redhare317

Yes, I agree with HYPSM and would have chosen those 5, perhaps not necessarily in that order but maybe even so.

Alexandre

I would personally pick Michigan over Yale because I really hated New Haven. I think I would probably pick Michigan over Harvard because I have yet to meet a Harvard person I get along with, and I have met dozens of Harvard alums, so the sample size is significant. I typically don't get along with type-As! But I would definitely chose MIT, Princeton and Stanford over Michigan, even if I know my overall experience would not have been as good.

Adelphia

Buried in the text of the New York Times, 1/26/07, ("Colleges Regroup on Diversity Efforts"):

". . . the University of Michigan, where two-thirds of the applicants are from out of state."

If true, that means about 17,300 out-of-state (OOS) applications per year, and 8500 in-state.

UM's actual enrollment for the fall '06 freshmen class was 3428 MI students, 1971 OOS.

So if somebody would just break into the UM admissions office's top-secret vault and get the yield rates --broken down by in-state and OOS -- one could then better answer the proverbial question: "What are my odds on getting into Michigan if I live in Illinois? . . . "W. Bloomfield?" etc.

UM should open up the vault. Right now the admissions office is less than candid with the many out-of-state applicants who ponder, ineffectually, mushy UM admissions data that doesn't address their particular, highly competitive situations.

ReninDetroit

I've decided that the one weak thing about Michigan, at least in my case, is that EVERYONE in-state who has any intellectual strength goes there.

At least 10 people in my class (out of 65) will be there next year, and another 100 or so from the two public high schools in my city.

Despite the large OOS population, Michigan is in many ways the school for smart kids from metro Detroit. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but going away and meeting just new people has its advantages.

Alchemy

Its campus supposedly feels very large and spread out. The weather is less than desireable too.

adriannam

Agreed completely. I'm not discounting how fantastic UMich is, because there's a very good chance I'll be going there. What I have a problem with is how it's marketed as the only school for the academically talented, at least within my (large, public, suburban) high school.

GC's don't encourage us to set our aims any higher or farther. As a general rule at my school, if you're smart enough to go to UMich, you go there. If you're smart enough to go to Harvard, you still go to UMich. I'm not saying that's wrong if you truly want to go to Michigan, I just think that we're encouraged to have tunnel-vision.

BedHead

Adriannam: Part of that is 'cause is such a damn good school and I imagine significantly cheaper for someone in state. I am not familiar with UMich that much, but my strong impression is it generally offers as much as if not more than just about any university. I guess I think in terms of its quality overall and compare it my mind to the best elites, the Ivies,MIT,Stanford,Berkeley,CalTech, etc. that shine on the graduate as well as undergraduate.

I agree with you, though, that people are always better off mixing it up and getting away. Seize the opportunity to go East or West or South.

dilksy

Well, at least East or West...

Quincy4

^BedHead, that's a bit of a stretch.

M4gici4n

Hey Alexandre, could you read this thread I just posted and tell me what you think? I'm going into Aerospace and am torn between WPI and Michigan and can't decide. I'd really appreciate your input.

AEROSPACE Engineering: WPI or Michigan!

Alexandre

Professors care about students at Michigan, but they have other obligations such as their graduate students, research etc... I mean, would a professor who doesn't care about his students do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Udg...elated&search=

That's right, not only are our professors good...they can actually bust a move!

Seriously though, if your intent is to return to Europe when you are done with your studies, definitely go for Michigan as it has a stronger reputation there. Otherwise, I recommend you chose the university where you feel you can get the best overall education and where you would be happiest, both intellectually and sociallly.

M4gici4n

I haven't really thought about returning to Europe, since I've lived there my whole life until now. On the contrary, I'm gonna try to get into grad school here.
Overall, I think UM's AE program is respected more than WPI's, but I'm still trying to decide how'd I fare in a large school atmosphere where you have to be pro-active, etc.

Alexandre

You may intend to go to graduate school, but in the long run, there is a good chance you will want to return home. A Michigan degree is actually very highly recognized in Germany.

ryan2288

Alexandre - do you think you could give me the list where you found that east asian studies ranking?

dk128

one thing u need to know: Umich Art & Design stinks. no joke.