Alexandre

Seg, 97% of classes at Michigan are taught by professors.

Also, retention rates and graduation rates at Michigan and Vanderbilt are roughly equal. Freshman retention rate is 95% at Vanderbilt and 96% at Michigan. Graduation rate is 89% at Vanderbilt and 87% at Michigan.

Class size at Michigan will indeed be larger for Freshman and intro level classes. At the intermediate and advanced level, Michigan classes will be roughly the same in size at both schools.

Michigan's Econ program is stronger than Vanderbilt by a small but significant margin and since Vanderbilt does not offer a BBA option, Michigan's top 5 BBA program is obviously something to consider seriously.

This said, I personally recommend majoring in Economics. It is more interesting and academic than Business. You can always get an MBA later on.

Furthermore, I think Vanderbilt has a very nice campus, friendly students and Nashville is an awesome town (not as much a college town as Ann Arbor though).

You can't go wrong really, just go with your instincts.

Christine123

I personally, after several visits to both Michigan and Vanderbilt, much preferred Michigan's gigantic college town, which is truly unlike any other college town. It's like New York's bottom level shops without the skyscrapers, so it still maintains a sort of small town feel with the culture of the big city.
Nashville is one of my favorite cities, having grown up within driving distance of it and as a big fan of southern culture and country music, but it doesn't have either as embracing a college feel or attract the same cultural figures as Ann Arbor. Even on the really ritzy side of town where you can't get a steak for under $50, the Maize and Blue is present. In this past year, I went to several concerts with internationally-renowned musicians who only toured three or four cities in the United States, usually something along the lines of Boston, Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

I understand that Vanderbilt is more selective than Michigan. But, if you're, say, a top math student in the nation, you're much more likely to decide on Michigan based on its academic resources and programs than Vanderbilt. You'll be surrounded by other students of your caliber in its readily accessible honors classes that are only offered at a handful of universities in the country. If you're really serious about business, you're going to understand that Ross is one of the top business schools in the country. It, also, is only comparable with a few other business schools in the country. If you're really serious about Political Science, you're going to know facts like Michigan is always ranked top three, is the most quantitative social science university in the world, and something along the lines of how 3 of the top 4 government agencies are headed by Michigan alumni (the last one you might not know, a non-Michigan internationally renowned polsci prof my dad knows told me that one to convince me to go to Michigan before Vanderbilt, UPenn, or Chicago).

Essentially, maybe the student body at Vanderbilt in general is more selective, but I can guarantee you that the top students at Michigan are not only more talented than those at Vanderbilt, but also have better resources to advance themselves.

GoBlue81

Not sure where you get your numbers but following is extracted from Vandy's website (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/facts.html):

"
STUDENTS (2007/2008)
...
New Freshmen
Number of new freshmen: 1,673
SAT I-verbal mid 50% range: 640-730
SAT I-math mid 50% range: 660-740
ACT mid 50% range: 29-32
Number of applicants: 12,911"

keefer

I really don't want to say anything negative about Vanderbilt, but I feel since you brought up selectivity I should mention that Vanderbilt superscores(combining highest math and highest verbal), which Michigan does not do, that alone adds at least 30 points to the median SAT scores. Also that range(1380-1540) is for admitted students, not those who actually enroll. While Michigan hasn't released this year's figures, they have a record year of applications this year, and last year's admitted student's median SAT was 1380.

GoBlue81

Economics grad department ranking (USNWR):
Michigan #11 peer assessment 4.2
Vandy #41 peer assessment 2.9

I'd say there is more than a small difference.

vc08

I'd agree on Michigan. Vandy is a dang good school, but UM just enjoys a more established academic reputation. Vandy is in the south, which is traditionally not as open to other viewpoints as other parts of the country. I believe Michigan is about 20% Jewish, and it has a very big representation from your part of the country, so you'd feel very comfortable there. It also enjoys more athletic success than VU. Plus, for your major, UM is virtually unparalleled.

As for the individual attention: I applied to schools with 9,000 students, and schools with 40,000, and UM was by FAR the most personal throughout the process; my regional rep inquired about me multiple times, I spoke with professors on campus day, and as we toured a lecture hall, a prof had 150 students yell "GO BLUE!" for us. It was an incredibly motivating experience, and though I didn't end up there, it made me hold all of my other schools to a higher standard.

Don't get me wrong, Vandy is an excellent school; but I just feel like you'd enjoy UM more; it's truly a unique experience (and they have the largest living alumni base in the world, an incredible useful tool come job-time).

Good luck

PS~ I'll be attending UCLA in the fall, so I'm pretty unbiased on this one

dilksy

How is a Jewish person from the Northeast wanting to do business/econ who likes sports not a perfect fit for Michigan?

Back when the Ivy League schools wouldn't accept Jewish people, a large number of them ended up coming out to Michigan. Ever since then, Michigan has had a large number of Jewish people from the Northeast, and also has gained a very good reputation in that area. Also, in economics/business, Michigan is in/near the top 10 (depending on where you look). Some people even consider the business school to be the best in the country. Vanderbilt doesn't crack the top 40 in either category.

Is there any particular reason you're even considering Vanderbilt?

Sam Lee

^you just beat me. i was wondering about the same thing. vandy isn't known for econ/business and michigan definitely has better athletics. it looks like the OP withheld some info; otherwise, i don't see why this is such a tough decision.

3xcharmed

This website might also be of help to you,

QS Top Universities: Top 100 universities in the THES - QS World University Rankings 2007

As far as rankings go, I found this one to be very interesting in that it is the result of surveys completed by the professionals who know most about thier schools and fields of study.

Good luck with your decision - they are both good schools and try not to get stuck on SAT scores as your deciding factor. Remember, at a large university there are many majors (art & music for example) where a students talent may not be reflected in a standardized test score.

rodney

"I understand that Vanderbilt is more selective than Michigan.".....Not around here....You may want to rethink that for OOS students....Many, many here who were deferred EA and subsequently waitlisted at UMich were accepted to Vandy RD...yes, weird, but true.....Vandy is MUCH more holistic IMO.......(and I don't really think that UMich cares much about standardized test scores based on the accepted threads on CC)

As far as the OP is concerned, it comes down to two things: fit and curriculum (both reasons my D is going elsewhere).....He will be fine in either place socially (contrary to the rest of the Vandy bashing going on elsewhere), but given that he KNOWS what he wants to do, UMich is probably a better fit for curriculum....BTW, did anyone ever determine if he visited both schools? I can't even imagine ever making a decision like this without doing so....Like comparing apples and oranges IMO

3xcharmed

rodney, like most schools, Umich uses a formula - a point system if you will - giving weight to different factors (test scores, GPA, difficulty of course load, essays, etc...). I came across one for Umich from a few years ago where test scores and GPA carried the most weight, so I disagree that they don't consider SAT scores in admissions, but it is not the sole consideration at Umich (or any other school for that matter). Regarding the SAT & ACT scores for Umich posted on this board, 6,000 (+/-) freshman have been admitted to the class of 2012 and I bet there are less than a 100 students (or parents of) who have posted scores here, so I'm not sure that is a fair assessment of the entering class. In addition many liberal arts colleges are doing away with requiring SAT/ACT scores to begin with, finding the GPA is a better indicator of a student's potential success in college. However, this being an extremely competive year, all schools will probably see an increase in SAT scores and GPA's among their accepted class.

GoBlue81

I presume you are referring to Michigan's old point system (http://www.umich.edu/~mrev/archives/...mer/chart.htm), which was used for admission guidelines up to year 2004.

GPA indeed carried significant weight in that system: 4.0 counted for 80 points whereas 3.5 counted for 70. And there were adjustments for school factor and curriculum. On the other hand, test scores were indeed de-emphasized. 12 points were awarded for SAT scores in the 1360-1600 range; and 11 points awarded for the 1200-1350 range.

Michigan dropped the point system in 2004 as a result of the Supreme Court decision, and adopted a more holistic approach for admission evaluation.

Alexandre

Michigan does not really care about SAT/ACT scores. According to the old forumla, a 3.9 student with a 1200/1600 on the SAT got more points than a 3.8 student with a perfect 1600 on the SAT.

rodney

thank you Alexandre......I rest my case...Lots of kids around here with over 1400 SAT's and 32/33 ACT's were deferred EA (and then waitlisted) even though they were easily in top 10% of the class (grade deflation kept their UMich GPA's around 3.6-3.7).....But this post is not to examine Umich admissions (again)....It's to give OP advice.....IMO UMich is the better fit for him.....

edit: and yes, I do realize that the point system is apparently not being used anymore, but try telling that to everyone in my town/county/state that was not accepted.....

3xcharmed

Alexandre, in the example you gave both students would probably have been admitted. The point is that most schools use some system to evaluate their applicants and its not always just SAT scores alone that indicate the academic profile of a group. However, in certain fields like the pure sciences and engineering I would find it very unusual if the admissions office didn't consider SAT/ACT scores in their admission decisions. But Michigan might also find that there is no difference in student performance within a certain range (ie, 600-800) or perhaps they too are finding GPA is a better indicator of success. All questions to ask an admissions officer, and one reason not to pick a school just on the SAT scores of those admitted. I would however like to remind any Juniors reading this, that SAT/ACT scores do become important factors in scholarship decisions at many schools (I think that includes Michigan), so they are not without merrit.