umich vs. washu??

Coloradomama
Sun, 27 May 2018 14:56:22 +0000

Thats a very tough decision. Michigan is big but a very high achieving school, so you will have no problem meeting like minded students there, and many OOS students pay full price for Michigan and are at the very top of their class to get admitted. Wash U will be a bit more personal and smaller class size, with similar student body. I don’t know that I felt Wash U is elitist, so much either, but that may be more of a perception/vibe thing. I got a very good vibe at Wash U, and know students who study graphic arts who are very happy, not elitist at all, and its not so elitist in engineering either I would say. Wash U Engineering has a 3-2 program with about 20 LACS, so students coming from other liberal arts schools, adding some new students for two years to campus, which makes for interesting student body mix.

I like St. Louis a bit better than Ann Arbor. There seems to be a lot of things to do in downtown St. Louis,
but Ann Arbor and U of Michigan are sort of synonymous, in my mind, so less of an actual city to explore.
Still Ann Arbor ranks in the top 10 college towns, so you are going to have plenty to do in Ann Arbor as well.

Weather is nicer in St. Louis. I personally like the Wash U campus better,
and the big park nearby with the zoo and music, is great for jogging. St. Louis near Wash U seems very safe to me.
Downtown is a bit more sketchy but you can get there safely with a group of students to go out.

As far as housing at Michigan, you may have to move off campus anyway after freshman year at Michigan so do not dwell on whatever freshman housing you get, its just a nine month experience. You can make friends at Michigan through clubs, and there are plenty, academic, religious, social etc.

Academics are going to be very comparable, so its a hard decision! Good luck, go with your gut.