<p>So I am a student at Michigan state, and feel like I have a good chance of getting into UMich for the winter term. If I got in, would it be better to go to Michigan instead of holding out for a top twenty school like WUSTL, in which my chances are more iffy?</p>
<p>I’m pre med.</p>
<p>Oh and disregard costs please!</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>You need to understand that the rankings don’t represent anything objective. They’re just arbitrary numbers used to sell magazines.</p>
<p>Imagine that the pizza parlors in your town started advertising rankings. Maybe a place you can’t stand claims to be number 1. Your reaction likely would be something like “says who?”.</p>
<p>Colleges are no different from pizza parlors. There are meaningful differences (thin or thick crust, smooth or chunky sauce, standard or unusual toppings, etc.) but the differences aren’t really translatable to rankings unless you specify the criteria you’re using. And someone else’s may not match your own. Quality of pepperoni will be useless if you’re allergic to pepperoni.</p>
<p>I would say, if it takes an extra semester to get into a school that is a better fit, take the extra semester.</p>