Why is Michigan such a popular school in the MD/DC/VA area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read this thread because its a question I've often wondered about too - but I don't feel like I've seen any genuine answers here, just the usual DCUM BS from embittered or entitled mommies.

What are you struggling with? Michigan is a very well regarded public school with a huge, generally enthusiastic alumni base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wealthy out of state students at Umich have a habit of calling locals and in-state peers “peasants”. They also say it’s “easy” for in-staters to get admitted, ergo you’re dumb flyover trash; we’re smarter, richer and more sophisticated. There was a nationwide news event at Umich a few years ago where frats and sororities full of OOS rich kids did millions of dollars in damage to some Michigan ski resorts. They justified it by claiming the places were dumps anyways; which perfectly encapsulates the general outlook OOS students have for the state when they’re trapped in Ann Arbor for four years. And of course at graduation they all b-line for the airport and turnpikes.

I am a UMich alum who attended as a wealthy out-of-state student. It is true that most OOS students don't stay in the area after graduation, but that's true of pretty much every single school that is in a small and/or college town.

The rest of the post is so off base I don't even know where to begin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read this thread because its a question I've often wondered about too - but I don't feel like I've seen any genuine answers here, just the usual DCUM BS from embittered or entitled mommies.

What are you struggling with? Michigan is a very well regarded public school with a huge, generally enthusiastic alumni base.

+1

There isn’t some big conspiracy theory. It’s a great school with a nice college town setting. End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read this thread because its a question I've often wondered about too - but I don't feel like I've seen any genuine answers here, just the usual DCUM BS from embittered or entitled mommies.

What are you struggling with? Michigan is a very well regarded public school with a huge, generally enthusiastic alumni base.

+1

There isn’t some big conspiracy theory. It’s a great school with a nice college town setting. End of story.

I wouldn’t say great. I’d say very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wealthy out of state students at Umich have a habit of calling locals and in-state peers “peasants”. They also say it’s “easy” for in-staters to get admitted, ergo you’re dumb flyover trash; we’re smarter, richer and more sophisticated. There was a nationwide news event at Umich a few years ago where frats and sororities full of OOS rich kids did millions of dollars in damage to some Michigan ski resorts. They justified it by claiming the places were dumps anyways; which perfectly encapsulates the general outlook OOS students have for the state when they’re trapped in Ann Arbor for four years. And of course at graduation they all b-line for the airport and turnpikes.

That’s true for most top schools attracting students from across the country. I went to Dartmouth and while a few people people loved central NH so much they stayed, the vast majority moved to other states/regions after graduation. Same was true with my DCs SLAC. No one is staying in rural Ohio or Pennsylvania or Maine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wealthy out of state students at Umich have a habit of calling locals and in-state peers “peasants”. They also say it’s “easy” for in-staters to get admitted, ergo you’re dumb flyover trash; we’re smarter, richer and more sophisticated. There was a nationwide news event at Umich a few years ago where frats and sororities full of OOS rich kids did millions of dollars in damage to some Michigan ski resorts. They justified it by claiming the places were dumps anyways; which perfectly encapsulates the general outlook OOS students have for the state when they’re trapped in Ann Arbor for four years. And of course at graduation they all b-line for the airport and turnpikes.

That’s true for most top schools attracting students from across the country. I went to Dartmouth and while a few people people loved central NH so much they stayed, the vast majority moved to other states/regions after graduation. Same was true with my DCs SLAC. No one is staying in rural Ohio or Pennsylvania or Maine.

Are most Princeton students staying in Central New Jersey after graduation? Most Yalies staying in New Haven? Most Cornell, Duke, or Brown kids staying in Ithaca/Durham/Providence? No. Of course not. Not sure why Ann Arbor gets sh*t on for that - kids tend to head to big cities after graduating.

[Anonymous]

It’s a gigantic 40,000 student school full-pay OOS kids can attend with a group of friends after they’re rejected from every university in the top 25. UNC and UVA would be more popular in that regard if they catered to OOS rich kids to the degree Michigan does. About half of Michigan is OOS rich kids, which is pretty unheard of for a public U.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read this thread because its a question I've often wondered about too - but I don't feel like I've seen any genuine answers here, just the usual DCUM BS from embittered or entitled mommies.

What are you struggling with? Michigan is a very well regarded public school with a huge, generally enthusiastic alumni base.

Did not grow up in Michigan but eventually became a resident and earned a graduate degree. Why is Michigan such a popular school?

-- top ranked departments in many areas
-- $12B endowment
-- student body from all over the world filled with interesting and intelligent people
-- quintessential college campus and town. Law quad, diag, and Michigan union are unbeatable. Main and State Street districts are fun. Endless cultural and athletic events to watch. Everything from opera to Big 10 gymnastics, lacrosse, and football.
-- world's largest alumni group with a lot of pride and willing to help other graduates.
-- haven't we gone through this 500 times on this forum? State school are never going to rank as highly as private schools. There are not 25 schools better than Michigan. But to compare school # 21 to school # 26 is SPLITTING HAIRS.


Other comments:
-- getting admitted from in-state is not a walk in the park
-- state continues to have brain drain and most graduates do leave
-- having a wealthy student body does present issues for many students. It's sad because when automotive was booming, U of M offered a fantastic, affordable education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a great school in a great college town. Not redneck like VT or suburban like UMD.

Blacksburg's an awesome college town. Not rednecky like the rest of SW Virginia.

It is rednecky compared to northern college towns.

They all have a townie element, but Blacksburg is rednecky.

This isn't the north. And no Blacksburg is not rednecky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a great school in a great college town. Not redneck like VT or suburban like UMD.

Blacksburg's an awesome college town. Not rednecky like the rest of SW Virginia.

It is rednecky compared to northern college towns.

They all have a townie element, but Blacksburg is rednecky.

This isn't the north. And no Blacksburg is not rednecky.

Have you been there?

I guess if you’re from VA (yes, definitely NOT the north) then VT/Blacksburg might not seem rednecky. It sure does though if you’re from the north. You might not notice Confederate flags but I sure do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read this thread because its a question I've often wondered about too - but I don't feel like I've seen any genuine answers here, just the usual DCUM BS from embittered or entitled mommies.

What are you struggling with? Michigan is a very well regarded public school with a huge, generally enthusiastic alumni base.

+1

There isn’t some big conspiracy theory. It’s a great school with a nice college town setting. End of story.

I wouldn’t say great. I’d say very good.

Evidence that it isn’t great?

[Anonymous]

Evidence that it is? Silly subjective question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a gigantic 40,000 student school full-pay OOS kids can attend with a group of friends after they’re rejected from every university in the top 25. UNC and UVA would be more popular in that regard if they catered to OOS rich kids to the degree Michigan does. About half of Michigan is OOS rich kids, which is pretty unheard of for a public U.

Agree with this completely. Some of my friends had parents who wouldn't pay for their Michigan applications because it's outside of the top25. I had a friend choosing between Emory and Michigan for engineering, ultimately chose Emory because of the superior ranking and prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a gigantic 40,000 student school full-pay OOS kids can attend with a group of friends after they’re rejected from every university in the top 25. UNC and UVA would be more popular in that regard if they catered to OOS rich kids to the degree Michigan does. About half of Michigan is OOS rich kids, which is pretty unheard of for a public U.

Agree with this completely. Some of my friends had parents who wouldn't pay for their Michigan applications because it's outside of the top25. I had a friend choosing between Emory and Michigan for engineering, ultimately chose Emory because of the superior ranking and prestige.

You must be confusing Emory with Georgia Tech. https://apply.emory.edu/academics/majors-minors.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ann Arbor is also a thriving college town, compared to College Park

Thriving might be overstating it a little.

Madison is a thriving beautiful city.