I must say that I’m surprised at how many people have come out strongly in favor of one school with this as the description of the D:
Both schools are academically strong. Both schools have school spirit. Both schools are reported to having a good balance between academics and a social life.
But if size is “an important consideration” and she wants “a good sense of community,” then my gut is not leaning toward UMich. Yes, it’s possible to make a big school feel smaller. Has the D been accepted into the honors program? Are there any LLCs that she can still join? Are there any other cohorts that can help make the size feel less intimidating for her? If the answer to these questions is “no” then I would be very hesitant about sending my kid interested in psychology (one of the biggest majors) to a big huge school.
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I’ll respond to the above by saying that the OP and her daughter applied to UMich and now is having to decide between the two above-mentioned choices. So the interest in Ann Arbor is already there.
And with the winningest college football program in the country, in history, with the largest stadium in the country, filled with 110,000 +/- fans for each home game, and the #1 recruit in the country coming to town, IMO, school spirit is at an entirely different level in Ann Arbor than the OP’s other choice.
There are ”Michigan Bars” all around the country, where Michigan alums gather to support their football and basketball teams.
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Rankings are flawed, we all know that, but just in case the OP might be curious, in terms of Psychology Department rankings, Michigan places:
According to Michigan, they have the #3 ranking of undergrad Psychology Department rankings, among many other academic departments.
#3 in US News Grad School Rankings:
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/psychology-rankings
#8 in QS World Rankings:
At any rate, the Psychology department at Michigan is really good.
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Ann Arbor is the quintessential college town. Great sense of community. Their psych dept is top notch. Alumni network is about as strong as they come.
That said, it’s a large public Uni. More bureaucracy, less handholding, less advising.
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Thank you for your insight. Yes, her school application choices were fairly diverse. At the heart of it, I think she could picture herself in multiple environments and so applied to schools that are very different. For her, it’s really the academics, the people, and a sense of community. She is also very interested in Greek life. She likes what she is hearing about UMichigan having smaller communities within the larger community. Lots of processing right now. She also got into CU Boulder, Clemson, USD, LMU.
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Thank you for ALL of the amazing perspectives to help inform her decision. This is not an easy choice, but all of your input has helped. She is close to a decision and leaning towards UMichigan.
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I wonder if the schools were equally ranked, let’s say both at 21 on the US News list, would she still be leaning towards Michigan?
I’m sure she will be happy there and thrive, but it did seem like her gut and her heart were with Nova.
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