Will UMich pay for itself?

Colleges & Universities University of Michigan
1

<p>I am oos senior admitted to the UMich CoE for the Fall 2014 semester. I plan on majoring in Biomed Engineering and will probably go to grad school before pursuing a career. Right now, I’m stuck between UMich and GW University. The only thing holding me back about UMich is that I wasn’t offered need-based aid (not that I expected it) or merit scholarship, while GW offered me a very generous merit scholarship (30k/yr). If I ignore my guilt about committing to a school that didn’t give me money over one that did and splurge a little on my college education, will it pay off in the end? Will I get the better education/experience/post-college opportunities and career connections through UMich? I’ve seen a lot of people on here talk about the alumni relations at UMich, especially in the CoE, and how going to Mich helped them get lots of internships and job connections. I’m just wondering which do you guys think will be the better choice: UMich CoE for a little bit more money or GW SEAS for a little less money?</p>

<p>Also, I know I talked a lot about job connections, but as far as selecting a college I’m also interested in the overall quality of the education and college experience as a whole. UMich is ranked significantly higher than GW as a top university on most lists I’ve seen and their engineering school is consistently ranked top 10 with a top 10 ranked BME program while I think GW’s school and program barely breaks top 100, but this can all be seen very subjectively. Also, I want a college experience that isn’t just about academic, which is why I was so attracted to Mich. I like that fact that you’re on a large campus with different clubs and sports and I’ve the school spirit is through the roof. Needless to say, GW is also located in a large city with many other school located in the vicinity and they do have a big basketball program, but, still, I’ve heard Ann Arbor is THE college town.</p>

<p>The main thing holding me back from committing to UMich is the financial burden of being an oos student. Will this be a big problem or will all the perks outweigh the con of paying a little bit more and end up paying for itself in the long run?</p>

2

<p>What exactly is the 4 year difference going to be? I would strongly suggest not going into debt. I can almost guarantee that the perks will not outweigh the expense, especially if you are talking about as big a gap as I think you are. And Ann Arbor is not the be all and end all as far as college towns go!</p>

3

<p>Vs a GW degree in a field with jobs? I don’t think so. I like UM a lot more, but I wouldn’t bet that kind of money on the difference in return. If it’s affordable to you and you like UM a lot more, go for it, but I don’t think it’s going to pay for itself over a GW degree. No.</p>

4

<p>If you have a UofM grad. and a GW grad. with similar stat’s interviewing for a job, who will get it? The employer is going to hire the one that they are most confident can excel at the job. That is going to be based on the individual, not which excellent school they attended or who had a 3.7 vs. 3.9.</p>

5

<p>As an out-of-state applicant myself for next year, I was wondering what your stats are? I haven’t seen too many who got accepted RD into UMich’s CoE post on here, so it would be much appreciated if you can just post some of your stats just so I know where I need to be before I apply. Thanks. And as for question, sorry but I cannot answer it due to my lack of knowledge regarding that topic. </p>

6

<p>For BME, you do need a graduate degree for a career. That is what the school said.
So you are talking about a 5yr total cost. I don’t think it worth the $100k+ cost difference to go to UMich for BSE in BME, but you may consider getting the BSE at GW and then go to UMich for grad school if you want.
@HumrajSingh‌ The admission stat for UMich CoE should be similar or slightly higher than previous years. The mid 50 ACT was 31-34 and avg GPA was 3.9. </p>