Premma Mehta describes herself as a “people person.”
She became a peer adviser in LSA’s psychology department because it enabled her to interact with incoming freshmen, a role she called “the best job.”
Studying human behavior also drove her to double major in economics and psychology.
Mehta was introduced to the two social sciences at her small international high school in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where Mehta’s family moved from London when she was 7. Mehta took every Advanced Placement class she could, and micro/macroeconomics and psychology became her favorites, largely because they enabled her to study why people do what they do.
“Psychology allows you to look at how individuals behave in certain situations, and so does econ, just applied to a market or business scenario,” Mehta said.
She became so enamored with the two subjects, she decided to focus on both at the college level, a decision she said was validated when a guest speaker in one of her first U-M classes described economics as “psychology’s boyfriend.”
Mehta’s interest in psychology and economics also influenced her decision to come to U-M. Her older sister went to college in the U.K., while her older brother attended a small liberal arts school in the United States.
“My sister did not enjoy her college experience because she said the system in the U.K. was very rigid. My brother, however, had the best time and encouraged me to look at U.S. schools, too,” she said.
U-M came to Mehta’s attention because her teacher from Michigan encouraged her to consider it.
“I didn’t know anything about Michigan; I’d never even been to the Midwest,” Mehta said.
But she started reading up on the university and attended a virtual campus tour.
“I quickly realized Michigan was exactly where I wanted to be. It was the quintessential big American college with a huge sports scene. And it had great econ and psych programs,” she said.
Mehta applied through U-M Early Action and was ecstatic to be accepted, though the cost of tuition as an international student was a sticking point.
“I wasn’t sure I could accept the offer because I’d applied to a lot of private schools that were offering me way more money, which I had to consider. But then I found an LSA international scholarship, applied for it — and got it,” she said.
Mehta has made the most of her time in Ann Arbor. In addition to being a peer adviser, she joined Phi Sigma Pi, an honor fraternity, and she served as vice president of the Multicultural Economics Coalition.
“Being part of the coalition was especially empowering because I got to see more people that look like me in a field that doesn’t typically have people that look like me,” Mehta said.
She also made it her personal mission to find the best Ann Arbor spots for chai tea. Her top picks: CupsnChai and Vertex.
Mehta interned last summer and has worked part-time during the school year at ARTYFACT, a consumer research company and business consultancy. She will continue there after graduation. ARTYFACT is an all-remote company so Mehta can work from almost any city, though Ann Arbor isn’t currently in the running.
“It’s the people at U-M I’ve loved the most, and it wouldn’t be the same to stay in Ann Arbor without my friends. I’m also ready to say goodbye to the cold winters,” she said, laughing.
