Does University of Michigan live up to the hype?

[Anonymous]

U-M alum here with a DS who is currently at U-M LSA. Just a few thoughts:

1. UVA is comparable to U-M in many majors, particularly liberal arts. U-M is better than UVA on STEM and business.

2. Both UVA and U-M are more highly regarded than UMD, depending on the major.

Is it worth the OOS tuition? Probably not but first you have to get in UVA or UMD. DS couldn't get into UVA as a FCPS graduate, but did get into U-M. We would have been happy if DS went to UVA. DS is doing well socially and academically.

3. Yes, it's gloomy and snowy in Dec-Mar. The true test is to take the DC up to AA in Jan or Feb. We did that for DS and he still wanted to go.

4.. If money is no object, the U-M brand carries much further, globally and nationally, than UVA or UMD. U-M has the largest number of living alumni and they do help each other. Moreover, the OOS students and alumni come from all over, particularly both coasts and internationally. U-M, unlike other high-reputation US universities, was willing to expand its enrollment and footprint and take in groups who were discriminated against elsewhere (e.g., Jews and Asians) and this means the student body and the alumni are pretty diverse and not all Michiganders.

In other words, YMMV, but U-M has been worth it for DS.

[Anonymous]

Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

Such as?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

Such as?

USC

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of hype surrounding University of Michigan, that's for sure. You are definitely buying a brand and I'm not so sure it's a good value unless you are going into a field like engineering. DCUM might obsess over schools, but most employers don't usually give a damn about your school after you've been in the workforce a few years.

I'm from the Ann Arbor area and several of my family members attended both U of M and Michigan State. Two of my cousins were accepted at U of M, but chose Michigan State because they felt like students at U of M viewed life as one big competition. Based on out of state tuition cost, I would lean heavily towards UVA or even VA tech. Winters there are brutal, so it's great if you're a hermit.

[Anonymous]

I am a PP of this tread. The question from the OP was not an in state flagship versus Michigan, but any flagship versus Michigan.

Obviously, if you are in state for UVA or UMD and you are weighing the value of 30k to 70k for tuition, then obviously in-state flagship makes more sense.

But please, let's not turn this into yet another UVA thread.

[Anonymous]

Michigan OOS is essentially the same cost as privates. That is the key. It is a big school with a focus on research, etc., but that may not be for everyone at an undergraduate level.

[Anonymous]

It was worth the OOS tuition for my DC. Great education, great friends, loved the experience. And it's paid off in terms of connections/networking post graduation.

Sure, the weather isn't great in winter, but the same is true for Boston, New Haven, Providence, Chicago, etc. and yet people flock to schools in those places without questioning the weather. It's not like DC is great in December-February either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is our experience....our kid grew up in DC. I went to a different state flagship so consider the value of that experience and opportunity. Our kid, even with Covid, managed to find friends from across classes and clubs; they didn't pursue the Greek System, though that is always an option for kids interested.

But it is the academic and professional opportunities that were eye opening. I don't know if my university has these things like Michigan does, but between grants to be able to take unpaid internships, grants for travel abroad, specific summer job opportunities through schools like Ross, Taubman and Ford, with financial subsidies, classes with travel abroad built into the curriculum and finally the alumni network, which, for our DC kid, afforded 3 summer jobs at 3 different places, it was an embarrassment of riches.

While our kid had to work for their grades and be aggressive in uneaarthing these opportunities, the fact is, they are there for the taking. I am also pretty sure that for kids in other schools within the University, there are simillar programs - simply amazing compare to my state flagship, which I loved.

Add to it the strong football, basketball and other sports, the political activity on campus and overall, it has made for a great experience.

There really aren't too many schools that offer that real school spirit along with the top academics...probably UCLA, Cal, Wisconsin, Texas, UNC, maybe U Florida that come close, though Cal is questionable on the school spirit stuff.

Pp here - right your kid is a go getter and probably has a strong gpa/putting in the work at Michigan to make it worthwhile.

There are 6000 kids roughly per class. The bottom 3000 in each class don’t really get anything out of Michigan that they couldn’t get if they went to a cheaper and/or more chill better lifestyle school.

So op has to ask her kid, is she going to make the most out of Michigan. Judging by how her kid responded to her, the answer is a clear no.

I think this is directionally correct but would offer some tweaks. First, UM has roughly 8K kids per class, not 6K. Second, it's not the "top" kids who benefit most from the resources at a place like UM, it's the proactive ones. Third, I'd guess that only ~25% of kids are sufficiently proactive to make the OOS COA at UM a reasonable price to pay. Fourth, even for those kids, at least for the ones who are full-pay, is UM really worth the $-delta from places like U-Wisconsin, U-Minnesota, and U-Florida? I'm pretty skeptical, at least in most circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

Such as?

USC

Why so USC better? And that’s only one school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

Such as?

USC

This thread is about state schools. The OP is asking about Michigan versus other state schools that are less expensive. USC is neither.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

Such as?

USC

Hi, Sasha!

[Anonymous]

Fun party school if your teen wants to rush a frat or sorority. Weather sucks. My kids have no interest in going to a cold climate flyover state university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it for OOS.
Many better options.

Such as?

USC

This thread is about state schools. The OP is asking about Michigan versus other state schools that are less expensive. USC is neither.

If you can afford Michigan OOS, why would you only be applying to other state schools? Michigan OOS prospies apply to Vandy, Georgetown, Northwestern, Duke, Penn, Wisconsin, USC.

[Anonymous]

If you’re paying for Michigan out of state and cost is a barrier, I would probably only attend for the Business School or the Engineering School. I think it’s a great school, but if it’s a financial burden, I’d look at other flagships that give merit aid frequently such as Wisconsin or Indiana. Doesn’t hurt to apply, it’s likely she won’t get in OOS/non-legacy (not trying to be harsh).