what "good" college did you attend but would not necessarily recommend to your kids or others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UCLA's Westwood/LA has sunny weather all school year, world class restaurants, Hollywood Hills, an international airport, and is like 6 miles from an ocean.

Ann Arbor is literally 17 degrees right now with blizzard conditions, a deli called Zingermans and a handful of restaurants serving Sysco food on their Main Street, crumbing roads, and Detroit is a half hour away.

Both can be excellent for different reasons.

I think the problem is that you don't know what a "college town" is. When people talk about a "college town," they're talking about the area immediately surrounding the campus. UCLA's college town is the area of Westwood immediately surrounding the campus, but the beach several miles away, LAX, or Hollywood Hills. Those things are all in the city of Los Angeles, but not in the "college town" surrounding UCLA. Similarly, when people talk about Ann Arbor being a great college town, they're talking about the area immediately surrounding the campus, not the mall several miles away from Ann Arbor or whatever else is in Ann Arbor. They're talkign about State Street, University Blvd, Main Street, etc. (it's been a long time, so I hope I'm remembering the streets). What you're really saying is that it's better to go to college in a big city vs. a college town. That's a reasonable opinion, but stop comparing applies to oranges which is what you're doing.

Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Chicago and Dartmouth are all in places that are colder than Ann Arbor and yet there seems to be very few complaints about their climates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks OP for posting this question. I think the non-snarky answers have been really insightful. I have worried about my child getting into a school that might be a little more cut-throat/academic than I think they can handle. Some of these responses just reinforce my concern. I think they are a little too concerned with prestige. I hope I can steer them more towards a place that is more balanced.

I am the poster below you. So weird that we were posting similar thoughts at the same time!

Lol! I was thinking the exact same thing and started typing a reply saying that but got pulled away before I could post. ☺️

Hahahahaha! Nice to meet you, Friend!

Back at you Friend! Good luck to you and your child on the search for the right college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ If you're a rich kid and can afford to apply anywhere, why Ann Arbor and not somewhere warm and not in the gloomy Rust Belt?”

Lots of rich undergraduates from OOS attend Michigan to the tune of approximately 15,000 students every year. Obviously they see something about Ann Arbor that they like. You don’t care for A2. Many, many others do and will continue to do so. Sorry, but your opinion is just yours and frankly reeks of boorish snobbery. “Flyover” Ann Arbor is doing just fine without your presence.

My DC is at Michigan and she had zero desire to apply in warm places. She loves the cold and having four seasons. As an “old” person I wouldn’t choose to go to a place that is so cold in the winter, but when I was young I didn’t care.

Michigan was her first choice, and we (thankfully) have the money to be able to send her anywhere. She also had no interest in schools like U Chicago, MIT, etc. even though they fit the weather she was seeking. She wanted a big school in a college town. To each his own!

Personally if someone asked me today where I would apply, being the “old” person I am with I tolerance to cold now, I’d probably shoot for UCLA, USC, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flyover country.

Virginia #7
Michigan #37

https://championtraveler.com/news/flyover-states-flight-data-shows-which-states-americans-think-are-boring/

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan

-- overwhelmingly huge; over 50,000 students, 30,000 undergrads
-- dovetailing above, bureaucracy is bloated beyond belief; it's daunting and exhausting
-- bottom 20% of LSA are legitimately dumb
-- location is cold and grey most of the school year
-- Mid-Michigan is dreary and isolated; spare me the Ann Arbor "great" college town rankings nonsense
-- Greek life and pseudo pro sports control campus
-- Lots of cocaine use
-- Everyone from out of state was rejected from all private top 20s and the top UC campuses, so they have an obnoxious insecure chip on their shoulder
-- dovetailing above, there's a lot of over-the-top and tacky bragging and flashing of money

If you truly seek a school environment like Michigan, I'm not sure why you wouldn't just go to USC. Or even Georgia, Clemson, UNC, Texas, UVA, Alabama. Honestly, nobody cares about Michigan "top 30" standing, our BA/BS degrees are treated like any other large public university.

Funny, I have a kid there now and their experience seems to be radically different than yours. They LOVE it, are doing very well academically and have had great research and internship opportunities through the alumni network.

Agree. I went to a top ranked SLAC and after seeing DCs experience at Michigan I wish I had considered larger schools.

Neither of my kids looked at my quirky SLAC - although it's great for the right kid. If I were choosing today I probably wouldn't have chosen it, but I was lucky to go there so I'm glad that 17 year old me made the right choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Plus it has Zingerman's. That alone would make Ann Arbor a great college town. Ashley's is one of the best beer bars in the country, much less in college towns. And when you add Krazy Jim's and chipati sauce on top of all that, it's a slam dunk.

>Tell us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games without telling us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games.

Also, props on being so narrow-minded you think a good bakery and deli is incredibly rare near college towns, let alone college towns with a population of 150,000.

I can’t find a great Jewish deli in the entire Chicagoland area. So much for your point.

Ever heard of Northbrook’s Max & Benny’s? That baby bread basket! My husband palpitated the mini challah and pronounced it magnificent. I’ve lived in a lot of different places and it’s still at the top of my list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Plus it has Zingerman's. That alone would make Ann Arbor a great college town. Ashley's is one of the best beer bars in the country, much less in college towns. And when you add Krazy Jim's and chipati sauce on top of all that, it's a slam dunk.

>Tell us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games without telling us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games.

Also, props on being so narrow-minded you think a good bakery and deli is incredibly rare near college towns, let alone college towns with a population of 150,000.

I can’t find a great Jewish deli in the entire Chicagoland area. So much for your point.

Ever heard of Northbrook’s Max & Benny’s? That baby bread basket! My husband palpitated the mini challah and pronounced it magnificent. I’ve lived in a lot of different places and it’s still at the top of my list.

Yes I have. Been there with relatives in Highland Park and Deerfield. I can think of at least four delis off the top of my head in metro Detroit better than anywhere in Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Plus it has Zingerman's. That alone would make Ann Arbor a great college town. Ashley's is one of the best beer bars in the country, much less in college towns. And when you add Krazy Jim's and chipati sauce on top of all that, it's a slam dunk.

>Tell us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games without telling us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games.

Also, props on being so narrow-minded you think a good bakery and deli is incredibly rare near college towns, let alone college towns with a population of 150,000.

I can’t find a great Jewish deli in the entire Chicagoland area. So much for your point.

Ever heard of Northbrook’s Max & Benny’s? That baby bread basket! My husband palpitated the mini challah and pronounced it magnificent. I’ve lived in a lot of different places and it’s still at the top of my list.

Yes I have. Been there with relatives in Highland Park and Deerfield. I can think of at least four delis off the top of my head in metro Detroit better than anywhere in Chicago.

Are you the Michigan State grad from College Confidential with a pit bull dog avatar like 150,000 posts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Plus it has Zingerman's. That alone would make Ann Arbor a great college town. Ashley's is one of the best beer bars in the country, much less in college towns. And when you add Krazy Jim's and chipati sauce on top of all that, it's a slam dunk.

>Tell us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games without telling us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games.

Also, props on being so narrow-minded you think a good bakery and deli is incredibly rare near college towns, let alone college towns with a population of 150,000.

I can’t find a great Jewish deli in the entire Chicagoland area. So much for your point.

Ever heard of Northbrook’s Max & Benny’s? That baby bread basket! My husband palpitated the mini challah and pronounced it magnificent. I’ve lived in a lot of different places and it’s still at the top of my list.

Yes I have. Been there with relatives in Highland Park and Deerfield. I can think of at least four delis off the top of my head in metro Detroit better than anywhere in Chicago.

Are you the Michigan State grad from College Confidential with a pit bull dog avatar like 150,000 posts?

Nope, but you gave me a good laugh. Honestly, who eats challah at a deli? It’s all about the rye bread. The twice baked rye breads at many Michigan delis cannot be beat. Sorry to go so far off topic…..

[Anonymous]

Another vote for UMD. Had a great time socially, but it’s too large and the teaching leaves so much to be desired. Occasionally I’d luck out with a good adjunct or a decent TA, but for the most part my professors were awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Plus it has Zingerman's. That alone would make Ann Arbor a great college town. Ashley's is one of the best beer bars in the country, much less in college towns. And when you add Krazy Jim's and chipati sauce on top of all that, it's a slam dunk.

>Tell us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games without telling us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games.

Also, props on being so narrow-minded you think a good bakery and deli is incredibly rare near college towns, let alone college towns with a population of 150,000.

I can’t find a great Jewish deli in the entire Chicagoland area. So much for your point.

Ever heard of Northbrook’s Max & Benny’s? That baby bread basket! My husband palpitated the mini challah and pronounced it magnificent. I’ve lived in a lot of different places and it’s still at the top of my list.

Yes I have. Been there with relatives in Highland Park and Deerfield. I can think of at least four delis off the top of my head in metro Detroit better than anywhere in Chicago.

Are you the Michigan State grad from College Confidential with a pit bull dog avatar like 150,000 posts?

Nope, but you gave me a good laugh. Honestly, who eats challah at a deli? It’s all about the rye bread. The twice baked rye breads at many Michigan delis cannot be beat. Sorry to go so far off topic…..

You, people, are both insane and entititled and don't realize it. How asinine is it to evaluate quality of your child's college education by availability of a 'great Jewish deli'? That speaks volumes about education in this country, not to mention, this country's population.

Signed,
-a foreigner

[Anonymous]

This thread was better when people just posted why they don't want to send their kids somewhere and that was the end if it. Carrying on about subjective reasons is useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Plus it has Zingerman's. That alone would make Ann Arbor a great college town. Ashley's is one of the best beer bars in the country, much less in college towns. And when you add Krazy Jim's and chipati sauce on top of all that, it's a slam dunk.

>Tell us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games without telling us you paint your face yellow and blue on Saturdays for sportball games.

Also, props on being so narrow-minded you think a good bakery and deli is incredibly rare near college towns, let alone college towns with a population of 150,000.

I can’t find a great Jewish deli in the entire Chicagoland area. So much for your point.

Ever heard of Northbrook’s Max & Benny’s? That baby bread basket! My husband palpitated the mini challah and pronounced it magnificent. I’ve lived in a lot of different places and it’s still at the top of my list.

Yes I have. Been there with relatives in Highland Park and Deerfield. I can think of at least four delis off the top of my head in metro Detroit better than anywhere in Chicago.

Are you the Michigan State grad from College Confidential with a pit bull dog avatar like 150,000 posts?

Nope, but you gave me a good laugh. Honestly, who eats challah at a deli? It’s all about the rye bread. The twice baked rye breads at many Michigan delis cannot be beat. Sorry to go so far off topic…..

You, people, are both insane and entititled and don't realize it. How asinine is it to evaluate quality of your child's college education by availability of a 'great Jewish deli'? That speaks volumes about education in this country, not to mention, this country's population.

Signed,
-a foreigner

The discussion was whether or not Ann Arbor is a good environment in which to attend college--i.e., is it a "good college town." For some of us insane and entitled Americans, that matters. And yet American higher education generally, and the University of Michigan in particular, more than holds its own as compared to "foreign" universities. (I hope you recognize the understatement here.) And there are thousands of international students at Michigan, both undergrad and graduate level. Perhaps they see the level of "education in this country" differently than you. And perhaps they even care about the environment in which they attend college or grad school. But no one was "evaluating the quality of [their] child's education" on the sole basis of whether or not Ann Arbor is a good college town or how good a deli Zingerman's might be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:University of Rochester as a non-stem major. Got a large academic scholarship and was a multiple Gen legacy. I didn’t have much choice in the matter “back in the day.”

It was a fine experience but not the kind of ra ra make lifelong friends, intellectual type of college that others have.

Not something an 18 yr old would have known but my big regret is lack of name recognition outside NY. The expectation was that you would go direct to grad school. There was barely a career center and very weak alumni support.

I would not recommend for non-STEM majors, unless they plan to go directly to a brand name grad school. Of course, my DD wants pre-med so it’s on the list..

My niece is a senior this year, interested in science, and both her counselor and I recommended this school. I was surprised at the lack of name recognition! It’s an excellent school. It is, however, a school much better known for its science and music programs. I compared it to Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and maybe even Case. Did you find your education in a non-science area to be rigorous? And was the school hyper-competitive?

Sorry for the delay. PP here - I agree it is on par with JHU, Case, Carnegie Mellon etc. non-science was good, loved most of my professors and took really interesting classes - the issue is that there aren’t as many humanity majors or investment so - the science building were state of the art, tons of science opportunities for research, internships, enrichment. Nothing for non-stem. Now it may have changed, I know they now have a big digital media program. But, even in DC where there are a lot of alumni - it still has close to zero name recognition for non-science fields. A little bit for Simon business school, but not to the degree it should based on rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UCLA's Westwood/LA has sunny weather all school year, world class restaurants, Hollywood Hills, an international airport, and is like 6 miles from an ocean.

Ann Arbor is literally 17 degrees right now with blizzard conditions, a deli called Zingermans and a handful of restaurants serving Sysco food on their Main Street, crumbing roads, and Detroit is a half hour away.

Both can be excellent for different reasons.

and a TON of homelessness