Carnegie Mellon University vs University of Michigan

Colleges & Universities University of Michigan
1

Hello, fortunately I was accepted to both of these schools.
Carnegie Mellon University Dietrich School: Decision science
University of Michigan: Political science
How are these programs in terms of difficulty? Since I am planning to attend law school (hopefully T-14), I need to maintain a high GPA in college.
Would you recommend going to Carnegie or Umich?
If this helps, I have a 3.84 unweighted GPA and 34 ACT.
Thanks!

2

I don’t know much about CMU, but offer a few thoughts about Michigan:

  1. https://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/aboutlsa/academicrankings <== you will notice a very high ranking for Poli-sci as well as many single digit rankings for other departments;

  2. Michigan prides itself on being a very, very, interdisciplinary institution; the goal is to break boundaries by linking across many disciplines; to that end, especially at the graduate level, there are many joint degree programs; the law school alone runs 14 joint degree programs: http://www.law.umich.edu/curriculum/dualdegrees/pages/default.aspx;

Joint degrees slanted toward engineering: https://www.lsa.umich.edu/students/academicsrequirements/lsadegreesrequirements/jointdegrees/engineeringjointprograminliberalartsandbsinengineering_ci

  1. Michigan law is highly ranked, yet still underranked; a recent study of legal scholarship ranks Michigan #1 for productivity; a review in SuperLawyers ranks Michigan 4th for producer the top echelon of the legal profession; if you do well at Michigan at the undergraduate level, that will give you a hook into that graduate school;

  2. as you will find in the link ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Michigan_Law_School ), there are a number of student journals which are well respected;

  3. literally hundreds of graduates have entered politics via the Congress and the Senate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Michigan_legislator_alumni; numerous graduates have sat on the state supreme court;

3

Michigan has its own T14 law school, and they admit like 70+ Michigan applicants annually. Another 50 or so each year enroll in other T14 Law schools, mostly at Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, NYU and Chicago.

4

ccdreaming:

I can’t address or compare the exact disciplines you list under each university. I can only contribute some general thoughts on the campus environments of both these schools. I have an older son who graduated CMU in architecture, and a daughter about to graduate at Michigan in engineering. Aside from the demanding academics and the vibrant attached cities (Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor respectively), these two schools couldn’t be more different! Have you spent a good amount of time on both campuses? CMU is a quiet, small campus, with visually unappealing buildings and no real sports scene whatsoever. It is a campus of hardworking cerebral types with a lot of the student body focused on studying and many preferring minimal social interaction. This environment was perfect for my son who is somewhat of an isolationist and was happiest working in front of a computer or socializing in small study groups or dorm friends. I remember when he was taking the tour of CMU, his student guide actually told the group that if they wanted any type of a social life, they needed to join the Greek system. I agree with that student’s assessment. My daughter, who is an extrovert and very social, toured CMU mostly out of respect for her brother. We didn’t even make it to the end of the tour. Her exact words: “This place makes me sad.”

Michigan, in contrast, is big. Pretty much in every way! It is much better suited for my daughter’s personality type. She is involved in several campus groups and has made many friends. She loves the football and basketball games (and the school spirit that surrounds them), the overall social atmosphere, and she isn’t a member of the Greek system. I know this is all from the perspective of one person’s point of view, but I do know that my children found the right campus environments for their individual needs and overall happiness. I don’t think it would have worked out for either one of them if they had attended each other’s school.

5

scrappydoo: you have mentioned the one thing that ultimately counts…“fit”. If the child likes/fits the institution, they will be engaged deeply enough to have a great experience and deeply enough to get the most out of their particular program, no matter what the school. In that regard, I believe the return rate for freshman at Michigan is around 97%. As you note, Michigan may have the right fit in some disciplines for kids who are introverts, but a big school may more naturally fully engage kids who are a bit more extroverted.