Of course, going to college is about taking classes, doing research, diving deep into academics, working with your professors and so forth. But it’s more than that.

Where you are becomes who you are.

Where you choose to spend your college years — and with whom — is what you’ll cherish long after you’ve graduated.

It’s where you go to learn more than what’s in the textbook. It’s where you go to learn what you want to do with your life. To learn how to carry yourself. To gain confidence in yourself. To learn how to think, not what to think. To explore new things about the world and about yourself. To learn what your passion is.

Two students talking in a student organization office meeting room

So much happening on campus — you won’t want to go home.

Students say there’s so much going on here that they don’t want to go home on weekends because they don’t want to miss something. (It’s one of our best-kept secrets.) UMF offers so many student clubs, organizations, sports and rec adventures, volunteer and leadership opportunities, off-campus trips and excursions, and student activities you’ll be plenty busy.

  • More student clubs and organizations than some schools twice our size
  • Concerts, plays, improv comedy, dances, open mic nights, poetry slams, movie nights, student art exhibits, karaoke and more
  • Varsity athletics, club sports, intramurals, group fitness classes
  • Leadership and volunteer opportunities on campus and off
  • Super-affordable weekend group excursions to New York City Broadway shows, Boston Bruins games, Red Sox games, NYC sight-seeing, and more
  • Group outdoor adventures like rafting the Kennebec, hiking Tumbledown Mountain, mountain biking Titcomb trails, canoeing the Sandy River and more.

On-Campus Housing

Whether you’re coming to UMF right out of high school, as a transfer student from another college, as someone who chose to take a gap year or two before deciding to go to college, or as an adult learner or a veteran, UMF offers convenient and affordable on-campus housing options. These on-campus housing options give you the independence and convenience of being close to all UMF has to offer, 24/7.

Outdoorsy & Artsy

Farmington is ideally situated at the gateway to world-class skiing and snowboarding, and smack in the middle of some of the best hiking, mountain biking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, rafting and kayaking in the entire northeast. If you’re into the outdoors, as many of our students are, then UMF is the perfect location to spend your college years.

They’re so close, we consider the spectacular mountains, lakes and rivers – and everything they offer – to be a natural extension of our campus. And here, we take full advantage of the epic opportunities — right in our backyard. And thanks to a generous donation from Sunday River and Sugarloaf, all full-time UMF students get a FREE season pass to Farmington’s Titcomb Mountain, just 10 minutes from campus.

Farmington is also considered the artsy-cultural center of the western Maine region. We’re home to artists, musicians, poets, actors, writers, filmmakers, improv comics, playwrights and more.

UMF hosts arts events of every kind throughout the year: performances by nationally and internationally known musicians, dance troupes, and comedians; exhibits by renowned artists; readings by Pulitzer Prize-winning poets and renowned authors; and thought-provoking dramas, comedies, and musicals. We even have a mini Arts District right on campus: Merrill Hall / Nordica Auditorium, Alumni Theater, and the Emery Community Arts Center.

No car? No problem.

We offer regular local shuttle service each Tuesday and Wednesday night to the Farmington Walmart and Hannaford Supermarket. In addition, Western Maine Transportation Service’s Green Line shuttle bus drops off and picks up right in front of UMF’s Olsen Student Center.

WMTS Green Line bus
WMTS Green Line bus service with regular stops in front of the Olsen Student Center

Plus we have weekend shuttle service to the Concord Coach Lines bus station in nearby Augusta (drop-offs Friday afternoon, pick-ups Sunday afternoons). The Concord Coach Line also goes to Portland where you can connect to the Amtrak / Downeaster Train Terminal — leading to Boston’s South Station and Logan Airport.