Michigan vs Boston College

hawkette
Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:13:47 +0000

Alexandre,
I see that the Michigan pattern continues. Knock down the numbers that puts Michigan in a weak position and heavily promote the numbers that puts Michigan in a good light. I understand your reasoning, but your arguments IMO continue to fail for making Michigan and its student body sound equivalent school to its higher ranks competitors.

As for your constant refrain re grad school placement, you falsely assume that the kids actually all want to do this. The truth is that, out of the entire college student population, only a small number even consider going to graduate school. Furthermore, getting into a grad school is not the sine qua non of establishing the quality of a school. It is a self selecting group. It says nothing about the quality of the students who choose this path, only that they have this interest. The grad school-track kids predominate in the sciences and engineering and those pursuing a business grad experience wait several years at least before applying and going. Do you really think that the 75% of Michigan students who graduate outside of engineering/sciences are planning to go to grad school right after college? And even if more of them do than their counterparts at a Boston College or a University of Washington, what’s the point? Are you really intending to imply that those who choose not to apply to grad school are dumber or less successful?

Re job placement, your focus has been on Wall Street placement and some major companies coming to AA (just as they visit dozens of schools across the country). Either you don’t know because you have not lived and worked there or you’re just in denial, but the fact among business people is that Michigan is just another school and this sentiment is widespread. As stated elsewhere, Michigan’s reputation with employers is strongest in Chicago (would be considered in the top 5-6 with U Illinois, Northwestern, U Chicago, Notre Dame and U Wisconsin). In NYC, it is a small to modest player and is viewed about in line with its USNWR ranking though some local schools (eg, Fordham) probably outplace it as well. Outside of the Midwest and the Northeast, the University of Michigan is just another school.

Let’s play a game for a second. Think about the following cities and tell me if you really think that business people in those locales think of Michigan as an elite university comparable to the lower level of the Ivies and other top privates:
Richmond, VA
Raleigh-Durham, NC
Charleston, SC
Atlanta, GA
Orlando, FL
Tampa, FL
Birmingham, AL
Nashville, TN
Memphis, TN
Little Rock, AR
New Orleans, LA
Dallas, TX
Tulsa, OK
Phoenix, AZ
San Diego, CA
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Salt Lake City, UT

I could go on, but the point is that people in these places have hardly heard of Michigan (outside perhaps of its football team which regularly get walloped in the bowl games) and they certainly don’t think of it as an academic or job placement elite. Ask business people in these areas how they would compare Michigan to Clemson in South Carolina, Tulane in Louisiana, Baylor in Texas, etc. Michigan would lose over and over again. It’s not that Michigan is bad, it’s that it is not well known in most regions of the country and certainly not seen in many places as anywhere near the elite school that you promote it as. Granted, these are all my opinions, but I would be happy to hear a few of the locals from around the country who are business people in some of these locales and have them comment on the accuracy of my statements. I feel very comfortable that I have a clearer understanding than you of how Michigan is viewed around the country by business people, particularly outside of the Northeast and Midwest. I have no vested interest in Michigan and, for the record, I am promoting no school. In fact, I would have the same comments about Boston College outside of its primary area in the Northeast.

Headed out of town for a few days. I look forward to your response and the comments of others (especially business people).