Maharishi University of Management
Insufficient Accreditation[ ? ]
Maharishi University of Management is a Transcendental Meditation, Non-Profit, Interdisciplinary, University established in 1971. The campus is located in Fairfield, Iowa, USA and hosts students with an endowment of .
Website: www.mum.edu
Address:
Phone: (no local phone number)
Email: (no public email address)
Institution Type: Transcendental Meditation, Non-Profit, Interdisciplinary, University
Established: 1971
Campus Enrollment: N/A
Acceptance Rate: N/A
Graduation Rate (6Y): N/A
Campus Endowment: N/A
Tuition (Local): N/A
Tuition (Non-Local): N/A
Tuition (Foreign): N/A
Mandatory Fees: N/A
Housing (Room): N/A
Latitude:
Longitude:
Tax ID: N/A
Social Profiles: Facebook •
Twitter •
Google+ •
Wikipedia •
Flickr •
YouTube •
Google News • Yahoo News
Leave A Review - Free Speech Is Welcome!
90 Student Reviews of Maharishi University of Management
Please scroll up to leave a review.
This university is a scam to put it lightly. It is an organization that funds its TM practices with the money collected from expensive tuition payments of students, especially international students enrolled in the Masters of Computer Science program. The university has no English test requirements for acceptance, no GRE even for graduate studies, which is a big red flag. The university is not open about all the payments you’ll need to make for various reasons once you arrive on campus. There was a time when students had to pay extra money to have their exams graded on time so that they will be able to register for the next course, which is absurd! The course material is ancient and neither the labs nor the exams have been modified for 6-8 years. This tells you more than enough about the irrelevance of their outdated course material in today’s tech market. And mind you, a single course costs 3k-4k USD. The professors and administrative staff are not open to communication and responding to emails, or at least listening to the concerns of their students. The campus buildings, labs, and library are below average for a school that brags about being the second in number of graduates in computer science. The school finds several reasons to make students fail courses and are not transparent about their reason for failing the students when a student challenges their grade. Then they give these international students the option to pay 4k-5k to repeat the course, which is out of pocket and not part of the loan. They hold students hostage, threatening their visas and asking them to make various kinds of payments. If you’re an international student coming to this university, please do more research and weigh your options or be prepared to pay 50k-60k in 2 years of “study:.
I wish i read some of their online reviews before joining. This has been my worst nightmare and I am currently held hostage by this university. I don’t know what to do. I am speaking to education lawyers and I don’t even know how this university in legal to begin with. The department of education really need to do some investigation. I did my bachelors degree in the US and i have never seen any thing like this, Its like they want the students to fail the courses so they can pay more in tuition. The professors are definitely part of this scam.
This is not a rant about T.M. but rather the education level, the non academic courses, the non degree holder instructors and all the scam and trickery MUM has to offer.**
Wow where to start, at the time of writing this review I’m still an active MUM student in the MSCs program doing my last course. I’m an International who hated this school since day Three, why three you may ask. because it was the day when I had to pay the down payment for the program tuition (5000$) and once we (the students in my batch) did; they showed us all the tricks they cooked for us.
When I first applied for the school, they made it clear that the staff practice TM and that the students are required to meditate twice a day (20 minutes per session, once at the end of each class and once at your room before you sleep). I didn’t mind. I used to meditate during my Aikido classes, so it didn’t bother me and I thought if I don’t like TM, I won’t meditate in my room and just close my eyes and pretend during class meditation. MUM also made it clear early on that I will have to pay around 700 dollars for the TM ceremony (that’s when they teach you TM techniques in 10 minutes!) which they will perform during the first few days of my arrival.
However what they NEVER mentioned before I traveled to the States is that the first course I must attend, is something that has nothing to do with Computer Science, doesn’t count toward my GPA and I will have to pay 1600$ for it plus the room and board cost!!!!. this course is called the Science of Creative Intelligence -SCI for short- (basically you watch videos featuring Maharishi lecturing about his philosophy and then the instructors ask questions about the videos) which is something I was totally not interested at. But again I already paid 5000$, I was in a foreign country and had nowhere else to go. I thought about dropping out and apply for another school, but I thought by the time MUM refund the down payment and until I receive another admission from another school it will be few months, and I will have to pay more than 5000$ for food and shelter while in foreign country all by myself!. So I was stuck against my well and had to play along.
Anyway – the first 5 weeks passed, and I was done with SCI, I couldn’t believe I was done with all this boredom. that’s when I told an American friend I met on campus that I’m finally done with SCI . She replied “remember everything they taught you in this course because it will be stuck with you until you graduate”. Which was true. When the (supposedly academic) course started, we -the students- were chocked to know that the principles of SCI count 10% of the grading system of each course. meaning the midterm counts 40% of the total grad, the final 40% ,10 % on assignments and 10% on SCI questions!!!! I scored several B’s instead of A’s because I failed to answer SCI questions!. some students didn’t seem to be bothered at all by this non sense because many of them looked at this school as an easy ticket to get the states. those who were really hoping for a descent affordable (or so they thought) education were profoundly frustrated and felt abused, deceived, manipulated and helpless (they already invested money and time).
If you read this far, you could have guessed that I’m foreign even if I didn’t mention it. my English is far from perfect. What you may have not guessed is that compared to at least 95% of the foreign students (and I really mean at least), I do sound like Shakespeare. I had many colleagues that couldn’t speak 2 English words before pausing for 10 to 20 seconds only to follow up with a third word that is totally unrelated and has no place in the sentence they try to construct!. MUM – unlike any decent school in the States- doesn’t require the International students to take the TOEFL test (which is a test for international students – Test of English as a foreign Language – that they must pass before they are granted any admission to any U.S university or college). MUM abuse an article in the American educational law which states that the only time an International student Is exempted from this test is if the school officially evaluated his English proficiency by other reliable means. and the way MUM assess foreign students English is by calling them via the phone for 10 to 15 minutes. however they don’t ask the candidate any English language questions, they ask him about his experience as a software programmer and 2 or 3 questions about object oriented programming. what they try to know is if you know the basics of programming or not, they want to make sure that you can find some kind of a low level job so you can pay off your student loan..
That what MUM is. an employment agency.. in my batch all the students were foreign, and so was the case in the previous and the following batch. MUM attract foreign students. they send mass spam un solicitude emails to internationals , they talk about a financial aid system (which isn’t so – it’s just tuition paid on several installments) and talk about high demand on the IT sector. the talk about the CPT system (curriculum practical training) which allow international students to do paid internship while still enrolled in school (which is a system MUM severely abuse). OMG this is long already and I didn’t talk about a lot of stuff. I guess you get the idea. It might be enough to mention few more quick facts. some of the instructors didn’t even have a Master Degree! yet they were teaching Master level students!.. we were only required to take 5 courses + SCI on campus (each course in one month) and 4 courses via distance education (online) because most students will be contracted by a -body shop- after 6 or 7 months of their arrival in the States. each online course last 4 months with one week break in between. students end up doing up to 20 months on paid internship under CPT even though the USCIS states clearly that no one is allowed to do CPT more than 12 months on a row!!.
bottom-line: avoid this school by all means..
A) If you are an American thinking about some undergraduate education there, then my advice is: you can’t trust people who trick internationals this way. the staff at MUM are so distant from everyone else, live in their own world, can easily hold a grudge, and they hate questions. And dare you question something they preached, especially if its TM related, they will dislike you (to put it nicely) until you leave MUM.
B) If you are an international looking for a decent -American!- education (like me). I’ll give you a quick example, the current course I’m doing is called Web Applications Architecture. when I read the name I thought I will be studying distributed technologies, Http specifications, Service oriented architecture and other advanced web theories and topics. what I am studying however is some Java tools JSP and JSF, and we only cover the basics of these tools. The exams are focused on the Syntax of these tools. you can buy an intro book written by non academic author that is published by Wrox under their programmer to programmer series for less than 30$. and you will learn much more from the book about the Java tools, even though you won’t learn much about web theories and architecture.
C) If you are an international who just want to make it in the States, hoping that you will find another way to legally remain in the States. last year 7 of MUM students had their H1b (a work visa) petition denied… USCIS started to do more thorough reviews on H1b applications. some MUM students got their H1b petitions approved but many were denied H1b. the rejection letter for one dude mentioned that he must leave the country and his presence is illegal since he didn’t maintain his F1 (student) status. while this was a mistake from the USCIS side, what made USCIS suspicious is that he was doing online classes for more than a year since he left the campus and never been on campus once again!!… so be careful.
Best time in my life
Did my undergrad here and wouldn’t change that for anything. Best time in my life… the lessons learned in class are only the beginning of what is gained studying here. One is able to dive deep within and gain a deeper understanding of one’s self. I suppose it can be uncomfortable for those that don’t want to see what’s under the surface… but I found it so incredible for my own personal growth. 20 years later as a CEO of my own company based in Europe I wish so much that my employees had this experience… everything in the business world can be learnt, but this quality of depth and silence cannot be taught… this broad awareness that this university helps to develop, along with increased creativity and inner joy are the keys to success in any field of life… those who go to MIU ready to develop their highest potential and willing to trust the process will find themselves more powerful and ready to tackle the world than when they arrived. It’s not a place for everyone, but it’s a place for those who are ready for growth and willing to take responsibility for themselves and their own life… no one can take the steps for you, but this university gives you a basis for knowing yourself and having a depth of knowledge from which to build a meaningful life.
Love the MFA in Screenwriting program at this University. If you are considering it I highly recommend!
Amazing experience. Highly recommend the low residency David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting program. Great mentor to student ratio, very loving staff and have made friends for life. Most importantly I received a great education and was able to meet and get to know high level influencers in the industry. Don’t hesitate! Great program!!
Maharishi University of Management helped my American dream come true! I am came to MUM campus right from the airport and friendly staff had already a plan to pick me up and give me a warm welcome introduction. The rooms were and clean and the food was fantastic. Yes, there is no meat, but all the rest of the food is organic.
Courses in MUM were very well taught and comprehensive. I did not have any trouble getting a job right after completion of my on-campus studies! And what about people: friendly professors and fellow students – this is a network that will keep helping you and making you happy throughout all your life!
Thank you MUM!
I went to this school and was having mental issues living with an abuser. I had no where to go. They said I could stay for one night somewhere safe and then put new out on the streets. My daughter attends the preschool. I went to pick her up one day and they wouldn’t let me take her. I said that her Dad had raped me and was trying to kidnap her. They kicked me off the property because I used the word rape. They would not even met ne talk to her on the phone meanwhile letting the rapist be a preschool lunch volunteer. They aided and abetted to her Dad taking her from me. I have made like three real friends. I have a mental Illness and once there was a murder on campus by someone who was mentally I’ll. I felt isolated and their higher states of conciousness and symptoms are known as delusions in the mental health world. Do they say come be free but when people express themselves freely, they send them to mental hospitals. The staff is good but there are no services for people in crisis besides psychiatry and counseling is shitty there. On a meditation retreat I fell Ill and everyone in the group tried to force me to walk to eat with them. It was very creepy and cult like. Another person got sick a different day and everyone left them alone and brought them healing foods . I did not have a good experience with them as the school gave me PTSD and separated me from my child and into my abuser s hands more than once. They gave me my tuition back to not give them a terrible rating on their Facebook page. The mayor of Vedic City promised me a greenhouse and sales job that he never gave me and I went hungry. I have been committed to psychiatrist for PTSD and sypmtoms of bipolar that mirror higher states of conciousness. I do not like being an outsider of Mum.
Sadly, I cannot recommend this program to anyone. DO NOT ENROLL! Administration is incompetent, unprofessional and unsupportive. I am now in the process of filing a civil rights complaint because the school has not enforced their own harrassment policy. When you reach out to the school for help, they do NOTHING to work with the students. Kind of like being in a marriage and your husband never talks to you. Save your time and money. Find a credible school with a real track record or see if you can find an apprenticeship through other channels. These reviews are real. Please please please apply elsewhere and never give up on your dreams of becoming a screenwriter. Best of luck to you all.
I was admitted into the University without a high school diploma or a G.E.D. That right there should have been a red flag, but what did I know? I am now over 100,000 in debt. I got a better education from Youtube than I did at M.U.M. I should have never gone and I hope for other’s sake that they get shut down.
I attended Maharishi International University (which is what the school used to be called) from 1979 to 1982, graduating with a BA. I felt well educated by this institution and went on to receive, from other universities, both a Master’s degree and a Juris Doctor law degree (cum laude). Certain aspects of the program of study were unique, but this served only to give me a broader perspective. After I graduated from this university, the institution dramatically changed the program of study. In light of that, while I found my experience at the institution to be very fulfilling, I was not inclined to recommend that any of my children attend.
Indian culture dominate the university. All of the faculty is their own graduates and incompetent. First they tell you its not about religion its science but infact no science involved only hindu religion involved in teaching beliefs and everything. They even cheat their own government by declaring loan as scholarship which is biggest scam. Old and inefficient Indian or middle east staff/faculty with their very own MUM degrees.
This “University” (lmfao) prides itself on being spiritually sound and creating a collective consciousness within this community; but how is this possible when a majority of people are RACIST?! Resident life, HR and Security all have serious issues with profiling and discrimination.
It`s absolutely awful in every way. Most importantly you get a diploma with Maharishi`s name on it, people will laugh at you.
I was attending grad school in Oregon in 2003 (and loving it!) and had just recently learned TM. I came back to the Midwest to visit family and thought I would just stop by MUM to check it out…well, long story short I was completely impressed by a number of things, from the organic meals to the concept of Consciousness Based Education, to the aliveness of the teaching staff. It was an unexpected and welcome shift…
Within a month I was accepted at MUM and by September I was enrolled in the Masters in Vedic Science program. I was not disappointed by my choice…ever.
Going to MUM was one of the best choices and experiences I have made in my life…and I have enjoyed some very beautiful experiences :).
I would highly recommend it to anyone who is willing to explore another model of education and their own personal depths.
I started as a student in the inaugural year of the David Lynch MA program and it was probably the single biggest, most expensive, mistake I’ve made in my life. I was initially let into the DLMA program with zero filmmaking experience except for acting. I had a BA in fine art and instead of turning in a film in order to be accepted, like everyone was supposed to do, I was allowed to send in just my art portfolio. I was hesitant to join the program because I didn’t want to start so far behind everyone else but was assured by faculty I would get all the fundamental and technical training I would need to complete a film and become professionally competent. I found out much later that what they really needed was a certain number of people/tuition money to get the program started and I should never have been accepted into the program. They have since realized that it was unwise to let someone in with my experience level, that it did not work, and they never did it again. A lesson unfortunately learned at my expense, literally.
I started the program hoping for the best. The first class was SCI, a basic university required course for all graduate programs. It was a fine class and that along with about 15-30 minutes in the first class, “Advanced Narrative”, was all the teaching and/or discussion about Vedic science for the rest of the school year. So as for integrating the experience of Pure Consciousness into the accessing and developing of creative ideas, it pretty much didn’t exist.
For all intents and purposes there were no credible first semester classes. There was fundamentally no education – technical or intellectual – for the first semester. I most definitely did not master the usage of industry standard technologies to perfect my craft in any way shape or form. There was no formal conceptual or substantive technical training in the required disciplines of filmmaking: cinematic storytelling, scriptwriting, training in cinematography, lighting design, editing, sound design, visual effects, post production, producing or the business side of filmmaking including fundraising, marketing and distribution. There was no technical training in use of professional software tools including Adobe Premiere Creative Cloud, the suite of professional media applications, that we all needed to know in order to create our films. There was minimal basic 2 hour training on the Red One camera and no training on the smaller Canon cameras. We did have outside film industry professionals who presented as guest lecturers via Skype or in person, and overall, most of these presentations were great. But fundamentally, the classes that these guest lecturers are supposed to compliment were non existent.
The lead faculty Stuart Tanner did not teach during first semester and was present very sporadically. Before enrolling people told me about Stuart’s screenwriting class and it was one of my main deciding factors in my ultimately joining the program. But alas, Professor Tanner did not teach any classes during the first semester, though he did act as the primary faculty to discuss thesis film projects and act in a mentoring capacity. The only truly credible faculty member who has a professional history of filmmaking did not teach any classes during the critical educational period of the first semester when technical and intellectual insight and knowledge is most foundational. He did teach an optional 3 day seminar on documentary filmmaking in the second semester, but given that it was during the time we were all in production most of the class couldn’t attend, including myself.
Department Chair Gurdy Leete was slated to teach Advanced Narrative and Advanced Screenwriting but besides introducing himself the first day he never spoke in front of the class again. Instead, Cullen Thomas, the program’s Teaching Assistant who had graduated from MUM with a BA in Media and Communications and a BA in Literature, essentially tried teaching both classes, which was very nice of him to make the best of the situation that he himself was put in. Cullen was just as out of the loop on this decision as much as the students. Unfortunately, to teach a graduate level course you must at the very least have a Masters degree, Cullen did not have a graduate level degree that would give him the legitimate credential to teach in an accredited institution of higher learning. So the only two classes that had any substance in the slightest were taught by someone who doesn’t have the credentials in which to do so. Cullen did his best and with his help I began writing my script. He did what he could to help me apply basic storytelling skills and craft a compelling narrative. There were only a couple of us students in the class because there was the option to write on your own outside of the classroom, which most of the class did. Because of this I did not collaborate with the show-runner, producer, and fellow writers in a writer’s room environment.
Class number three, The Frame, which as I understood it to be, was a class on cinematic story telling and cinematography and all the basic framework to filmmaking, in effect turned out to be two different three-day classes – Production Management and Sound Design – taught by outside instructors, Deja Bernhardt and Evan Roberts. Ms. Bernhardt’s class was very nuts and bolts specific and was excellent but Evan Roberts’ class was pretty much a disaster and they had to bring in another person in the second semester to try and make up for it. So besides these six days there was nothing else to this class.
There were also two classes that were cancelled during the school year, the “Internship” during the December block and the “Business of Media” that was the finale class for the second semester. They didn’t start asking students what kind of internships we’d want until the end of November and also didn’t take into account that most of the film industry doesn’t do much work between thanksgiving and christmas, something any professional film school would be very aware of. Because of these facts it was cancelled and we were left to work alone on our films. The “Business of Media” was cancelled because we students figured out, on our own, that we literally wouldn’t all have enough time for principal photography in the allotted 3 months of studio production and we had to keep going through June and even July to finish. It was cancelled due to poor planning and not enough equipment. If we could’ve filmed at the same time we could’ve all finished but there was only one red camera (until we said we needed a second) and then only one sound pack. The students had to demand more equipment in order to even finish by July as well as rent equipment form outside companies ourselves.
I feel that the only real learning that took place was during the studio part of the program in the second semester where we worked hands-on. But, even here, the learning took place more due to collaborative cross-pollination that is normal for any hands-on filmmaking program and not due to any of the faculty. I actually really loved being on set and collaborating with my fellow students on each others films. I felt I demonstrated collaborative and teamwork skills in production environment. It was by far my favorite part of the year. Despite my repeated requests of faculty to perform as they had promised and provide the requisite technical training to bring me up to speed I was completely lost as to how to create, produce, direct and finish a film. As a result, I relied completely and totally on a fellow student (Chamolie Thomson), one of my peers, to get-up-to-speed on even the most basic aspects of cinematic storytelling. Chamolie supported me and taught me as much as she was able. The faculty recognized this and told Chamolie that “…they were grateful for her dealing with me…” to make up the difference in my education that was not provided by the program. When it came time to develop my thesis film, I developed my story and wrote my script as best as I was able but did not have any of the other skills necessary to actually create or produce my film. Were it not for Chamolie I would not have been able to conduct principal photography. I was then left in post-production with heaps of footage and not even the basic skills to create a rough-cut of my film. I had to rely again on another fellow student (Cody Olivas) to try and teach me basic editing so I could try to make a rough cut. It took me six months to sync all the footage and another six to make a very rough rough cut. I felt completely depressed, alone, and defeated. To finish I would need to spend more money on equipment and teach myself everything about post production. I was pretty mad seeing as how I already paid full tuition for both of those things. School was over, there was no collaboration or teamwork in post at all. I finally gave up and tried to find an editor. It has since taken me three years to finally complete it. There was a promise made with regard to technical training, in fact several promises, and none were kept. I was deeply disappointed in the school, the faculty, myself for not listening to my gut feeling in the beginning. I felt taken advantage, having gained zero hard technical skills to feel competent to enter the film, television and media industry. I never even picked up my MA degree. It meant nothing to me. I didn’t want to look at it.
Education is a serious consideration for all parties: the University, faculty, and students. If the University is not prepared to do what it takes to ensure that the program will measure up to professional standards and keep its educational promises then it should not be offering the program and asking students to pay full tuition for it, period, end of story. My responsibly as a student was to pay and learn your knowledge. And it is the schools responsibility to fulfill their educational promises. They failed terribly, they took my money and did not deliver their end of the bargain. Many students in my year wanted to take legal action and spoke to a lawyer but we didn’t have the money to go through with it. No responsibility was taken, there was no accountability and that was the worst part. MUM made a huge mistake and no one would admit it and try to make it right with us. I was left deep in debt for the first time in my life over a program that charged me full price for an alpha version that I shouldn’t have been accepted into in the first place. I was robbed and I have to pay for it for the next 20 years.
When I heard the program was offering the past MA program years an upgrade to an MFA, if we work on the web series, I was interested. I was more interested in the on set production experience more than the degree. I would’ve much rather done the web series for real life money, but that was not offered to us. However, I still wanted the on set experience and to try to get more for the money I had already spent. I was very nervous about being taken advantage of again but I wanted more knowledge so that I could be more confident in my skills and maybe not be so bitter anymore. This program had taken a very large toll on my life, mentally, financially and personally and I wanted to find some resolve. I decided to do it and it was a crazy but albeit good experience. I’m happy that I did it and that I was finally pushed to finish my film as well. Upon finally getting into the post production process, I saw and enjoyed the collaborative nature of the experience for the first time. It has been a huge relief to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, be done with this overwhelmingly dark and bitter time of my life, and finally have a finished piece that I am proud of.
I really hope you read this with an understanding and open heart. I hope you are a big enough person to put yourself in my shoes and the shoes of the many students that have told you their stories. These are real people’s lives, real money, and real debt. I chose between this program and doing an art program. I have to live wondering what that would’ve been like everyday. I hope you can find it in your heart to see and take responsibility for what you did and hold yourself accountable for the effect you’ve had on peoples lives. You have a responsibility to your students as an educational institution of higher learning and you should not take that lightly.
It is a visa mill and they are lucky we do not alert authorities. Mostly an international cult exploiting cultural fascinations with hinduism.
I have finished my education there. I did computer science. The university is very bad. It is expensive and lacks of good professors. Education level is very low. Professors from 80’s and know a little about nowadays IT. Some professors who teaches Java, they even don’t know left shift or right shift.
There were a lot of surprises(bad) for me. Some of the students even dismissed from the university when they could not find a job for practical training – which means mum university only cares about money!
They have a secret. They teach you nonsense which is called SCI – TM Sidhi. This is in simple words a religion, useless stuff and you have to pay for this around 2k money and month of your time.
Literally speaking, most of the professors are fanatics of Trancendental Meditation, this TM is just a nothing else stupid another idea from Maharishi.
The location of the University is great, there is a lake, a lot of woods :) . But our goal is to study.
I highly encourage you not to deal with Maharishi.
I am doing masters in computer science from MUM. Its very nice school from all perspectives, professors are good and they teach in a very professional manner. During job search you feel confident that you have learnt and achieved something.
I received a BA degree from Maharishi University of Management in 1979, and I still cherish everything I learned. It was a great experience. I already had an undergraduate degree, from a reputable college, but learned so much more at MUM. It really altered my perspective, and I began to appreciate the world in a more profound way.
I went on to graduate school and did exceptionally well, thanks to my education at MUM. In my dissertation phase I won one of two competitive fellowships awarded each year to the top students. The meditation, the healthy routine, and the profound principles that undergird the MUM education — all were very valuable in my graduate work and beyond.
Everyone in University is so helpful teachers, admin department, career center. Safe ambiance with good vegetarian food. Course syllabus is very good according to Industry standard very practical that helps in finding Job.
I went thru Maharishi U for my undergrad degree which I finished in 2011. I had a great time in my years at this campus in Fairfield. The students at MUM are an awesome bunch of people from all over the USA and the world. I felt the professors were knowledgeable and really cared about each student. Having meditation and health integrated into college was key for me. I definitely recommend MUM and would go there again if I had to do it all over again.
It was an interesting experience. I met a lot of interesting and open-minded people, but I couldn’t convince myself to spend more time and money at this place. The issues that I had with the school run really deep. Too much politics and sketchy stuff going on behind the scenes. I spent a lot of time trying to get to the bottom of what was going on at MUM and when I realized I was disappointed and angry. It’s really a shame because MUM has so much potential, but the big wigs have their own agenda in mind.
Please just look at the MBA course given by other universities and try to include those in your curriculum . Personally the professors are nice people even though there is only one real professor Scott Herriot. The rest I don’t know they even deserve or are qualified to each elementary school
Best time of my life.
I went here in the 1990s for my graduate degree and loved it. The school is fully accredited through the Phd level. It incorporates the practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) into its curriculum; the practice is required.
I was already doing TM when I came so that aspect of the school was familiar and welcome for me. I found the teachers and students extremely kind and supportive. A lot of care and attention is given to having a healthy lifestyle, gaining good work and study habits, getting along well with others. The academics were fine. In some classes they were exceptional, others just okay. But the overall education gave me life tools and habits that have been invaluable and have helped me throughout my career.
I’m glad I went.
Eduardo Espírito Santo the coordinator of Portugal is really a bad person (or a bed person), a rude man, persecutor and having no respect for other people, except if they pay him anyway. Why he still uses the name of coordinator o MT
in Portugal? Why you allow this?
Everything here is terrible. TM is terrible. The food here is terrible. I spit on most of the food at the cafe and serve it to people because I hate everyone here.
This is bullshit
If someone wants to increase their professional capability in computer science then I would suggest him to join this varsity. Because it helps you to increase your professional capability. The worst thing is weather. Its pretty cold out there but still the neighborhood is nice.
dear sir
with reference to internate i found your university web site and my interest is ms in civil engg. course to study. i hope you will send me information regarding this subject.
Overall a great University.
-World class faculty
-Best career strategy department
-Supper quick response for any documents
-Transparent to every process
-Huge facility of financial aid
-Almost 100% students are doing CPT timely
-Effective TM meditation practice
**This is not a rant about T.M. but rather the education level, the non academic courses, the non degree holder instructors and all the scam and trickery MUM has to offer.**
Wow where to start, at the time of writing this review I’m still an active MUM student in the MSCs program doing my last course. I’m an International who hated this school since day Three, why three you may ask. because it was the day when I had to pay the down payment for the program tuition (5000$) and once we (the students in my batch) did; they showed us all the tricks they cooked for us.
When I first applied for the school, they made it clear that the staff practice TM and that the students are required to meditate twice a day (20 minutes per session, once at the end of each class and once at your room before you sleep). I didn’t mind. I used to meditate during my Aikido classes, so it didn’t bother me and I thought if I don’t like TM, I won’t meditate in my room and just close my eyes and pretend during class meditation. MUM also made it clear early on that I will have to pay around 700 dollars for the TM ceremony (that’s when they teach you TM techniques in 10 minutes!) which they will perform during the first few days of my arrival.
However what they NEVER mentioned before I traveled to the States is that the first course I must attend, is something that has nothing to do with Computer Science, doesn’t count toward my GPA and I will have to pay 1600$ for it plus the room and board cost!!!!. this course is called the Science of Creative Intelligence -SCI for short- (basically you watch videos featuring Maharishi lecturing about his philosophy and then the instructors ask questions about the videos) which is something I was totally not interested at. But again I already paid 5000$, I was in a foreign country and had nowhere else to go. I thought about dropping out and apply for another school, but I thought by the time MUM refund the down payment and until I receive another admission from another school it will be few months, and I will have to pay more than 5000$ for food and shelter while in foreign country all by myself!. So I was stuck against my well and had to play along.
Anyway – the first 5 weeks passed, and I was done with SCI, I couldn’t believe I was done with all this boredom. that’s when I told an American friend I met on campus that I’m finally done with SCI . She replied “remember everything they taught you in this course because it will be stuck with you until you graduate”. Which was true. When the (supposedly academic) course started, we -the students- were chocked to know that the principles of SCI count 10% of the grading system of each course. meaning the midterm counts 40% of the total grad, the final 40% ,10 % on assignments and 10% on SCI questions!!!! I scored several B’s instead of A’s because I failed to answer SCI questions!. some students didn’t seem to be bothered at all by this non sense because many of them looked at this school as an easy ticket to get the states. those who were really hoping for a descent affordable (or so they thought) education were profoundly frustrated and felt abused, deceived, manipulated and helpless (they already invested money and time).
If you read this far, you could have guessed that I’m foreign even if I didn’t mention it. my English is far from perfect. What you may have not guessed is that compared to at least 95% of the foreign students (and I really mean at least), I do sound like Shakespeare. I had many colleagues that couldn’t speak 2 English words before pausing for 10 to 20 seconds only to follow up with a third word that is totally unrelated and has no place in the sentence they try to construct!. MUM – unlike any decent school in the States- doesn’t require the International students to take the TOEFL test (which is a test for international students – Test of English as a foreign Language – that they must pass before they are granted any admission to any U.S university or college). MUM abuse an article in the American educational law which states that the only time an International student Is exempted from this test is if the school officially evaluated his English proficiency by other reliable means. and the way MUM assess foreign students English is by calling them via the phone for 10 to 15 minutes. however they don’t ask the candidate any English language questions, they ask him about his experience as a software programmer and 2 or 3 questions about object oriented programming. what they try to know is if you know the basics of programming or not, they want to make sure that you can find some kind of a low level job so you can pay off your student loan..
That what MUM is. an employment agency.. in my batch all the students were foreign, and so was the case in the previous and the following batch. MUM attract foreign students. they send mass spam un solicitude emails to internationals , they talk about a financial aid system (which isn’t so – it’s just tuition paid on several installments) and talk about high demand on the IT sector. the talk about the CPT system (curriculum practical training) which allow international students to do paid internship while still enrolled in school (which is a system MUM severely abuse). OMG this is long already and I didn’t talk about a lot of stuff. I guess you get the idea. It might be enough to mention few more quick facts. some of the instructors didn’t even have a Master Degree! yet they were teaching Master level students!.. we were only required to take 5 courses + SCI on campus (each course in one month) and 4 courses via distance education (online) because most students will be contracted by a -body shop- after 6 or 7 months of their arrival in the States. each online course last 4 months with one week break in between. students end up doing up to 20 months on paid internship under CPT even though the USCIS states clearly that no one is allowed to do CPT more than 12 months on a row!!.
bottom-line: avoid this school by all means..
A) If you are an American thinking about some undergraduate education there, then my advice is: you can’t trust people who trick internationals this way. the staff at MUM are so distant from everyone else, live in their own world, can easily hold a grudge, and they hate questions. And dare you question something they preached, especially if its TM related, they will dislike you (to put it nicely) until you leave MUM.
B) If you are an international looking for a decent -American!- education (like me). I’ll give you a quick example, the current course I’m doing is called Web Applications Architecture. when I read the name I thought I will be studying distributed technologies, Http specifications, Service oriented architecture and other advanced web theories and topics. what I am studying however is some Java tools JSP and JSF, and we only cover the basics of these tools. The exams are focused on the Syntax of these tools. you can buy an intro book written by non academic author that is published by Wrox under their programmer to programmer series for less than 30$. and you will learn much more from the book about the Java tools, even though you won’t learn much about web theories and architecture.
C) If you are an international who just want to make it in the States, hoping that you will find another way to legally remain in the States. last year 7 of MUM students had their H1b (a work visa) petition denied… USCIS started to do more thorough reviews on H1b applications. some MUM students got their H1b petitions approved but many were denied H1b. the rejection letter for one dude mentioned that he must leave the country and his presence is illegal since he didn’t maintain his F1 (student) status. while this was a mistake from the USCIS side, what made USCIS suspicious is that he was doing online classes for more than a year since he left the campus and never been on campus once again!!… so be careful.
I went to MIU back in the 80’s. I was there only 1 semester before they told me they screwed up 5 of us students financial aid (who all were veterans using the Gi Bill. they lost our 4 yr free education in 1 semester. we were told to make up the difference of THEIR mistake in 2 days or leave asap. They promply ordered me to leave and not to return. I am paying for a loan I never signed for $700..) and now since that time the interest rate has made my so-called free education(up to 32k) I can’t even qualify for a loan from the Dept of ed,due to this bogus charge ,even though i kept my receipst I had a 0 balance. everything the people said up there is correct. The college still has the same moldy buildings. sick staff due to no health insurance. much of the staff is either to old to admit the bogus mood making or from another country using their so called ‘teachers degree” as a way to be in the good ol’ usa. 98% of students can barely speak enqwish and,the food is the worse I have ever tasted. regardless that it’s organic. its got stuff in it which makes the students and sstaff sick on a biw weekly bases. The courses don’t either transfer or is not practical for jobs (in the real world) the cost of this school is beyond imagination. most students stay poor thereby,go on staff and get free room and board,reiterating the problem of denial,and mood making. And,yes,keep all thoughts of this to yourself. drive on the forever damaged roads,flaking paint and rotting wood on these structures. And,then they have the audacity to show films which want the students to pay for ‘building structures in other countries,to feed the poor and give them a place to live while making a dome for them to meditate. The rich kids seems to be there because their parents want them out of the house. They are confused,dazed,rude, and mostly oblivious to what there llife will be in the future. Everything the above people has said above regarding the sad truth is absolutely truer than eevr. I came back here after being away for 30 yrs,and they won’t have me back. the David Lynch foundation which supports scholarships won’t be coming to me,as they played games with me for a year when in fact 3 other colleges,gladly accepted me. most are from China and Nigeria from what I heard from a reliable source. not hardly any uU.S Citizens(another red flag). which makes me think ,once the foreigners get here,they are stuck. and then ther’es the paying off of students parents to keep the student quiet after reports of sexual abuse. I believe the source is truer than life. but it wouldn’t surprise me. I am still trying to recover my 4 yr education,at 57, I need a real job,where I can pay off a debt i never should have had. no one in town wants to talk about it,the lawyers,the judge,or staff member. their eyes just glaze over (probably because they are meditators (siddhas-which have rights to meditate in the dome). I can’t believe the illusion some staff members has created for themselves all these yrs and yes, the names above are people who were named as persons of interest. yes, they work for the university, and one is intake person on 1800 line. conflict of interest?lol I am so dissalutioned to the rhetoric and their ability to lie,steal and decieve, all i the name of “World Peace”…or should i say whirled peas (and tofu) no meat at this school. . Most students are practicing,alcoholism,drugs and suicide and death is at a high ratio,but haven’t actually compared to the other schools re: these abusive behaviors,just that tm was suppose to make us streesfree and drug free and ptsd. so don’t go to the beatles concert which fund the david lynch program,cuz they dont want disabled vets with ptsd,it’s a freakin cover-a disabled vet suffering from ptsd (in the 70’s) Hell, I look younger than anyone half my age and they promote “the reversal of the aging provess. Plus the big wigs who run this place are over weght in a BIG way(no pun intended-at least consciously). I think maharishi mahesh Yogi had a good thing,but he can’t control out of control people. he passed away yrs ago,and I am imaging him turning in his grave. shame on the people who continue to lye ,cheat rip off and silence anyone who speaks up or asks basic questions. a surprised human who knows better,a second time around. got I pray I can get my GI Bill returned and get this debt erased.
This college is fraud and USCIS avoid to issue student visa to this college. Other problem is also in university. Avoid to take admission.
I hate calling it a university ,,, it’s not a university ,,, it doesn’t have any qualifications of even the worst university in the world ,,,, maybe we can call it meditation home which they use it in everything and force the students to use it other wise they will give them bad grades .
Believe me it’s horrible .
Learn TM first, many of the professors here are TM teachers and true believers in MMY, it will give you a glimpse of MUM life. The established group of old people here are quite out of touch with newer generations. This can be a good school if you pick the right major and can keep a sense of humor about MMY AND keep it to yourself. Do not take the “Siddhi Course”, you will be forced into twice the amount of meditation every day and will be forced to meditate in stinky old buildings with old people who think they are better than you. Visitor’s weekend is like a tourist’s trip to N. Korea–they show you everything nice and roll out the red carpet. There are some really nice things here, especially for a town of this size. There are some really cool people here as well, and with the right classes you can get a decent education. Just avoid deeply involving yourself in the movement
My daughter applied to 8 different universities in USA. Maharishi was hte first to respond and to personally answer all our questions. They were allso the most promt at sending us a brosjure and course information and from what i could see had some very interresting courses, won many local awards for sustainable projects and has a wholistic approach to education and growing people from the inside which is different from other institutions yet something we are loking for.
====
I hd a very good experience with MUM
I have been treated to a a roller coaster of awesome here in Fairfield Iowa. At MUM it is a build your own education program. You pick what you would like to accomplish and go from there. The staff and faculty are free to be human beings and you are allowed to be who you are. True freedom expressed in the form of university. From children to senior citizens you can find just about every archetype under the sun in this little pocket town that promotes sustainability and is part of the nation Blue Zone initiative. Non-GMO labeling in most of the store fronts and enough recreational activities to sate the appetite of a Tri-Athlete. You can go off your path and crash of course like all growing communities you can find whatever drug of choice you happen to be clinging to. But the support staff and faculty of the university will show you the way back on track so long as you are ready to make the changes. It is truly all in your head and they help show you how and why the world works the way it does. The best place to find yourself should you be seeking answers on amelioration.
Went there as a student when it was called Maharishi International University. I was pretty excited to go there before I arrived there. I was sorely disappointed. The food was horrible; they had cooks who couldn’t cook. If you asked any serious questions in class all you got was rehearsed answers.I got the feeling after a while that they were more interested in collecting my tuition fees than actually teaching me anything. In the end I’m glad I went because it eventually opened my eyes to the fact that Maharishi was a scam artist and his meditation was B.S..
If you want to be a snoodie a hole then go to this school its the best in burned out hippy proffesors that are well over paid and think that here is the center of the universe I once watched a guy urinate while meditating very educational if you wanna be in Assited living they are giving students extra credit to write positive reviews, have fun and make the choice you want
FULL DISCLOSURE guys, let’s be honest. Revolinski, Goodman, and Stokstad —All positive reviews, and all names of faculty and/or children of faculty, and/or children of faculty who are now also faculty. Seriously, go to MUM’s website, click on the faculty/staff directory, you will find those names there. I like the block system (usually). Still has a mold problem. Some super awesome professors and some arrogant, bullshit professors–just like every other university in the US. Learn TM before you come! If you hate it, you will hate the school–TM is integral to every day’s schedule, and it is not optional. If you love TM–good news! TM is integral to every day’s schedule, and it is not optional. “Vedic Science” will get you a degree that is nearly guaranteed to be worthless outside of fairfield. Study M&C or Sustainable if want an MUM’s-strong-suit-type major.
I went to this school for three years I left after the first year and somehow convinced myself to come back…This has been the worst decision of my life. I ended up getting sucked into the TM cult…ure They have destroyed my ability to think for myself and remember day to day things I honestly feel mentally handicapped now and it is pretty severe. They are liars thieves and every student that actually begins to accept the techniques the fake knowledge the fake routine and thinks its for the better is lying to themselves and behind that “bliss” is a person dying to live freely. I’see the exact same pattern happening to every new student that walks into that place and is hypnotized into selling themselves to these sick predators who falsely represent their school their fakes ass leader and their bullshit unique effortless meditation. They are the biggest Spiritual lie America has ever seen and I’m terribly sorry for myself and all the other genuine people who have gotten sucked in and Spiritually raped.
I think, its a scam!! it is surprising how international students are getting visa here!…US govt should monitor this university….it can be a training institution but not an university for sure……………………………………………be careful folks………………………………………………..
This school from my one semester of attendance gave me the impression that it is a glorified rehab or retreat, it’s actually worse. Education is not taking seriously at all, yet everyone is stressed to attend classes every single day for four to five hours worse if you are a grad student. Talking to other fellow grad students they hardly have time to eat and the workload can be overwhelming and redundant. The peers in your class will have very poor english skills if at all any. You will not be in a challenging situation but it will be very time consuming and stressful. I know some people have benefited from this school in many ways but thats more the exception than the rule. This is that last resort, last stop for burnouts, recovering addicts and alcoholics. Seven out of the ten people I’ve encountered out of the 500 people there had some type of substance abuse problem. I’m talking hard drugs: heroin, cocaine, et al. I think the reason might be the strict schedule they have to adhere to, virtual isolation from the rest of the town and world at large, and the strict regulation of drugs and alcohol. The penalty is the same to find an empty bottle of alcohol as it is to be caught shooting up. The stigma is all the same. So if you are a responsible user of drugs and alcohol attend a tier one school. Chances are you will receive a better education and experience at a ranked school. As an undergrad at Wesleyan I enjoyed a liberal arts education and a social life of mind expanding proportions. Yeah I smoke pot every now and then and drink every few weeks. People will try to rush you into AA and NA if you tell them that. It’s all taboo something that was very normal college behavior. You are going to be under a microscope and people are going to try to get you cheesed with or without PC. I decided to pick this topic because every other issue has been reviewed already, poor food, poor living situation, poor education, poor location. The philosophy is flawed and when in doubt they attempt to connect everything to quantum physics which you will not understand unless you are a physics major or something. I leave you with this if the whole Maharishi effect was an actual reality it would be most strongly prevalent in Fairfield. Yet this town is desolate, barren, and run down. People that live here the ones that the Maharishi effect is supposed to be affecting passively (ya know the non TMers), it’s not working. Yet they will take credit for the stock market going up because a certain amount of people were meditating in the domes. Not to stop for a second to considered legislation, economics, or social change first. It’s plain superstition to believe in anything beyond the personal health effects of Meditation and Yoga.
==
Mum drug policy is crazy. Worse than any other school. Half the people are recovering addicts of hard drugs. Alcohol and heroin get the same penalty. Red rock the local bar is always packed with MUM students. Townies hate MUM students. Maharishi effect is not real. You can see the lies there. They tell you that Maharishi effect is something that stops violence raises stock markets. Taking credit for economic and legislative policies. The logic is fallible.
I dropped out for the following reasons:
1.) The school is very low-budget. The dorms have mice and black mold, and fellow classmates of mine even ended up in the hospital due to the mold issues. The dorms are DUMPS and pretty much everyone lives in the local “Utopia” trailer park. This school is extremely over priced for what you get.
2.) The staff and faculty are very nosy of the students’ personal life. They gossip and pry information out of students. For example; you will be having a conversation with someone from student life and they somehow know information about you that you’ve never shared with them.
3.) The school is VERY dogmatic and controlling. They will try to tell you that you have to go sleep in the woods for three days or stay in your dorm and meditate all weekend. Good luck if you try to get out of it, they’ll reduce your grade.
4.) The town of Fairfield sucks. No good restaurants or activities. Full of rednecks. I felt like I was in a horror movie when I entered this town.
5.) There is a lack of motivation here. Most of the people just meditate to the point that they look like they’re dying. They do everything very slowly.
6.) The food at the school is horrid. They don’t use any spices or garlic/onions. Everything is warm and bland. They serve tofu everyday. Yuck!
7.) A majority of the student life are burn outs. At least the group of students I met when I arrived. Whats on the agenda for the weekend? Smoking marijuana and getting drunk at the local bar. (Not to mention the local bar smells like dog piss and is full of old junkies.) Classy group, eh? I find the students are mostly low lives who couldn’t get into a real University.
One of the worst decisions I ever took! I came from Malaysia and decided to study their Masters in Computer Science. It’s a waste, it’s a cult out here. I’m going back to my Malaysia and find better ways of living there. I don’t want to be a sickko staying back at this school of CULT!!Don’t be lured just like I was!!!
It’s a good institute with very efficient & caring faculty members.TM program is good for sustaining pressures and stresses that we face in day to day life.All comments given above are rubbish & are intended to tarnish the image of the institute.Don’t listen to them.Do what you feel right.It’s your life & you should decide for yourself without being biased by views of others.
All I have to say is PLEASE DO NOT GO HERE. I have been here one semester and I am so upset with myself for being taken advantage of. For one, the food here is healthy, yes. But it is tasteless. You will not have an after taste after eatting. How does that happen? When you are here for visitor’s weekend they make the school appear so friendly and progressive. -_- DO NOT BE FOOLED. Its more like a brainwash university where they pressure you to think like Maharishi. The school is covered with shrines and pictures of Maharishi and their God, Guru Dev. Its really spooky. Most of the “Siddahs” go crazy after a short while. Also, if you show any signs of not conforming to their paradigm, you will be put on a black list and harrassed by security. They will make your stay uncomfortable. The men’s dorms have black mold, yet they still move students there. Most of the guys are fags, its crazy. The only plus are the foreign girls ;). Overall, dont waste your time or money like I am doing. After this last block, I am going back home to rethink. I am one who was fooled into believing this crap. They took advantage of my thirst for REAL spiritual growth, not a dogmatic, brainwash program. SMH I am very upset. Oh I almost forgot the best part. Before and after every meditation session, the instruction says “Jai Guru Dev” which actually means “Glory Guru Dev”.. Blasphemy.
Very good media and communications department. Also good sustainable living department. The media and communication is very hands on. I have been able to spend quality time on a Red One camera, a very expensive video camera – the same type that most Hollywood studios now use. I have found the professors knowledgeable and helpful. One thing I will mention is that I’m not a vegetarian, but for the most part I like the food. When I need my meat I eat at one of the restaurants in town.
i want to know that after the 7-8 months of practical training.all the student of mum get the paid internship.i am a international student . i want to know will i get the exposure of united states bieng in mum and whether this course will help me making a sound career or not?
I was appalled to read some of the negative comments about this school–not because they were negative, but because of the terribly negative feelings they expressed. Some of them are semi-coherent outbursts, with misspelled words, etc. I hope you will not take them seriously. Some of these reviewers appear to need psychotherapy.
Although I am not a student at MUM, I have spent a lot of time there meditating and learning additional meditation techniques. All my experiences have been positive and valuable, and my experiences have evolved in a way that is consistent with Maharishi’s teachings. As a consequence, I am healthier, happier, and more productive.
It should come as no surprise that MUM is not a “party” school. It is honestly presented as a place that values regular meditation and conservative dress and behavior. If you are ready for this, you’ll probably like it very much.
Also, consider how this website is presented. It begins by asking you to tell others about the negative aspects of the school you review–suggesting you put a negative spin on it. This is hardly a source of unbiased information. When you read these reviews, consider whether the reviewer seems rational and balanced. Is the review written the way a good college student should write? If not, don’t take it seriously.
The best way to decide about MUM is to visit the school yourself. Talk to as many people as you can. Regarding faculty qualifications, I have noted that several of them earned their doctorates from highly regarded universities.
Best wishes.
I transferred to MUM from Northwest Florida State. I’m in the Pre-Medicine program and I really like MUM. The teachers and the knowledge are very good. The daily meditation is a nice way to start the day. MUM is a good school. I would recommend it.
In short: Great University. It is my opinion that most of the comments here on this site are fake and just one or two people trying to slander the university.
I attended MUM for 4 years and gained a BA in Business in 2008. The education I received was value to my success in my business carrier and I’m now working as a Marketing Analyst as my day job and have a small business that I’m developing that’s making a small passive income. Life at MUM was very good. I liked the healthy food, I enjoyed the practice of TM that they teach, I met very cool people and I have remained friends with many of them. Most people there are into being healthy, drugs where not a big part of campus life – though there where a few students doing them – alcohol almost non existent. I would say this school is special and not for everyone… its for people that are looking for something better in life and don’t like the status quo. If you want to better yourself in heart mind and intellect… MUM is it.
Guys, here’s the deal.
MUM is not perfect for everyone. NO college is perfect for everyone. If you think you may be interested in it, come for a visit. Simple as that.
I am a graduate of the film program, which was my favorite place to be by far. While getting my degree I was allowed to produce and direct one 7 minute short, one 25 minute short, one 89 minute feature film, and I worked on half a dozen Hollywood film sets (ranging in overall budgets from $250k to over $30mil). I was able to do all of this because I went to MUM. They were on the block system, so I was taking 1 class at a time, and it worked with my schedule and my ambitions beautifully.
I’m not claiming that MUM is a perfect place. It’s a work in progress. However, I will argue one point. People on here complain that you have to be self-motivated to succeed at MUM. I would argue that you have to be self-motivated to succeed anywhere. Self-motivation is one of the main things that you learn at college and in life. In fact, expecting someone to “teach” you self-motivation is a bit oxymoronic, yeah?
I guess every place has its detractors, but the vast majority of MUM students really love it here. People are really friendly and supportive. They are growing in intelligence, happiness and clarity of mind. Being around people like that is a lot of fun! On the other hand, success brings critics. Many people have blocks to getting happier and find ways to avoid it. MUM is not for everyone. Its only for people who really want to just do one meditation ,to stay in one boat at a time. Its a simple life in a growth-oriented school. I think its the best school in the world, simply because its the ONLY school in the world that has the enlightenment of its students as a top priority, plus providing a technique to get there. Sure the campus needs some upgrades here and there, sure you are stuck out in Iowa with no surf… but everyplace in the world has its beauties, especially when there is beauty in the eye of the beholder.
if you are not sure what the word “fucked up” means, then go to this school and it will be best thing you could ever understand deeply.
I am an international student studied in MUM in 2010, and I am trying to make it easy on the people who are thinking about attending this college or not.
most of the reviewers above who attack the university seem to a lack of understanding of either the university culture or their priorities.
1- if you are looking for GOOD education ,this school is NOT for you at all, you will learn from buying and reading books by yourself more than from their teachers. and as well known, in USA, good education = good money, and you can only find it in big research-based universities.
2- the MUM culture has been being built in US since 1972, and as any other group of people who support their own ideas, they try to make sure that no one thinks it is easy to go against them, in other words you either stay because you like it , or you leave.
3- I would say that it may be a good experience for some people , because I did meet many people , international and domestic , who love the university and enjoy it everyday, but I also met other people who hated it so so bad.
but it all comes down to what you want, I have found that those who are looking for “cheap” education , will hate the university , and I believe that it is their mistake. however if you are looking for life experiences , trying unique things, being in new situations and atmosphere , then I am sure that MUM will be a place for that.
the best way to look at it is like this : if someone invites you to his home for a dinner , and he told you that the dinner will taste amazing, you get excited for a nice free dinner , and then when you come to his house , you start spotting things that you think are negative, and after eating the food , you don’t like it because it tastes just bad. it is simply your responsibility to accept the invitation , and that person did nothing wrong by trying to “promote” his good cooking skills.
as a bottom line,
for education : don’t waste any time and money by attending MUM, you will regret it
for new experiences, trying new things , ….etc, it may be a good place.
from my experience, it works the best for International students, because they have the best way for Computer Science people to come to us and start a new life here, you study 8 months in the campus and then you work for 2 years and get paid just like the americans.
so just make sure what you are looking for first, then you can decide.
I hope I give good information for those who are looking for it.
Wow have I got a story for you all. I started Fall 2010 at age 50. Vedic Science major (I love this stuff)I was so anxious for Dr. Hagelins physics class. He was all I thought he was and more! He started flirting with me through long looks at me in class. I gave him a questioning look of are you flirting with me? He nods his head up and down. Long story short, I wasn’t interested in a married man.
I told a teacher about this,all she did was go tell Hagelin. Instead of the school taking my complaint seriously (which is the law)and it being handled discretely …it would appear tongues wag here. I got blacklisted. Brutal treatment from the teachers and lowered grades. My gpa dropped from 3.7 to 2.6. The faculty,teachers, and the older T.M.ers (strangers to me)in town all being awful to me. I went to two faculty people and said I just want to know why you guys are doing this? They would not tell me. I said is it because I smoke? I’m too cocky? Named off about 10 of my imperfections…to each one they said nope that isn’t it. (That of course means there IS a reason and they DO KNOW what it is but can’t tell me. It never occured to me until the end that my presence as a student here now bothers Dr. Hagelin and his friends.
The food is horrible, cream of broccoli soup is boiled to death broccoli in water! No cream about it! You can drink the pudding;the bread is tough;the salad veggies are third rate wilted crap (I know I’ve run restaurants). The teachers are bottom of the barrel desperate scrapings.
If you were thinking of going here… don’t…they don’t deserve you.
My friend will be attending to this school in a couple of days. Is it really that bad? Would you really not learn much on what you actually enrolled on?
This school is misleading. I don’t understand how it is accredited. This school lied to me, by saying the curriculum was most important, when all they care about is you becoming part of the TM cult, and adding to the false scientific idea of the “Mahrishi Effect” and “Super Radiancy”; all pseudoscience with biased statistics.
They worship Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as an infallible saint. His word is gods word to them. I wasted a 1.5 years of my life there before I left and went to a real college. The classes are a joke, everything revolves around how Mahesh is correct, and every discipline is a reflection of his correct cognition/interpretation of the Ved. They state it’s not a belief system, but they believe the Mahesh and other yogis cognized the “truth” of the universe.
They charge you to learn TM, yet they call it a birthright. This place is every definition of a cult. It has an infallible leader, the cut themselves off from society, they are correct and other religions are wrong (they would just say the ved is seen in every other religion), and if you disagree or don’t see “the light”, they ask you to leave.
When I went there, they segragated men and women in most classes, didn’t let you ware jeans or have facial hair, forced you to do meditation and made you scan a badge with an ID # do make sure you showed up, claimed to be non-sectarian but didn’t allow people to practice other forms of mediation, and always claimed how Mahesh and the movement were correct, how TM was the “best” form of mediation, and how TM was the only way to save the world.
They also forced me to live on campus until I got a doctors note, detailing how the mold in the dilapidated dorms was causing respiritory issues. Plus they act like they are sustainable, but they do not have one LEED certified buildings only registered (I’m a LEED Accredited Professional and verified this), they care more about Vastu (Mahesh’s form of Sthapatya Vedic architecture) than non-toxic buildings. They also forced everyone to walk in east or north entrances because of their beleifs. The dorms only entrance in that directiont was the fire escape. We were not allowed to use the main entrance.
I tried working with them the whole time I was there, but in the end, I realized this was a cult, not an evil organization, but a cult who took the word of Mahesh as absolute truth. This is not a post secondary school, but an ashram for a sect of American Hindus.
I strongly warn anyone against attending who isn’t a devote of Mahesh or their particular sect of hinduism.
My rating was a requirement. To post without was not possible. Disregard as inapplicable. Although I lived on campus I did not take part in the academic activities. The numerous professors I met casually seemed to be decent, committed individuals. In fact I rented a room in Canada with someone who would become a Math professor. I can say unequivocably that that individual was almost saintly. He had zero malice and a sharp intellect.
My perspective is a little different than many posters on this board who defend or berate MUM (it was another name when I was there). I speak as a mature (56) year-old man who has some fond memories of the TM community in Fairfield from the early 1980s, and some not so fond memories of the Canadian administration of Maharishi’s movement. However, I do remember a sense of purpose, wholesome living, regular habits and good company. I also missed from 1975 to 1985 all the recreational drugs, promiscuous sex and political cynicism of the time. I have since made up for lost time.
While I do not share the bitterness of some individuals in this board I suspect that their impressions are in the correct direction. The TM movement is not for academics or even deep thinkers. I was a seeker and an intellectual of sorts and was told by the local leaders in Vancouver, and I kid you not, to ‘build a big bonfire and burn all my books’ (other than by Maharishi of course). My independent studies in Sanskrit, religion, philosophy and mysticism were discouraged to put it mildly.
I have nothing against humane, tolerant, progressive religion. But the new leaders of the TM organization are, like Maharishi himself, despite his charms, disingenuous. There are reputable Hindu, Buddhist, and indeed Christian, universities where not every single aspect of life is seen through the perspective of a singular philosophy that can be summed in this: ‘Meditate and follow our directives on our interpretation of selective elements of yogic and Brahminical Hinduism. Do what our leader(s) say is correct. Do not think for yourself.’ This is never explicitly said, but one learns to do so to survive within the context of the very insular and inward thinking TM mindset. The Catholic Church has more freedom of thought.
The new commercial focus of the ‘Maharajah’ (world leader) and ‘Rajahs’ (national and regional leaders) would put Ismailis and LDS Church to shame as those positions were essentially bought when Maharishi needed to create a foundation. The many dedicated volunteers who lived simple lives living on a share of meditation initiation fees, (essentially self-financing missionary work) were replaced by businesmen.
Are TMers nice people? I think they are very much so. In fact I miss my naivieity, community practices and beliefs. But this is what they are. I have no experience at the university academically. But I sincerely doubt it can compare to even a community college. I hope I am wrong for the many young people who might wake up after four, eight, or even ten years later and say ‘what did I do with my time?’ Money can be regained. Time cannot. And while I am no fan of American style Protestantism of the post-Reagan era, I would like to paraphrase something Billy Graham said (and of course those mindful of religious subtleties will know that he and say Jerry Falwell are not cut from the same cloth, despite both being Christians) “The sad thing is not that New Agers believe in nothing. It is that they will believe anything’.
I do not regret the two decades I spent meditating twice a day. I met many sincere, kind, devoted people. I became vegetarian, ‘early to bed, early to rise’, to avoid conflict, to be ethical and that I should be successful in the world (necessary if you want to attend TM courses!). Perhaps best of all, TMers are not out to convert the world or plunder the planet. They genuinely respect ‘other paths’ and the glorious variety and beauty of human society and nature. But I caution all to examine carefully what you are getting into….
I began by meditating twice a day. Wonderful. I was searching for a meditation technique that did not require any change of lifestyle and every other group did. Then I was encouraged to add Hatha yoga postures and a very simple few breathing excercises. Good for the health. Along the way we could listen to Maharishi’s lectures. All he did was put me to sleep or make me laugh. No harm done. After a few years I was listening to chanting at night that most Hindus haven’t done for hundreds of years. I won’t bore you with the TM-Sidhi deceit of supernatural powers. Then came the addition of traditional Indian medicine (perhaps good) and astrology. And architecture based on medieval Hindu scriptures. What had I gotten myself into? This was not what I signed up for! A simple meditation technique had turned into, and I am very reluctant to use this word, but it is the reality, a secretive sect of conservative Hinduism. For all its faults, and I am very skeptical of religious institutions, Hinduism (a group of related religions really, united by some core beliefs) is one of the world’s great religions. It has many commendable features. But to pretend that it is not a matter of faith, but is a science, is nonsense. There are worse groups, even dangerous cults. I venture to say that Islamacist jihadists are much more of a risk to world peace than any of the synchretic new religions or quasi-Hindu groups.
I recall with fondness holding an umbrella for Maharishi in the rain. I was a good TMer and did not ask him any questions. Maybe you should ask some hard questions before you sign up. But no one is going to hold a gun to your head, or a scimitar to your throat. It’s your choice.
Luke,
http://www.linktv.org/programs/david-wants-to-fly
My name is Rachel, after going to an orientation I couldn’t wait to attend in 2013. I felt like I finally fit in. Then I started looking deeper into Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s movement. FREAKY. I am totally fond of TM,and everything Guru Dev and back… but as for Maharishi himself?… PLEASE take an hour and a half of your time to watch this documentary available in the link.
Someone I know is going to school at MUM next year,after reading all of these reviews I am deeply concerned! I would appreciate any rational comments about MUM,is it really that bad? is it a cult?
Wow MUM-DROPOUT, thank you! I am 20, currently at MUM just survived STC…Most stressful 6-weeks of class I’ve been through.. Daily brainwash with tapes, empty answers and mind-manipulative tricks… But I am only ONE out of TWENTY that has noticed this. Did not do the visitors weekend, but knew from day 1 that I got on campus grounds that there was something very infirm going on. Have not met ONE SINGLE open teacher to talk with so far. Seeking advice for anything besides TM? You’re out of luck. The food? Possibly organic, but not fresh – all is cooked down, no onions, no mushrooms, no garlic, no fruits besides apples and occasional bananas, no vitality there. TOFU IS EVERYDAY THREE TIMES A DAY. Good luck not craving more food for balance. Cheese and tofu is all they serve for protein. It’s doable if you invest in lots of stuff on the side. All of the actual classes are ridden with Mahesh “wisdom,” which is not that bad, but it is certainly limited. In science class, you will debate for hours about relative points of view rather than study the concrete aspects of the observable universe.
Much here is counterproductive to the elevation of consciousness, besides the students themselves who are of a new generation with a new kind of consciousness. But as DROP-OUT said, the brightest will leave early, unless they are powerful enough to make an impact. Need lots of help….
MUM SUCKKKSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I attended MUM for one semester to study Vedic Science. I was deeply interested in the Veda, Sanskrit, consciousness, and meditation. I had no problem with the meditation requirements or food – all of that is stated up front. I was terribly disappointed to find the school academically bankrupt and intellectually dulling. The serious and lively scholarly research (even in Vedanta) is just missing. There is an aura of constriction in regard to personal habits as well. The student community is very nice, but the best and brightest tend to escape before the end of the school year.
The Vedic Science degree is less about academic exploration and more about brainwashing and learning a strict tradition as it was taught (in its purity they would say) without deviation. It is an ashram, not an institution for intellectual gratification. The Media and Communications dept. is the worst I’ve encountered. Don’t be sucked in by David Lynch’s association with the movement. The teachers have little real world experience, and dogmatically repeat what they have been taught (at MUM) with no wiggle room for creativity (ironically meditation does make you feel more creative, but you cannot then express it here. There are certain things that are simply taboo). You could not make a film like Lynch’s at MUM. It would be seen as too negative or dark.
Sustainable Living seems to be the one good reason to attend this school, and you’ll have to look past the dogma.
In Vedic science expect to be bombarded continually with old video recordings of Maharishi until you can quote him verbatim without even trying. I literally felt my brain being “washed.” Fred Travis is one fantastic teacher, but he also pushes the TM paradigm like everyone else. Most of the faculty make just $700 a month! They are there because they are true believers, not because they are good educators. Check out where they got their educations and you’ll see how incestuous this place is.
If you want to learn one singular tradition of Indian philosophy and yes, religion, in an ashram and get loans from the government in order to do so, MUM is a good choice. If you want a college education, look elsewhere.
I have visited MUM and came away with a feeling of dread. I was very much willing for my son to attend, at least for most of the weekend. When we toured the “golden dome” I finally had my eyes opened. When they claimed to levitating with “yogic flying” and then I heard about the “chanting” while meditating, I knew that it was not only NOT benign as they claimed, it is really a dangerous practise. It truly is a cult.
I am very sorry for those of you who feel you are stuck there. I hope you will find a way to get out. It is dangerous for you. By all means, don’t do the meditations, don’t get caught in the post-hypnotic suggestions. That’s what TM is, self-hypnosis, and leaves you very vulnerable to whatever they want you to believe. Please know that others see the truth. Please post more about your experiences and what you observe.
I wanna to say two words …
F**K MUM :)
Don’t apply to this shitty university … try to find another and I am sure any other university will be better than this one .. I have been here for more than 7 months.. and I am writing now from my fuckn room in MUM dome.
The financial assistance they reimburse is honored as long as you do the complete agenda they have for the visitor’s weekend that they have you scheduled while you are there(which they don’t tell you). Mostly what is above in all but the first two comments are true. This is not a college to party. You are REQUIRED to do THEIR meditation, with their words they give you to use. Most of the professors have received their degrees at this university so they were awarded to them by the Founder & would never qualify at a legitimate university. I did receive my degree since how they set up the financial aid structure, I did graduate. Since on my degree they print that I meditate daily & yogi fly so who do you think will hire me? I am a qualified professional who had a great standing reputation that I don’t even know if I want to show my degree to anyone since they may think since I fly, that I may turn them into a toad since I only know witches that fly without a plane. Don’t drink the kool-aid here. There are too many universities to choose from. I do want to admit since you meditate all the time, it allows your creativity to soar yet the pressure to meditate is uncomfortable.
Just a terrible place, avoid at all costs, they will take your money and condemn your soul to Hell…
i graduated from here and i wish i never did.
i grew up in the fairfield cult, so i was sucked in.
a cult disguised as a college.
run for you life.
i live far far away now and my degree is worthless.
Been here for 60 days came from India. They cashed my check and for now I am stuck here. Hope to get out soon and go home. Wanted to come to America to meet Americans. But here you only see people who talk about maharishi like he’s some kind of god. That guy did some real mind games on these folks. I just nod my head pretending I like what they say because that keeps them happy and besides sense they already cashed my check nothing I can do right now. Writing this while everyone is meditating…for the 4th time today. Every day its “have you meditated?”; “how was your mediation?”;”when are you going to mediate again?”, “hey, we’re going to go meditate, want to come”. “No thank you, but a flight back to India/anywhere would be nice”. I got to get out and start a life. This place makes the tiny village I came from seem like a meeting of the Algonquin round table.
Someone just knocked on my door to ask me to type quieter so I don’t disturbed their meditation. I need a baseball bat.
I attended MUM from 1999-2003.
The comments above are mostly so extreme and obviously unbalanced that I hope no intelligent person takes them seriously.
MUM is a young university (30+ years old) and therefore still growing and evolving. It has a very unique campus culture of people interested in personal growth, social justice, sustainability and peace. The students are fantastic and they create a very supportive and open student culture.
The faculty really care about the students and are easily available to students. The VP of the university is available to meet with students during lunch in the cafeteria pretty much anytime.
Some academic programs are not as strong as others. Some solid ones are Sustainable Living, Media and Communications and Vedic Science.
The university does not have a large endowment fund like older schools and therefore the physical campus is not as beautiful as some other schools. The food rocks, it’s organic, freshly cooked and partially locally grown.
It’s amazing how this place has you grow as a person and creates the environment for you to figure out who you are and what you want in life while you get a degree.
Regarding the reviews above, anyone that tells you something is just horrible, don’t listen to them. Find someone that can give you a balanced perspective (cause they are usually a balanced person).
hi everyone,
I am reading a lot of forums regarding Maharishi University. I just received an email inviting me to attend a Master’s degree at the said university but I’m having a second thought if I am to pursue my application. I am applying for a student visa and I have the urge of going to the US ever since. If someone there who could recommend me some school to go who offers financial aid to it’s student, then please give me a tip. thanks guys.
I attended this university as an MBA-Accouting student. The course work during the seven months on-campus study was good and the university prepared me for the practical training position. I earned good salary during the practical training and completed my CPA. The distance education was below average during my practical training period.
This university is very selective and it is not easy to get into the MBA-Accounting and M.S.Computer Science program.
The nearest fun place is Iowa City. Many students visit Iowa City during Friday or Saturday nights for good time.
I have received a email regarding the admission to MS in CS at MUM university.
Please let me know the true facts about the MUM university
Thank u very much for help
this fucken place is a religious institution F**K THEM I HATE THEM.
and actually a very nice thing that non of the comments before mentioned that the university itself does a lot of illegal things like getting an SSN for international students with a fake contract, I guess they get a reduction in taxes by allowing students to work in the university, also opening the SSN letter is a federal crime actually. and they just keep lying about the TM thing it’s not a religion bla bla bla, okay if it’s a good technique, then I’m an adult and can decide for myself what’s good and what’s bad, get ur fucken nose out of my business suckers, I wish that this university close and shut all the programs and all suckers in it go to jail, or maybe to hell to their beloved maharishi. and actually I knew a hendu guy and he told me that the strange words with strange language at the ceremony are words like “I brought a new member for you, you the creator of the earth the skies, that’s why I kneel infront of u, and these gifts (which are the apple and the flower) are from this member, so accept him” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check this out http://www.behind-the-tm-facade.org/transcendental_meditation-religion.htm
it has the full translation of the initiation ceremony.
I don’t understand how students pay more than 25,000$ in 8 months!!! It’s not the Hilton btw, plz guys if anyone knows a good reporter at famous newspaper, please tell him about this to save others
I am Currently attending this school and I must say…its a fucking cult!! Dont Go Dont be fooled!! They are not what they say they are!! All around. food, people, everything. its all brainwash and hypnosis. I should know. I use to study this stuff in my spare time, and I have been telling folks back home exactly what goes on here, and a friend replied “Sounds like your in a scary place sweetheart” it is. I named my self shunned girl cause I dont follow exactly what they want us to and I am now shunned, thats right no one will talk to me anymore its really creepy. and they have black mold in the dorms. The “siddhas” have the run of the school. they are the ones who bounce around on mattress and have paid MUCHO $$$$ to do so. My job for the winter….to serve them their food for the winter. so much more I could say about this school. I am all for new age stuff, but this is taking advantage of us who are into that. they tell us we are saving the world and stuff they even calculated how many people suffer when you dont do their programs. It gets crazier than that folks
UPDATE: I am now back at Maharishi University to do my MBA. I’ve been traveling the world for the past 2 years and have seen a lot of different cultures and beautiful places. Out of all the locations I’ve been (including my home in Australia) I am most happy here in Fairfield at Maharishi University.
The faculty are amazing, the students are bright spiritual people and I have friends and connections from all over the world now. The only thing that is bit of problem for me is the freezing cold winter but I get used to it and then I can go snowboarding…
All the best,
Asher.
just another Hindu preaching thing.. these maggots are trying what some Christian missionaries did centuries ago.
I went to Maharishi University between 2004 and 2008 – it was the best experience of my life. I grew up in Australia and the schools there were really stressful with a lot of fights and other problems. When I came to MUM I found an oasis of friendly, happy people and an awesome school.
I recommend MUM to anyone who wants to develop themselves on all levels – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically etc. It is a powerful environment with a lot of progressive things happening.
Good luck!
I think the first thing anyone researching should know is that the small but noisy group of anti-meditation activists have most likely splattered this MUM review page with their usual strange and distorted comments, which they do whenever anything TM-related comes up online. Some of the critical comments may be sincere, but these 4-5 ticked-off people (recognizable by their same old angry words and superficial take on things) constantly monitor the Web with alerts on Transcendental Meditation, scattering their negativity and often baseless criticism like bird droppings across the Internet. Their agenda: to spread negativity about everything TM-related. They’ll say anything.
The solution: cool-headed, critical thinking and common sense.
I graduated from MUM and it was the best experience of my life. I feel that the University is exactly what its Website says — and everything is up front. I found MUM unique, innovative, fun and profound (I transferred from UNC). I made tight bonds with like-minded people there that I know will last a lifetime. Anyone who calls MUM a cult or religious school simply doesn’t understand the basic ideas upon which the University is founded. If you’re thinking about going there, just go and visit. Talk to the students and faculty and get to know a few people. It’s the people who make the place great. All the meditators create a relaxed, supportive, positive atmosphere. So think for yourself and don’t be gullible and influenced by some ignorant, wise-ass comments spewed out on the Internet.
MUM is an experience. It’s transcendental. Being there enlivens deeper levels of who you are that you didn’t even know about, and the deeper levels are the best. You have to go there and check it out to know. It’s not something you can evaluate by reading a few small-minded opinions, or even big positive ones. The University even pays for your transportation to go for a Visitors’ weekend. Just follow your heart.
this school is a joke, don’t go there.
Maharishi University of Management is a SCAM!
International students…please don’t get deceived…This may never make your dreams come true…..
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/34445
This ‘University’ is EVIL.
I’d highly recommend reviewing other universities.
This blog will soon be updated with real student perspectives, not the student perspectives that the University/TM Organization choose to post. http://therealmum.blogspot.com
also dig around the yahoo group (later posts are great) for more information http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/
For one, those positive reviews above are most likely created by the team of PR representatives from the Transcendental Meditation movement. Research it online, there is also a great Fairfield, Iowa yahoo group that has many stories from the locals and lots of leaked information.
You may think that sounds crazy, but once you arrive here you’ll see the truth for yourself.
The faculty are underpaid, the university is deceiving, the education is minimal. You have to be self motivated in all aspects to succeed in any program here. Sustainable Living isn’t bad, but be prepared to regurgetate and live by the Dogman and belief systems set forth by the Puritanical Maharishi Movement society that the school is run by.
Be aware when you visit. Talk with the students. Watch the people. See the unhealthy long-time meditators that have practiced TM for decades and look like death is approaching. Mahasamadhi isn’t negative, but they aren’t living up to the picture MUM paints.
A community college would be a better choice for your education than MUM. Unless you are coming here to attend an Ashram and learn their particular belief on life and spirituality.
Research like crazy, find out everything before you get conned and trapped into attending based on financial aid or other unforseen circumstances.
I forgot to rate it…
Beware. This school is not what it appears to be. First of all you think you only pay 12,000 a year and then you find out, it is really more like 20,000 a year. They are deceiving and do not present the school for what it really is. It is a religious university ,more like a cult -where they force you to believe as they do and if you don’t they will mark down your grades and make you very uncomfortable. Most of all there are not real teachers, everyone is old and sickly and the school has a horrible reputation in the town that it is located. Save yourself a lot of grief and go to Evergreen in Seattle, or Goddard in Vermont, or another school. They will present a great face – but it’s just NOT. When I was a student most students never stayed, I quit as well…
iagree with john martin. this school is bullshit, no fun, no parties, and absoultly no boobies. Its the worst bro…..dont come here unless you like a*****e
====
john martin
this school sucks dick, unless you want to be a garabgte collecter for the rest of your life. oh, and by the way, all the girls here actully have penis’s