Just an anecdote: My in-laws were tenured profs at Central. My youngest SIL got both her undergrad and MBA at Central and is now CIO at a place everyone here would recognize. The rest of the sibs went to U-M and none of them have landed quite as high as she has. I think it’s utterly ridiculous to worry about long-term career prospects between two good universities when it is impossible to predict that outcome for any individual. The school is not the determining factor. Save your money and enjoy the lovely town of Mount Pleasant.
What does he want to do? If he would be fine with going to CMU & he would have to borrow a lot to go to UM, I say CMU it is. But I am not him, and I am not you. If I have learned one thing over the years, it is that we are all different. I think it’s fine to ask for opinions, but only you & your son can choose what is best for your family.
And for what it is worth, I am from Michigan & know plenty of kids who did not thrive at UM … plenty who did thrive at CMU. It isn’t just the school. There is so much more to it.
I think being saddled with undergrad debt when a young person doesn’t need to be should be part of the decision. With no undergrad debt, grad school is an option when it might not otherwise be.
Agree…totally agree Kelsmom. Not bring saddled with loan payments is huge especially with starting salaries…it impacts where and how they live for quite a few years. UofM is a great uni but not the end all be all for everyone. We are a 3 gen Uof M family but sib had a kid now in medschool who took the money offered by gvsu and another preferred a res college at MSU so both said no to UofM. My 3rd kid waited 9 months for UofM and ended up transferring and graduating from Tech which he loved very much more. Lots of places can get a kid where they want to go so don’t stress the decision either way. Just weigh what is best for your individual decision.
There are only good choices here. We are a 4 gen UM family but many other family members have attended other Michigans schools (Tech, MSU, GVSU, etc) plus other highly rated schools elsewhere, and everyone’s individual circumstances vary. Overall, UM is going to give one of the best college experiences of any school and has the best networking opportunities available and the most successful members went to UM or one of the OOS schools. If it means the difference between affording further education (e.g. grad school) or not take the scholarship. Grad school ,especially from a well regarded institution, trumps any undergrad program. If your child thinks that a Bachelors degree is the end of his/her education that is a different consideration. There is no way to know what the job market will be like in 4-5 years, so debt is a risk.
The other idea here could be going to Cmu for 2 years. If he loves it and a good fit then there is where he should be. If not, he could always look into transferring if most /all of his classes transfer over. This would cut the debt in at least half and still graduate with a Michigan degree… Just a thought.
U Mich is horrible with transfer credits. Basically they consider other Michigan colleges aren’t as good as they are and do their classes shouldn’t be considered equivalent.
That is true going the other way also. UofM to someplace else. You would think classes would transfer but it is a fight!