Is Michigan weak in any way? - Page 9

chi.lee · 08-14-2006, 03:25 PM

yeah, im planning on applying preadmit for the college of pharm at umich.
cost i guess is a huge part for consideration but i dont think i mind taking out loans and such. im sure i can pay it off later -

jenny790 · 08-29-2006, 07:46 AM

omg my specailty lol.
The top pharm schools are....
1.ucsf
2.ut-austin
3.unc-chapel hill
4. TIE- umich, purdue, uminnesota-twin cities, ????(1 more school i forgto sorry)
I am an '08 (junior) who reallly wants to go to mich for prereqs because im an instater and then probaly ucsf for actual pharm school. But like chi.lee i want to be a preferred admission but thats hard since they only do that for like 20 freshmen appps per year. yikes!! Go check my chances thread for advice

tenisghs · 08-29-2006, 02:19 PM

Michigan does not give out good financial aid for in-state students unless you make less than $50,000.

I was an in-state student, and Michigan gave me NO AID.

And I am not even rich.

reeses414 · 08-29-2006, 02:27 PM

I'm an in-state student, and my parents make more than that. They gave me aid. However, my brother is also in college right now (at a different university), which is probably why we qualified. They met my need based off of what FAFSA said I needed.

WS17 · 08-30-2006, 11:51 AM

And UM has had a series of boring coaches for football and basketball.

Most of the country equates Michigan to Ohio State because of the football rivalry. The general population thinks it's the same kind of school, just with different uniform colors.

You need to visit the 2 schools or live in the region to understand the difference, or read Alexandre's posts for a year.

MattEisn · 09-23-2006, 01:04 AM

As of last week, the wall street journal released an article which said Michigan has the top business school in the country, and close behind IESE in Spain and INSEAD in France.

nobodyknows · 10-14-2006, 09:47 AM

I live very close to Ann Arbor and I second the "Detroit is a crappy place to be, but the suburbs outside of the D are some of the nicest in the country. Cities like Northville Novi Bloomfield Hills (home of the International Academy rated the top high school in America) are all amazing places to live. Very nice and very rich. Don't get me wrong though you don't have to be rich to live there though. Northville has an extremely high rated Education system. (and don't forget Cranbrook)
anyway I disagree w/ Lucifer when he said that MI needs a better science program. It is true that MI could use more Nobel prizes but he must not be aware of all the other things MI has going for it. I would say Michigan is the top University in the coutry for the study of genetics. Back a few years ago when scientists were trying to chart a genetic map, portions of the genetic highway were divided up among top science universities to analyze. MI got one of the largest strands to study and was the only school to finish ahead of time and underbudget. All the others including even some ivys had to ask for more time and more money. I know a woman who just graduated the UMICH cellular and Mollecular Biology program. There sciences are intense and is one of the appealing traits.

Alexandre · 10-14-2006, 09:54 AM

noboknows, I agree that Michigan's science programs are very good. Nobody can deny that. Geology and Math are ranked between #5 and #7 in the nation and most other sciences are ranked between #10 and #20. In the absolute sense, Michigan is a science powerhouse. However, relative to its other programs (Business, Engineering, Humanities, Law, Medicine & Health disciplines and Social Sciences), all of which are ranked in or around the top 5 nationally, the hard sciences seem relatively weak.

nobodyknows · 10-14-2006, 10:09 AM

that Michigan is to good for its own good? lol

just kidding youve got a point

Alexandre · 10-14-2006, 10:30 AM

Well, actually, that's exactly what I am saying! Hehe!!! Seriously, Michigan has a couple of weaknesses.

1) Endowment per student. Our E/S currently stands at $145,000. Most of Michigan's peers have E/S that range between $200,000 and $300,000. However, Michigtan has bridged the gap over the last 20 years. I remember back in 1986, Michigan's E/S was $8,000, compared to $40,000-$60,000 at most of its peers. So we have gone from being roughly 5-8 times poorer to being just fractionally poorer. At this rate, our E/S should match that of most of our peers by 2020.

2) Selectivity. This does not really impact the quality of the University, because what really matters is the calibre of the students...and the calibre of Michigan's student body is hard to beat. But selectivity still matters to the young and impressionable talent that the University tries to attract each year. Again, Michigan is coming along nicely in that regard. Our SAT range is starting to look like that of a much smaller private elite and our acceptance rate is continuously dropping.

3) Commitment to undergraduate education. This is where Michigan needs to work the hardest. Michigan has incredible resources and makes an effort to share it with all of its undergrads, but 25,000 is just too much. Michigan really should limit its freshman classes to just 4,000 students. Any more than that is more than the school can handle given its resources.

However, overall, I cannot think of any university that is better all around and in terms of academics and professional placement, I can only think of a handful of schools that can match the University of Michigan.

nobodyknows · 10-14-2006, 10:39 AM

Ive got a question for ya... I seem to think that U MICH selectivity has greatly increased over the period of my highschool career...It seems when i was a freshmen UMICH was not going to be a problem but now ima junior and with the same stats UMICH is like ahhh i dont know maybe. this is possibly due to grade inflation.?.? Is it just me or have you noticed this upward trend in selectivity. I would ask you my chances but that would be rude to put it here, I'll start a new thread...

Alexandre · 10-14-2006, 11:10 AM

Michigan has gotten much more selective over the last 3 years. Here are some stats:

2004
ACCEPTANCE RATE: 62% accepted
Mid 50% SAT: 1220-1400 (mean 1330)
Mid 50% ACT: 25-29 (mean 27)
Mid 50% GPA: 3.6-3.9 (mean 3.72)
% graduating in top 10%: 90%

2006
ACCEPTANCE RATE: 47% accepted
Mid 50% SAT: 1260-1480 (mean 1380)
Mid 50% ACT: 27-31 (mean 29)
Mid 50% GPA: 3.7-4.0 (mean 3.83)
% graduating in top 10%: 92%

Quincy4 · 10-14-2006, 03:15 PM

"3) Commitment to undergraduate education. This is where Michigan needs to work the hardest. Michigan has incredible resources and makes an effort to share it with all of its undergrads, but 25,000 is just too much. Michigan really should limit its freshman classes to just 4,000 students. Any more than that is more than the school can handle given its resources."

Last I looked, U-M's undergrad population is growing, slightly. Why is that?

wheretogo777 · 10-14-2006, 03:57 PM

Alexandre,

what is the "handful" of schools you think can match Umich. I am interested in hearing cause Michigan appeals to me and I'm looking for more schools that might be similar to it.

Alexandre · 10-14-2006, 04:48 PM

Qunicy, Michigan has not grown deliberately over the last decade. However, Michigan had a surprisingly high yield rate in the 2002-2004 period, and that has accounted for most of the growth. But Michigan is adjusting and is returning to its usual 5,300 freshman class size, which is still more than 1,000 students too large if you ask me.

Wheretogo, some of the more well-rounded universities include Stanford, Brown, Duke, Northwestern and Cornell. However, I really think Michigan is more well ropunded than all of them save Stanford.