University of Georgia + Honors College vs University of Michigan

Compare College Acceptances
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For better community input, please provide the below details about your college offers:

Net price per year at each college, after applying scholarships and financial aid grants.
UGA: $39.5k/yr (Awarded Classic Scholarship)
Michigan: $80k/yr

Maximum parent contribution per year.
Full contribution to both. They are completely fine with paying for Michigan and Georgia.

Major/division admitted to at each college, if applicable to the college. Also, any special programs like honors programs or combined degree programs (e.g. BA/BS->MD).
Georgia: I’ve been accepted into the Terry College of Business with an intended AB in Economics. I’ve also been admitted to their Honors College, which is said online to be the #1 Honors College in the nation.

Michigan: I’ve been accepted to LSA, with an intended BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (I’d have to apply into this major my junior year, not guaranteed admittance). I still have the option to apply into their honors college, unsure if its worth it. Deadline April 8th.

Desired major and post graduation goals (including if pre-med, pre-law, etc.).
I don’t know. I realize Michigan is a target school for IB, but pretty sure banks only recruit from Ross. I also am a little interested in law school, and also the possibility of a career in politics.

International or domestic student (and state of residency if domestic).
Tennessee Resident

Student preferences beyond the above (including weather, class sizes, campus culture, college demographics, fraternities/sororities, distance from home, etc.).

Michigan’s cold weather kinda scares me. I went for admitted students’ day, and it was literally 0º. I’d want a smaller class size, which I think I get in UGA Honors. I’d want to rush a fraternity, and I already know some guys at Georgia. I’d be rushing completely blind if I went to Michigan. Both schools are relatively the same amount of time to get to if I flew.

Preliminary assessment of each college based on the above.
Michigan has the better name brand, but I don’t know if I would get the same opportunities if I just went to Georgia and was in the honors college.

Why did you apply to each college you are considering?

Michigan is really good for my academic interests, and UGA was always a sort of target if I wanted to stay in the south. Now, I don’t know. I keep hearing about a southeast megaregion, so I’m unsure on where I want to live after graduation.
Michigan → East Coast
Georgia → Southeast

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So this matters.

I’d say this -

Look at Honors for what it is. My kid applied to some but not all. UGA was recently listed as tops and historically it was U of SC and ASU. But forget the rank - Honors does very little for you job wise in most cases - so look at what the offer is as far as classwork, living (UGA gives you a primo location) or enrichment offered. Do these interest you?

Terry is good - but not direct admit. Maybe with Honors it is.

If you want to be on Wall Street, I suppose Michigan.

If you want to be a lawyer, either or any other school - literally any other - because your GPA and LSAT will matter - not if it’s UTC or MTSU or MIchigan.

At Michigan, you have a different major - you can do at UGA but will require flexibility.

Financially, is U of M $160K better. How will you get that money back? In career earnings - but what if you go to further school?

Can that $160K help pay for law school or your parents have that too?

There’s no right answer.

I’d choose UGA - especially if you like what Honors has to offer.

The where you go needn’t be where you end up.

My Alabama son has been out West, and my Charleston Honors kid (turned down UGA Honors) will be in Denver at graduation. It’s 2025 - with the Internet, the where isn’t limited.

Both are good names - yes UM has the larger “rank” and reputation but that’s doesn’t necessarily mean a better outcome. And that’s the $160K + heavy winter jacket gamble.

Sounds to me like you should check UGA - but look more at Honors to assure it’s what you want - and then in consultation with your family - choose the best for you.

Good luck.

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Can you clarify? Are you in the UGA honors program? Please see the attached. BBA Selection Criteria - Terry College of Business - UGA

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Sounds like you still have to meet their requirements.

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Tagging @VirginiaBelle and @billythegoldfish, who have current UGA Honors and/or Terry students and can speak to the benefits and secondary admission to Terry.

If I recall, @billythegoldfish 's student may have also considered UMich so may have perspective to share there too.

Is IB the career goal? If so, @Catcherinthetoast (our CC banking expert) may know if banks recruit at UMich outside of Ross. I know they recently posted that recruiting at UVA is limited to McIntyre, but I don’t know if the same applies to Mich.

Best of luck and congratulations on your acceptances!

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Yes, I was admitted to UGA honors program. I guess I’d switch into Terry my second year.

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yes, my daughter is in honors at UGA but she is not in Terry- she is in SPIA (School for Public and International Affairs), so I can’t really add much about Terry other than to say the Terry buildings and quad are really nice.

Honors adds a lot of opportunities to network and get personal advising and attention- which my daughter honestly does not really take much advantage of (at least not yet).

She did not look at Michigan- she wanted to go South and break away a little from the dozens of kids from her high school who try for Michigan every year. In the Northeast where we live, as far as state schools go, Michigan is still king and that yellow M is everywhere. UGA (and others) are gaining traction but don’t have the same cache. Some people might say oh wow, UGA is hard to get into and no one from my kid’s school got in, but, at least where we live, you will also hear a lot of, “Georgia? why Georgia? how did your kid end up at Georgia?” But that’s getting less common.

she did look at other big public schools in the Michigan tier and got into them: UCLA, UT Austin, UF, UCSB. Only UF was close in terms of cost, and the Honors College at UGA was a factor in her decision. But honestly the main reason she chose UGA is she just liked it more and had a better time when she visited. She has zero regrets.

I should add that when she recently visited a friend who is a 2nd year at Michigan, she had a really good time and said she sees why people like it.

Is this helpful at all?

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Yes, the economics and even engineering kids do well, but not as well as Ross. Still better than Georgia.

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This "^^^. You don’t need Ross to do well in business at Michigan. The cost differential needs to be evaluated