Drew00

How is Michigan more 'well rounded' than Cal or Stanford?

Alexandre

Michigan is not more well rounded than Stanford...but I think it is more well rounded than Cal. I think Michigan has a more diverse student body, a stronger alumni network, more resources and more school spirit. Plus Michigan has a medical school, a top ranked Music program, an excellent dental school and a highly regarded nursning program. All in all, I think Michigan is more well rounded than Cal.

Christine123

How is it definitely not as well-rounded as Stanford?

Strykur

Cal has everything that Alexandre mentioned, except Cal is 47% Asian, good or bad depending on who you are. That's it. And the biggest rivalry in all of college sports (Stanford). More school spirit my ass.

Michigan better rounded than Cal? Possibly. Better university? Of course not. And certainly not as well-rounded as Stanford...

A2Wolves6

Cal ranks ahead of Michigan in both football and basketball. 47% Asian, damn, so that's what happens when you don't have affirmative action, haha. I can't wait to vote it down in the election on my birthday, my way of saying "screw you" to Michigan. Too bad it won't pass.

Mr100%

^ So are you saying affirmative action keeps the Asians out of Michigan? But Cali has a much bigger Asian population than Michigan. I think half of the 10% Asian at Michigan come from NY lol.

Very interesting topic here. I wonder how that MSU Spartan knows so much about Michigan. Back in my HS, most people that chose to attend MSU weren't nearly as academically inclined as those that chose Michigan. Maybe one or two smart ones chose MSU over Michigan because of a full ride. Reputation wise, MSU can't be directly compared with Michigan. I agree that Michigan is one of the best public schools but not quite an Ivy. After all, I chose Michigan because of in-state tuition and distance from home.

GoBlue81

For the last couple years may be...and just by a hair. Cal used to be a door- mat in Pac-10 football in recent history. Just take a look at its bowl history:

Year (W-L) - Bowl game
2003 (7-6) - Insight Bowl
2002 (7-5) - no bowl
2001 (1-10) - not eligible
2000 (3-8) - not eligible
1999 (4-7) - not eligible
1998 (5-6) - not eligible
1997 (3-8) - not eligible
1996 (6-6) - Aloha Bowl

GoBlue81

except for "a (top ranked) medical school, a top ranked Music program, an excellent dental school and a highly regarded (3rd ranked) nursning program." And yeah, more "school spirit" (see my post above)

Drew00

There is no correlation between the strength of the football team and school spirit.

umardarr

"And the biggest rivalry in all of college sports (Stanford)"....no no no..its DEFINITELY OSU vs UM

Quincy4

^^Wolves, your bitter rant shows you don't have a clue about affirmative action. In fact, many if not most Asians admitted to Cal got in through regular standards. And yet, many Asians support the concept of Affirmative Action -- like the UM -- for the enriched academic atmosphere diversity brings as well as to help even the playing field as a result of the history of discrimination that still afflicts this country. As a person involved in academia, I'm working with my friends at MSU and UM to defeat Ward Connerly and MCRI and maintain Affirmative Action throughout the state. Btw, this wrongheaded piece of garbage legislation also prohibits state institutions from even engaging in any outreach for minorities at all -- right down to ads in newspapers.

So maybe, Wolves, before spewing your wrongheaded bitterness, try and get a clue. Haha to you.

A2Wolves6

Once again Quincy, you put words in my mouth, and make assumptions based on no evidence. I can't even talk to you anymore, honestly, why do you keep trolling these forums? I've had more intelligent conversations with doors, at least they have a clue. I'm not going to respond to your post, that's not what I said, and you just don't get it.

Alexandre

Strykur, I never said Michigan was better than Cal academically. In fact, I always rate Cal slightly higher than Michigan acadamically speaking, and that's saying a lot because I rate Michigan among the top 15 universities in the nation from an academic standpoint. Cal is truly amazing. But I believe Michigan is more well rounded.

You cannot compare the Cal vs Stanford game to the Michigan vs OSU game. Cal vs Stanford is fun and lively, but it is not as intense or as storied as the Michigan OSU game. But as Drew points out, school spirit and football aren't correlated. Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown and UNC have amazing schools spirit and none of them have very good football teams. And yes, Cal does have great school spirit, but it is not as crazy as Michigan.

But Michigan isn't more well rounded than Cal merely for those superficial reasons. There are many more serious reasons why I think Michigan is more well rounded. I mentioned them above. A much larger endowment, a top rated medical school and hospital, a wealthier and more geographically diverse alumni base, a more pleasant and collegiate setting etc...

Quincy4

Actually, Alexandre, I tend to rate Cal and UM about even, academically. I think people tend to give Cal the nod because it's history of developing the atomic bomb which lead to it having about 8-10 Nobel laureates on its staff (not so mind-boggling when you're talking about a staff of around 3,000+), and that Michigan has none. That's pretty superficial in my book, because although Cal beats most schools in the hard sciences, I think UM is considerably stronger in the social sciences... it balances out.

GoBlue81

That is a fair statement. But it's also fair to ask: Did the Cal students and alum support their football team during those years? Did they pack the Cal stadium every Saturday during those losing seasons? Can you imagine Cal fans filling a 110,000 stadium like the Big House every game day?

Over here in Asia, the alum of most of the top colleges are very active in college fairs and student recruitment (USC, Cornell, Stanford, Yale...). I've not seen Cal alum much at these events. How active are the Cal alum associations outside of California?