UofM vs Northwestern

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NU is smaller & more manageable. Shorter walking distances, better housing options, better basketball team, easier to get to know professors, more scenic views, better Journalism dept. I’m not saying these are worth the extra money, but let’s stop pretending there are NO advantages to going to Northwestern.

Good points. On the beach too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So kids get tired of Ann Arbor and all Michigan all the time? That’s my fear with Michigan. No escape when you want to see something other than blue and yellow.

You’ve never been to Ann Arbor right?

I’ve been. That’s why I wonder about this. I went to school on the east coast where we could hop on the train and go see friends at other schools on a weekend etc. I’m just curious. My Dc loves Michigan, it’s just such a different vibe than what I know. Seems like it’d be a blast for a year and then I’d want to be able to go somewhere.

That’s because you’re not a teenager anymore. No need to leave town when they’re is so much going on all the time. I guess wherever you went to school wasn’t so great, since you left on the weekends to visit your friends.

[Anonymous]

*there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU is smaller & more manageable. Shorter walking distances, better housing options, better basketball team, easier to get to know professors, more scenic views, better Journalism dept. I’m not saying these are worth the extra money, but let’s stop pretending there are NO advantages to going to Northwestern.

Good points. On the beach too

I can play this game as well too. Housing options are worse in Evanston. Better hockey and football in Ann Arbor. Just as easy to get to know professors at Michigan. Ann Arbor is also more pleasant than Evanston. Better Engineering college at Michigan. Let’s stop pretending there are no advantages going to Michigan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU is smaller & more manageable. Shorter walking distances, better housing options, better basketball team, easier to get to know professors, more scenic views, better Journalism dept. I’m not saying these are worth the extra money, but let’s stop pretending there are NO advantages to going to Northwestern.

Good points. On the beach too

I can play this game as well too. Housing options are worse in Evanston. Better hockey and football in Ann Arbor. Just as easy to get to know professors at Michigan. Ann Arbor is also more pleasant than Evanston. Better Engineering college at Michigan. Let’s stop pretending there are no advantages going to Michigan.

As far as towns go…Ann Arbor isn’t that great. It has a fun college vibe and enthusiastic student body, absolutely, but outside the college bubble is middle class suburb with no decent urban city near. Evanston is a much nicer suburb, decent college vibe scene, and a quick trip to Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So kids get tired of Ann Arbor and all Michigan all the time? That’s my fear with Michigan. No escape when you want to see something other than blue and yellow.

You’ve never been to Ann Arbor right?

I’ve been. That’s why I wonder about this. I went to school on the east coast where we could hop on the train and go see friends at other schools on a weekend etc. I’m just curious. My Dc loves Michigan, it’s just such a different vibe than what I know. Seems like it’d be a blast for a year and then I’d want to be able to go somewhere.

That’s because you’re not a teenager anymore. No need to leave town when they’re is so much going on all the time. I guess wherever you went to school wasn’t so great, since you left on the weekends to visit your friends.

Bit if a leap you took there, but ok. I loved my school (Penn) and also loved hopping on a train to visit friends in NYC, Boston etc. none of this was an attack on Mich so your response was unnecessarily hostile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So kids get tired of Ann Arbor and all Michigan all the time? That’s my fear with Michigan. No escape when you want to see something other than blue and yellow.

You’ve never been to Ann Arbor right?

I’ve been. That’s why I wonder about this. I went to school on the east coast where we could hop on the train and go see friends at other schools on a weekend etc. I’m just curious. My Dc loves Michigan, it’s just such a different vibe than what I know. Seems like it’d be a blast for a year and then I’d want to be able to go somewhere.

That’s because you’re not a teenager anymore. No need to leave town when they’re is so much going on all the time. I guess wherever you went to school wasn’t so great, since you left on the weekends to visit your friends.

If you were this snappy in college, maybe you didn’t have friends to visit.

[Anonymous]

Mine chose Northwestern and is very happy. But we are not in-state for Michigan so cost difference would have been a lot less. My kid liked NU better overall. While UM engineering facilities are incredible, DC didn’t like that it was on a separate campus that you have to take a bus to. Also didn’t want such a big school. Size of NU and location/surrounding area was better for DC. And it also has a fantastic engineering program. DC actually liked NU’s approach with first year curriculum better.
Both are amazing schools — in general and for engineering. I would go with which is the better fit. And if cost is an issue, of course in-state for Michigan is hard to beat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine chose Northwestern and is very happy. But we are not in-state for Michigan so cost difference would have been a lot less. My kid liked NU better overall. While UM engineering facilities are incredible, DC didn’t like that it was on a separate campus that you have to take a bus to. Also didn’t want such a big school. Size of NU and location/surrounding area was better for DC. And it also has a fantastic engineering program. DC actually liked NU’s approach with first year curriculum better.
Both are amazing schools — in general and for engineering. I would go with which is the better fit. And if cost is an issue, of course in-state for Michigan is hard to beat.

Thanks.

Appreciate the insight.

We are making that decision now too. You perspective was helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what we’re thinking as well. Is there any case/area of study would you would consider Northwestern over UofM? While we can pay Northwestern without issue, UofM instate tuition is so much less. I can’t help but to consider the value of the money spent.

It makes zero sense unless your kid has a strong affinity to NU.

The main difference is 8K undergrads vs 20k+ undergrads. So smaller campus, more kids who are actively involved in a variety of majors (very common to double major, or double triple minor in something totally unrelated).
Then again, we let our DC pick between two very similar schools (both with 6K undergrads, similar schools) and our DC chose the full pay $85K+ vs the one with $40K+ merit per year (so only $40-45K/year).

IMO they are very different schools. My kids would struggle at a school with 300+ in many classes and one with that many students.

You’re comparing smallish colleges/universities with a Michigan and Northwestern. Even NU has 50% more undergraduates than the schools you mentioned. Neither school will have a LAC feel.

NU has approximately 8K undergrads. Not 12K (as you stated). It most definately has a much smaller feel than UMich. Never stated it was LAC/2-3K size. But outside of large freshman stem courses (1st year chem and 2nd year Orgo, Phsyics) most courses are less than 50. And 30+ years ago chem was a large lecture (300 with smaller discussions/labs) and physics was 75-100 max. Otherwise every other course was 50 or smaller. No sitting in calculus for 250+ like at UMich.

NU has approximately 9000 undergraduates. That is 50% more than the 6,000 undergraduates that were claimed by the pp. 100% more would be 12,000. Simple math.

I claimed 8K originally. No argument that NU is still a very different experience than UMIch. 8 or 9K is still a "smaller" school (not 2.-3K LA size but definately much smaller).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NU is smaller & more manageable. Shorter walking distances, better housing options, better basketball team, easier to get to know professors, more scenic views, better Journalism dept. I’m not saying these are worth the extra money, but let’s stop pretending there are NO advantages to going to Northwestern.

+1. No need to take a bus to get from one "campus" to the other. NU encourages kids to double major in a variety of areas and has plans in place to help it happen. UMich certainly does not encourage music majors to also major in Engineering or theater majors to double major in math (and for theater you'd definately go to NU).
It's normal for many kids to explore multiple areas

[Anonymous]

They seem totally different to me. I’ve visited both and hated NW, loved UM. Seems like it would be an easy decision if your child visits both.

[Anonymous]

What exactly about NU is there to “hate”? My DC legacy at both of these amazing institutions and chose NU. Wanted a smaller environment overall and the benefit of being near Chicago. I can understand maybe not liking the weather but from a pure school standpoint the two are more alike than dissimilar. Hate is certainly hyperbole, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For engineering, I don't see how it's worthwhile to pay an extra $250,000 to attend Northwestern.

Even without the price difference, Michigan Engineering is head and shoulders above. OP, did your kid do the specific engineering tour at Michigan? It was very impressive.

We did the engineering tour of Michigan. It was like touring a dusty factory. More like car repairing shops than research lab. The campus is huge and we feel like a drop of water in the ocean. Lucky if someone noticed you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU is smaller & more manageable. Shorter walking distances, better housing options, better basketball team, easier to get to know professors, more scenic views, better Journalism dept. I’m not saying these are worth the extra money, but let’s stop pretending there are NO advantages to going to Northwestern.

Good points. On the beach too

I can play this game as well too. Housing options are worse in Evanston. Better hockey and football in Ann Arbor. Just as easy to get to know professors at Michigan. Ann Arbor is also more pleasant than Evanston. Better Engineering college at Michigan. Let’s stop pretending there are no advantages going to Michigan.

As far as towns go…Ann Arbor isn’t that great. It has a fun college vibe and enthusiastic student body, absolutely, but outside the college bubble is middle class suburb with no decent urban city near. Evanston is a much nicer suburb, decent college vibe scene, and a quick trip to Chicago.

Ann Arbor is usually listed among the ten best cities of its size in the US. It has its own decent urban city center. I never see Evanston ranked nearly as high. Furthermore, there are parts of Evanston that aren’t particularly safe, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue with you at all. Ann Arbor doesn’t seem to have that problem. Students are attending school within that college bubble. Once again, this isn’t about you or your perceptions of what makes a great college town. You’re a DCUM not a teenager.