Wisconsin vs. Michigan

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eh, just two huge public universities, it’s a toss-up.

Or, you know, the 23rd best university in the world (Michigan) and the 75th best university in the world (Madison).

https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2022

For the love of God please go back to college confidential. You are an annoying broken record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Second the above…I went to Michigan undergrad and EVERYONE is pre-professional in LS and A. It’s very tough to get a 3.5 GPA and above and med schools nowadays want highest GPA possible for admission. That said, I wound up going to a less prestigious med school and graduated with honors and have a great career today.

I guess my point is pick the college you think will fit best and don’t worry so much about the next steps. Anywhere in the Big 10 will get you a fantastic education and you will have tons of school spirit wherever you choose!

HS BFF admitted both to Michigan (instate) and Wisconsin. Opted to go to Wisconsin (full pay) and never regretted it. Recruited to row by crew coach when he passed her on campus. Successful CPA now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter truly wants to go to medical school, for undergrad she should go to the school where it will be easiest for her to get the highest grades. Med schools care about GPA, not necessarily rigor.

This is bad advice given how much one's peer group can help or hurt during application season.

It's one thing to avoid taking difficult majors like engineering as a pre-med, but to go to a school with an academically weaker population for a better GPA is going to backfire massively. MCAT's matter and that is standardized.

[Anonymous]

OP, she can row at Michigan. (The Huron River) One of my hall mates was a coxswain on an IM crew team. It was a long time ago, but I'd think the opportunity would still be there. She should check it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wisconin's 4 year graduation rate is much lower than Michigan's.

It’s baffling to me how so many kids at 4-year schools don’t graduate in 4 years. If you have even a couple AP 4s/5s it’s easy to finish most majors in under 4 years.

Yeah if every student is taking easy majors and living off their parent's money during college. State flagships tend to have a lot of lower/middle-income students that work a large number of hours part-time (vs. the wealthy kids that may work 5 hours a week for beer money) and have a lot of engineering students which is more demanding than other majors.

This is why schools with a liberal arts-focused and wealthier student population tend to have higher 4-year graduation rates than those with a lower/middle income and engineering-focused population. Compare the graduation rates of UVa vs. Berkeley or Georgia Tech. The students at Berkeley and Georgia Tech are not slackers by any definition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, she can row at Michigan. (The Huron River) One of my hall mates was a coxswain on an IM crew team. It was a long time ago, but I'd think the opportunity would still be there. She should check it out.

Or maybe it was a club sport. I don't think it was the university's actual crew team, although they have one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter truly wants to go to medical school, for undergrad she should go to the school where it will be easiest for her to get the highest grades. Med schools care about GPA, not necessarily rigor.

This is bad advice given how much one's peer group can help or hurt during application season.

It's one thing to avoid taking difficult majors like engineering as a pre-med, but to go to a school with an academically weaker population for a better GPA is going to backfire massively. MCAT's matter and that is standardized.

You can study hard for the MCAT. There are no do-overs with GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve lived in and love both towns, and have some affiliation with both schools. She should go to the school where she feels the vibe. The lakes are worth it, especially if she’ll be out on the water a lot.

+1

If she'd prefer Wisconsin but chooses Michigan because it appears earlier on the USNWR list...I mean, I guess she'd deserve what she gets, but still a bummer.

[Anonymous]

Look at the medical school admission rates for undergrads at each school

Michigan: The acceptance rate for Honors graduates to MD granting programs hovers around 80% every year. This compares to an overall acceptance rate of 56% for U-M graduates as a whole compared to a national acceptance rate of about 42%. https://lsa.umich.edu/honors/current-students/academic-information/honors-pre-med-faqs.html#:~:text=The%20acceptance%20rate%20for%20Honors,acceptance%20rate%20of%20about%2042%25.

Wisconsin: Nationally, the acceptance rate into MD programs specifically is about 45%. At UW, it’s about 55%. While this is better, it still sounds scary when you realize that about half the students who apply don’t get in. This led us to look at the data more carefully. We wanted to know “who is not getting in?” We found that the total number of applicants applying to medical school includes those with low GPAs and low MCAT scores who were most likely not competitive overall for programs. We then looked at the percentage of applicants with GPAs of 3.5 and higher and 80th-percentile-and-higher MCAT scores. We found that these UW-Madison students and alumni have gotten into medical schools at a rate of 85%. This is a stunning number for a school that does not screen applicants through a pre-medical committee.
https://prehealth.wisc.edu/prospective-students-2/

(My grandfather rowed for Wisconsin in the early 1900's so I vote for Wisconsin)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought Michigan is a party school.

Just asked my husband, who went there. He laughed and said Michigan is absolutely not a party school. Bama is a party school.

Another alum — both are great. Party school? Ha! Friends from other schools who would visit were always astounded at how many people stayed in to study on weekends. Not that people don’t go out, but then and now the students are serious about their studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wisconin's 4 year graduation rate is much lower than Michigan's.

It’s baffling to me how so many kids at 4-year schools don’t graduate in 4 years. If you have even a couple AP 4s/5s it’s easy to finish most majors in under 4 years.

I came in with lots of APs. I studied abroad, did amazing internships, got dual undergrad degrees (two diplomas), and graduated in FIVE years. Went on for fully funded graduate program and work at one of the most desirable federal agencies.

But, yeah, I didn’t graduate in four years. Boo for me.

Okay, just because you chose to galavant for five years & delay adulthood doesn’t mean you needed to take that long.

Dp — seems the pp got way more out of five years than you. Sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wisconin's 4 year graduation rate is much lower than Michigan's.

It’s baffling to me how so many kids at 4-year schools don’t graduate in 4 years. If you have even a couple AP 4s/5s it’s easy to finish most majors in under 4 years.

I came in with lots of APs. I studied abroad, did amazing internships, got dual undergrad degrees (two diplomas), and graduated in FIVE years. Went on for fully funded graduate program and work at one of the most desirable federal agencies.

But, yeah, I didn’t graduate in four years. Boo for me.

Okay, just because you chose to galavant for five years & delay adulthood doesn’t mean you needed to take that long.

NP. Quite possibly the dumbest comment I have ever read on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Wisconsin is an excellent school that anyone should be thrilled to attend. But all efforts to measure the quality of the higher educational experience (ie not just USNWR) have determined that Michigan is even better, consistently so (not just by one or two obscure metrics), to a material not just marginal degree (eg for the WSJ, Ann Arbor is #24 nationwide and Madison is #58 nationwide), and that's also reflected in alumni opinions (and fwiw admissions rates). Most students opt for the best educational experience available to them. Some people here like to cheer on contrarian approaches, or pretend that distinctions in ranking assessments aren't real (small differences are meaningful, but larger gaps mean something) -- but the fundamental purpose of college is education, not feeling the vibe of the lakes or State Street.

One thing I'd be careful to explore is the impact of recent state budget cuts on Wisconsin -- there have been some references to those on these sites. (And of course check the budget situation for Ann Arbor too, but I haven't read of recent cuts there).

[Anonymous]

If she is going to row, she should How does she feel about the coaches and members of the team?

[Anonymous]

Most in this situation just pick the highest ranked Michigan. But Madison is a prettier and cleaner college town. Ann Arbor is dreary.