that's why we moved.
Check out this book:https://www.amazon.com/Homesick-Texan-Cookbook-Lisa-Fain/dp/1401324266
It helped me when I was in Connecticut ;-)
Thanks! I’ll check out the cookbook. Trying to explain Okra to people here is a list cause. Back in the late sixties I had a boyfriend at U of H and used to hitchhike from San Marcos, where I was in school, to Houston. Many adventures in that part of the state. Way back when since I am 71 now. Crazy days when I had hardly a lick of sense. Lol
Ah, you're a SWTS Bobcat! Good school :) You do funny things when you're young.
You can still hunt online though. Plenty of games for doing that!
You forgot to mention, there are 7 marijuana stores in Presque Isle.
The deal is you’ll have a lot of discussion board talks with people who have been educated in Maine and have very different values and levels of thought than you do. When I moved to Maine I felt I had gone back to 1950 socially, 1930 economically, and 4th grade academically. School here is pretty rudimentary, in that no one really does actual research outside of looking shit up on Google.
I would probably recommend saving yourself a trip. The college is located in a remote part of the state. The airport you would fly into would be Bangor Airport and then you have like a 3 hour car trip. If your going to be an online learner, then visiting campus is a moot point. You can schedule all appointments via Zoom with most campus office's, etc. Invest that money you would spend on a ticket, car rental, and hotel and invest it into a good computer for your program or desk/chair. I work in higher ed in the state, and I am assuming you are going into the YourPace program? If yes, then this program and staffing is great. You should have a good experience.
The UM system has like 7-8 campuses across the state. The have on accreditation for all of the campuses instead of each school being accredited by NECHE. Not really an issue for the students. UMPI is small and the school itself is not much to write home about, but it serves the needs of the people in that remote part of the state.
You can fly into PQI, if you don't mind the Fisher-Price plane experience...
At least it's a jet. I've flown via prop in Southern California and Central America. That's an experience that makes you contemplate writing a will.
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O_O
Gotcha and thank you for the reply. It’s informative. I know there’s a twice daily flight from Newark to PI, so that would help.
Your point is valid: save unnecessary spending.
It’s that YP program mentioned and the accounting one. I’m already 15 years into my career and have an Econ degree, but I’m sitting for my CPA (already eligible). My motive also is that those darn job sites filter me out for not having an accounting degree. It seems silly, given my experience and that I’ve held accounting management positions for the last 5 years. $1,400/session so that I’m not filtered out from higher paying jobs seems like a good ROI.
Waiting on my results from the adcom, but if it works out: I’ll be grateful for the opportunity.
I wasn't aware that UMPI offered Accounting specifically. When I got my BA with an Accounting Concentration a few years back, that was the only option.
UPMI currently offers two options, in person:
- BA Accounting
- BABA Accounting
YourPace has three options:
- BA Accounting
- BABA Accounting
- BLS Accounting
I applied for BABA, but given my transfer hours, they may say I should go BA route.
I don't really mind either BA or BABA. It's basically the same as the BBA Acct or BAcct I've seen at other schools and seen while hiring applicants at my previous companies.
Given my situation, I'm looking at UMPI or Thomas Edison State University. I looked at other online bachelors: the University of Houston (my first choice) doesn't allow second bachelor degrees in their business school, and the University of Alabama Birmingham required me to re-do almost 2 years of coursework.
Between these two choices, I'd say you're much more likely to have a personal, individualized experience at UMPI, it's a smaller campus, even if you're a 100% online student, they take a lot of pride in fostering connection with their students.
That’s a refreshing perspective considering that my first undergrad was 50,000 people.
UMPI is very close to DFAS, so they’re catering to that need.
Now that is interesting. Thanks, friend!
Most of the UMaine schools are pretty good. UmPi is a nice campus i hear. Currently I'm at UMA.
Awesome. I’m from Texas, lived in CT and now living in California. I’m familiar with those states, but not so much Maine (except those Black Bear sports teams and the Maine 3).
If u do goto the UMPi campus, be prepared for a drive unless u land at the PI airport. If u land in Portland ur in for a appx. 4 hr drive and if u land in Bangor ur in appx 2 1/2 hr drive
They’re pretty great as far as I know! It was a little while ago but I did the first part of my degree split between UMPI and a satellite campus. Zero complaints about USM staff and admissions. Had great experiences with them my whole college career. That being said, UMPI is a small campus in a fairly remote area. Presque Isle is definitely on the small side of small city and it doesn’t have a ton going on if you’re into that (at least that’s how it was in my recollection). If you don’t mind that I think it’s a pretty nice campus and a decent school!
Very cool. Thanks for your reply!
I’m guessing UMPI is historically a commuter school that most students would transfer out of or get their associates and move on?
The programs look like liberal arts with an ag/medical/criminal justice/business lean.
What are you studying?
Accounting.
They don't have accounting in California?
They don't have degree completion in accounting, otherwise I'd do it.
There are only two schools in the USA that don't require 30-60 hours of in-residence (via the school) degree learning: UMPI or Thomas Edison State University.
I’d probably save yourself the hassle of visiting the campus. I’ve not been there myself my PQI is very remote and rural. I went to USM and completed several courses through UMaine’s online class system. This was nearly 10 years ago now but I was always very pleased with their online classes. I would highly recommend an online program through Umaine based on my own experience.
I've done a lot of distance learning courses in the UMaine system and they are pretty good. Most of the professors had the technology figured out 10 years ago, and the ones who didn't have a pretty good support system. The classes are a manageable size, the largest I was in was ~30 people and the smallest ~8. Overall it's a good system to do an online degree in.
There isn't much to see if you visit, as others have said it is a very rural place.
I graduated from UMaine (Orono) 20+ years ago with a degree in Business, concentrating in Accounting. I don’t think any of the other UMaine campuses besides Orono and USM are AACSB accredited, so that would be a deal killer for me.
May I ask why? Do you teach accounting? (real question)
From my understanding, the AACSB is relevant for PhD professors whose focus is completing research, and beneficial for undergraduates for access to accounting/business honor societies linked to AACSB. No one in industry or big 4, I've worked with (in Texas), has snubbed an accounting graduate for picking a school without AACSB. We have had, however, some issues with for-profit graduates like Phoenix and Grand Canyon.
Most CPA boards don't require practitioners to come from AACSB accreditation and if they do, like New York or Wisconsin, they offer alternate pathways.
I just work in industry, but it’s the “standard” accreditation. You’re more likely to get get hired, have a higher salary, have access to better profs, etc. To me, it just shows that a graduate went through a sufficiently rigorous curriculum.
I don't know - I never attended a "normal" business school, but I did do night school at a ACBSP accredited junior college to get all my post-bacc CPA coursework.
I can't compare, but I'll admit that AACSB dual accredited Business/Accounting schools with Accounting Masters programs prepare their students better than mine did for the CPA tests. The exams they took were significantly harder than mine and tested the comprehension of a lot of advanced material that I learned from experience and had to learn via CPA prep coursework. Sadly, a masters wasn't an option to me when I started my post-bacc education.
I went to UMPI and it’s a nice campus. As far as PI goes there isn’t much there, but I would think it would be fine if they have the online program you are looking for.
The area is quiet and rural, with all the good and bad that comes with that. As far as the quality of education at the school, it is really top notch. And that is speaking as an UMPI graduate.
Presque Isle is a tiny town near the Canadian border. It’s about 4 1/2 hours to the nearest ‘city’, Bangor, population about 40k. The real advantage of the Presque Isle Program and the thing that makes it different from the Umaine campuses, is it’s online programming. The campus does not offer much that you wouldn’t find in high school in a large city.
I don’t know what it would mean to be an active member of the school, outside of participating through the online activities. The campus is extremely isolated and small. That being said the university system is it held in high regard in offers a quality education.
It’s pretty much canada
I graduated from their with a degree in education in 2007. I lived on campus and while it sounds cliche, I made lifelong friends that I talk to daily and see quite often.
When I first got to the ass end of Maine I wondered how anyone could live there. By the time I graduated I didn’t want to leave. I make a drive up their at least once a year for a reunion that my friends and I host for ourselves. I highly recommend it.
Hi! I go to one of the other UMaine campuses completely online but they all operate very similarly so if you have questions, feel free to reach out. I started my bachelors last year at 22 years old and have a learning disability and love where I go to school.
Presque isle is at least a 2 hour drive from the closest “city” and by city I mean largest collection of empty store fronts and malls in Maine
No for real it’s a really remote part of Maine like literally up there some towns don’t even have names they have township numbers
And that is the smallest of the university of Maine schools try Orono or fort Kent or Augusta
Born, raised and continuing to live in Maine here. The UMaine system in general isn't a bad selection of schools - each has their own strong points - example, UMO (my alma mater) is known for engineering and nursing, UMF is known for teaching, USM is known for business, etc. At UMPI and UMFK you get a completely different experience, they're the smallest of the UMaine system schools, very very very rural, which there is nothing wrong with that, you just have to be prepared. The closest actual "city" is Bangor - unless you cross into Canada - Bangor is about 2.5 hours south. As for school focus, going to such a small campus and being isolated from many distractions of the modern world may actually help. A handful of the smartest kids in my engineering classes came from Caribou and Presque Isle. I would say that all UMaine schools will provide you with a good education, just be prepared for being in the middle of nowhere. That takes some people by surprise, but there is literally potatoes, farms, and miles and miles and miles of no cell phone service, woods, hunting and forestry land. Personally I find it peaceful and would move up there in a heartbeat if there were more jobs.
Thanks for your reply!
I loved it up there. It’s dirty a small town vibe, but it was a Pet great place to sirve my formative years.
My girlfriend went there for her first year. She referred to it as "Dumpy UMPI". But really, she said there are redeeming qualities and some people really do enjoy it there
How's long is the program?
Waiting to find out. In theory, it’s competency based, so it’s up to me.
Ezzmon t1_itqjwcf wrote
I would......visit first.