<p>Visiting the two schools should make up her mind. Those are two very different schools. </p>
<p>Michigan is slightly stronger academically and slightly better overall, but the difference is negligible as both are excellent.</p>
<p>Both are large, but Michigan’s campus is designed in a way that allows it to hide its numbers effectively, whereas Texas’ campus isn’t. Michigan has 40,000 students spread out over 3,200 acres (12 students per acre) of campus. UT has 50,000 students crammed in a 350 acre (140 students per acre) campus. </p>
<p>Austin and Ann Arbor are both excellent places to live. Austin has a much larger population, mostly made up of 25-45 year old professionals and has more to do. Ann Arbor is smaller and has more of a college town feel than Austin, quainter and more intellectual. </p>
<p>Weather favors Austin, but some people actually don’t mind the cold and like the change in seasons. In such cases, Ann Arbor is not bad. </p>
<p>I do not agree with JZ about sports being better at UT. Michigan’s football program has been as dominant as UT Football in the last 15-20 years. Michigan had a couple of bad seasons in the last 4 years and Texas has had a great run over thelast 7-8 seasons. Michigan is undergoing a major transformation as we speak and should struggle for the next couple of seasons but should return to its winning ways by 2010 or 2011. however, when comparing their overall football programs, Michigan and Texas are both excellent. In other sports, both universities have winning traditions, Michigan in Hockey and Texas in Baseball. </p>
<p>Cost of attendance may play a part in the decsion. But one must keep in mind that Michigan’s costs are HUGELY exaggerated and UT’s costs have increased dramatically over the last 3-4 years. Michigan costs roughly $45,000/year for OOS students. UT can cost as little as $33,000/year but as much as $45,000/year for OOS students. On average, UT costs around $40,000/year. For some majors, the cost difference is significant, but in most cases, Michigan is not that much more expensive than UT, if at all. </p>
<p><a href=“http://finaid.utexas.edu/costs/080undergradcosts.html[/url]”>http://finaid.utexas.edu/costs/080undergradcosts.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.finaid.umich.edu/Financial_Aid_Basics/cost.asp#2009-2010[/url]”>http://www.finaid.umich.edu/Financial_Aid_Basics/cost.asp#2009-2010</a></p>
<p>And no, Ann Arbor is not more expensive than Austin. </p>
<p>“…the women are hotter,…”</p>
<p>Barrons, even if that were true (which it isn’t!), the OP’s child happens to be a daughter, not a son. As such, I don’t think it is likely that she will care whether or not the women in Austin are hotter! hehe!</p>
<p>Hoosierfriend, let us know how your daughter’s college visits plays out and which school she decides to enroll in. She can’t go wrong either way.</p>