Christine24

Hi,
I'm an international applicant, and I've been accepted to those two...From an American perspective, does NYU has a better reputation? Or is it U Mich?
They're both huge; are the teachers or class atmosphere better in one or the other?
Thanks!

Cvjn

It really depends on what you're going into. NYU and U Mich are some of the most compared to colleges. Why? Cause they're really really similar.

Not counting price at all, NYU has a great campus. It's basically NYC. And there's a lot of people that love that. Some people say there's not enough community, and no sports teams of sorts, but if you're fine with that, NYU's pretty good. Not to mention they have great programs in arts and Business. (Tisch and Stern respectively)

U Mich is another really great place. Most of their programs are very highly ranked. It's really balanced in the sense that whatever you want to do, there's a good chance you'll be working with people in the top of the field. Ann Arbor is a great college town, and in my opinion, one of the best in America.

Both are similar, and really different at the same time. As an international student, I would consider U Mich more friendly than NYU because NYC tends to be more pushy. However both are great schools. I'm sure others can elaborate more.

channn

Hi, I'm an international student too(from Singapore). Is UMich or WUSTL better in terms of career prospects, school reputation and such..? Most likely I'll be majoring in Biomedical Eng..Thanks!

annarborchick

I contemplated applying to NYU, but decided against it in the end. I am considering it for grad school.

I think the campus community is the biggest difference. NYU is built right into the city, which is awesome, but a little intimidating to me (I come from a small town). Ann Arbor has a beautiful, friendly campus. NYU has better dorms, but UM is must more asthetically pleasing, with the big, beautiful buildings you'd expect to see on an upscale campus.

I believe UM has a better reputation academically, but of course everyone's heard of NYU and just the name drop would probably get a bigger reaction.

Both great schools, you just need to evaluate your preferences. Good luck!

fuzzycasserole

I was accepted to both NYU and UM, and picked UM. I have family connections with UM, but those weren't really as much of a factor for me as a few other things. First of all, NYU has no campus to speak of. Most of the things you do outside of class will be not really affiliated with the University, whether that's good or bad is up to you. Of course, living in NYC is a huge benefit in itself, but I love Ann Arbor as a town - it's the perfect model of a college town in my opinion. UM definitely has a better academic reputation, but whether that equates to a better education is debatable. I disagree with annarborchick on the name dropping point, I think a UM degree will get you slightly farther than an NYU degree, but the difference is really negligible, and is going to depend on what you major in, etc. As far as teachers and class atmosphere, there are going to be terrific and terrible professors at each, and which you have will just depend on what classes you take. Finally, as someone above mentioned, the unbelievably good Tisch school of the arts is connected to NYU, but I've been under the impression that unless you're majoring in a subject that falls under their umbrella, it's very difficult to get into classes there (I was told this during my visit by admissions officers and students alike).

Another thing to consider is cost. Since I was a NMS Finalist, I got a scholarship offer from NYU that basically made them the same price, but if you have no financial aid, NYU is quite a bit more expensive, last time I checked NYU was nearly 50,000 a year, while UM was in the low 40s. The tuition is not very different, but living in NY is (obviously) very expensive.

So, to reiterate, what made the difference for me was the location - I personally prefer a college town to a city; though I think living in NY would be a great experience, I think I'll save it for later in life. Also, Michigan football (only half-kidding, you might think you wouldn't be interested, but if you go, you will be).

Cvjn

While it'll really differ for programs, but the Tisch name of NYU will get you far. NYU Stern also has a great finance program, and NYU's Philosophy is one of the top in the country.

Other than Tisch, UM has really similar programs, that often beat out NYU's. It's really close though, but I mean, it really depends on where you throw the name out.

If you throw the UM name out in Michigan, you won't get that many responses. Most people here, tend to think UM is hard to get into, and a good school, but not as nearly as good as say some of our private schools here (which is totally not true but hey, more spots for us right?). As a test during Christmas break, before I got into UM, I was applying for NYU as well, so I threw out NYU's name and UM's name, and I got a MUCH bigger response with NYU's in Michigan (the state)

However, when I'm talking with my international friends, and coworkers, the UM name gets me farther in that sense.

But honestly, they're so close...

fuzzycasserole

Yeah, it definitely depends on what you major in, Tisch is one of the best art schools around, but Tisch != NYU. Really though, in most areas they're very comparable in terms of academics and reputation.

florazhao

Is finance an issue?

I considered NYU before.. I dunno I felt I d go with the traditional college town vibe

florazhao

Yes after I attended Umich. I felt something just like Cvjn described
Michigan kids seemed to put NYU higher than Michigan.(No offense) according to the ppl I know.

tetrafri

U Mich is ranked a bit higher on US News and World reports (24 vs. 37) and Michigan has a 5/5 star academic ranking in Fiske to NYU's 4.5/5...both great schools. If you love NYC go for NYU if you want a campus in an amazing campus town, pick Michigan...plus the sports can't be beat...Wolverines vs. Violets (eek)