<p>Here is a brief comparison between the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.</p>
<p>First, let us start with the similarities. All three are HUGE state universities. All three are flagship state universities. All three are members of the Big 10. All three are great academic institutions.</p>
<p>Ok, now to the comparison:</p>
<p>ACADEMICS:
Academically, Michigan is the strongest of the three…but only marginally so. In the Sciences, Michigan is excellent (top 10 or 15 nationally)…but Wisconsin and Illinois are slightly better. Michigan is also top 6 or 7 in Engineering…but in Engineering, Illinois is arguably the best of the three. But Michigan has a top ranked Business school and is excellent in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. Second overall would be Wisconsin…and third would be Illinois.</p>
<p>In Business: Michigan, but Wisconsin and Illinois are also good.
In Engineering: Illinois and Michigan but Wisconsin is also excellent
In the Humanities: Michigan and Wisconsin but Illinois is also good.
In the Sciences: Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan in that order.
In the Social Sciences: Michigan is amazing, but Wisconsin and Illinois are also good.</p>
<p>ACADEMIC REPUTATION:
Here, Michigan has a clear advantage over both Wisconsin and Illinois. That is not to say that the latter two aren’t very respected, because they are. But Michigan, along with Cal, is generally considered to be in a league of its among state universities. Wisconsin and Illinois are almost equal in terms of reputation, but with the exception of Engineering, I would have to give the edge to Wisconsin.</p>
<p>RESOURCES:
All three schools have amazing resources. Illinois has the third or fourth largest university Library in the country (behind only Harvard, Yale and maybe Cal). Michigan is not far behind Illinois and Wisconsin is not far behind Michigan. All three have HUGE operating budgets (over $2 Billions apiece, not inlcuding Medical School operations). that’s $50,000-$60,000 per student. Just so that we can put this into context, even elite private universities like Brown and Dartmouth spend roughly only $70,000-$80,000 per student. However, in terms of endowment, Michigan is significantly better off. Illinois and Wisconsin’s endowment are barely scratching the $1 Billion mark whereas Michigan’s endowment is well over $4 Billion.</p>
<p>SURROUNDING TOWN:
Ann Arbor (Michigan) and Madison (Wisconsin) are amazing little cities. Both have been rated among the top 10 cities in America by several independent but reliable sources. And they were ranked among the top 10 for all sorts of demographics. Women, retirees, young professionals, teenagers, college students etc… Madison is a little bigger, prettier and more happening than Ann Arbor. But Ann Arbor is a little quainter, more unique and more cosmopolitan. Urbana Champaign is not quite as nice as Ann Arbor or Madison, but it is not bad either.</p>
<p>QUALITY OF LIFE:
All three are great places to go to college…but again, I would have to give the edge to Michigan and Wisconsin. </p>
<p>SPORTS:
For Football and Hockey, Michigan rules, but Wisconsin is almost as good. In Basketball, Illinois is currently #1 in the nation…BY FAR!!! All three have fine athletic traditions.</p>
<p>In short, I would recomend Michigan slightly over Wisconsin and Wisconsin slightly over Illinois…but all three are great schools.</p>