Does University of Michigan live up to the hype?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ Not sure I would send my kid to a large OOS state school unless it was for a specific program the school was known for or a regional specialization - i.e. studying automotive engineering in Michigan, geology in Colorado, marine biology in Florida, etc. I grew up in Ohio and kids who didn’t go to the local state university often went to The OSU - but there were always a handful every year who went to Penn State. I never understood why they would pay OOS $$$.”

You grew up in Ohio. Their flagship is not on the same tier as Michigan. Neither is PSU or any other public B1G school currently. Academically Michigan undergrad is elite, despite what some naysayers will tell you here on DCUM. I can’t understand why anyone would pay OOS tuition for PSU if they were admitted to tOS either. That I can agree with.

Ugghh - a reminder of why the rest of the rest of the Big Ten hates Michigan. Northwestern ranks well above Michigan but somehow manages not to be arrogant about it.

Last time I checked, Northwestern was a private school, thus not germane to this thread. But yes, Northwestern has an elite academic reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ Not sure I would send my kid to a large OOS state school unless it was for a specific program the school was known for or a regional specialization - i.e. studying automotive engineering in Michigan, geology in Colorado, marine biology in Florida, etc. I grew up in Ohio and kids who didn’t go to the local state university often went to The OSU - but there were always a handful every year who went to Penn State. I never understood why they would pay OOS $$$.”

You grew up in Ohio. Their flagship is not on the same tier as Michigan. Neither is PSU or any other public B1G school currently. Academically Michigan undergrad is elite, despite what some naysayers will tell you here on DCUM. I can’t understand why anyone would pay OOS tuition for PSU if they were admitted to tOS either. That I can agree with.

Ugghh - a reminder of why the rest of the rest of the Big Ten hates Michigan. Northwestern ranks well above Michigan but somehow manages not to be arrogant about it.

Really? Not the Northwestern alums I've met.

Probably they are but Michigan grads / students are uniquely arrogant - like how do you get so high on being a clear #2 while showing no regard for other fine universities in the region like Wisconsin, Illinois etc.. The Skunks are an annoying bunch. You got to love the "Harvard of the Midwest".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

I think you are wrong. There are some publics - Cal-Berkeley, Michigan - a few others we can debate the list - that are viewed differently. It probably does not end up making much of a difference for many students but it can. Take one example - Michigan is probably in the top 5 schools in putting undergrads into Wall Street IB Analyst positions. Now is that (or other examples) important to you - maybe maybe not. But I don't think it's correct to say Michigan and Alabama are the same - nothing against Alabama.

IB analysts are perhaps <0.01% of all undergraduates? Nobody cares. It doesn't impact anyone's perception outside of some Long Island and New Jersey strivers. State school is state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister went to Michigan and I went to Wisconsin and people used to say to her, “wow, great school” and they’d say to me, “bet you have fun!”

It used to piss me off so much. Even though I think I did have more fun than she did 😂

Then she married someone who went to Penn State and he had to endure it (“Happy Valley! Bet you had fun!)

Anyway I assume not that much has changed but people do look at Michigan and other top publics differently.

Probably just your own insecurities because you applied to Michigan and didn't get in but your sister did. It happens. And you always see what you want to see. Assuming you had the same college grades and resume, there's no career she could pursue which you couldn't. It doesn't make a difference at all. Nobody cares about Michigan vs Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

I think you are wrong. There are some publics - Cal-Berkeley, Michigan - a few others we can debate the list - that are viewed differently. It probably does not end up making much of a difference for many students but it can. Take one example - Michigan is probably in the top 5 schools in putting undergrads into Wall Street IB Analyst positions. Now is that (or other examples) important to you - maybe maybe not. But I don't think it's correct to say Michigan and Alabama are the same - nothing against Alabama.

IB analysts are perhaps <0.01% of all undergraduates? Nobody cares. It doesn't impact anyone's perception outside of some Long Island and New Jersey strivers. State school is state school.

Do you say the same of Berkeley?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My sister went to Michigan and I went to Wisconsin and people used to say to her, “wow, great school” and they’d say to me, “bet you have fun!”

It used to piss me off so much. Even though I think I did have more fun than she did 😂

Then she married someone who went to Penn State and he had to endure it (“Happy Valley! Bet you had fun!)

Anyway I assume not that much has changed but people do look at Michigan and other top publics differently.

[/quote]

Probably just your own insecurities because you applied to Michigan and didn't get in but your sister did. It happens. And you always see what you want to see. Assuming you had the same college grades and resume, there's no career she could pursue which you couldn't. It doesn't make a difference at all. Nobody cares about Michigan vs Wisconsin.[/quote]

Haha… nah, we are twins. We wanted to go to different schools but both wanted big state schools. We had similar stats but she wanted to go to Michigan and I was like, ok, Wisconsin. We didn’t apply to a whole bunch of schools — we each applied to three (different) state schools but grew up in NYC and had it in our minds we wanted to experience the Midwest.

[Anonymous]

MI and WI are very similar. I did undergrad at one and grad school at the other.

MI may be ranked slightly higher, but I wouldn’t let that be a decisive factor. Both schools rank in the top 40 of National Universities (USNWR). MI in the 20s and WI in the 30s.

[Anonymous]

"Do you say the same of Berkeley?"

Of course not. Berkeley is Berkeley. Plus, it's in one of the most exciting and physically beautiful parts of the world, much less the country. You can hike Mt. Tam on the weekends at Cal. Eat food from all over the world at some of the best restaurants and holes in the wall in the country. It's the Bay Area. It's California. It's the Pacific Rim. You've got more culture and diversity and economic opportunities than you could imagine. No, it's not at all like the Midwest schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

This reads a little jelly. Why do you even post if you are not impressed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

This reads a little jelly. Why do you even post if you are not impressed?

Insecurity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

This reads a little jelly. Why do you even post if you are not impressed?

Clearly someone who ties a lot of their self worth to some private university they went to. Perhaps has not accomplished much else in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ Not sure I would send my kid to a large OOS state school unless it was for a specific program the school was known for or a regional specialization - i.e. studying automotive engineering in Michigan, geology in Colorado, marine biology in Florida, etc. I grew up in Ohio and kids who didn’t go to the local state university often went to The OSU - but there were always a handful every year who went to Penn State. I never understood why they would pay OOS $$$.”

You grew up in Ohio. Their flagship is not on the same tier as Michigan. Neither is PSU or any other public B1G school currently. Academically Michigan undergrad is elite, despite what some naysayers will tell you here on DCUM. I can’t understand why anyone would pay OOS tuition for PSU if they were admitted to tOS either. That I can agree with.

Ugghh - a reminder of why the rest of the rest of the Big Ten hates Michigan. Northwestern ranks well above Michigan but somehow manages not to be arrogant about it.

I have a degree from Northwestern. Of course it’s more plush in many ways than a typical state flagship. And of course it’s not really $120,000 or $200,000 better than UMd College Park for most kids from families that would miss the money. And I suspect the same is true of Michigan. It is worth the money, but not for families that would really miss the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Do you say the same of Berkeley?"

Of course not. Berkeley is Berkeley. Plus, it's in one of the most exciting and physically beautiful parts of the world, much less the country. You can hike Mt. Tam on the weekends at Cal. Eat food from all over the world at some of the best restaurants and holes in the wall in the country. It's the Bay Area. It's California. It's the Pacific Rim. You've got more culture and diversity and economic opportunities than you could imagine. No, it's not at all like the Midwest schools.

You clearly haven't been to the campus or area.

Bay Area native who wouldn't send a kid to Berkeley. UCLA maybe, but not Berkeley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

I think you are wrong. There are some publics - Cal-Berkeley, Michigan - a few others we can debate the list - that are viewed differently. It probably does not end up making much of a difference for many students but it can. Take one example - Michigan is probably in the top 5 schools in putting undergrads into Wall Street IB Analyst positions. Now is that (or other examples) important to you - maybe maybe not. But I don't think it's correct to say Michigan and Alabama are the same - nothing against Alabama.

Right but considering the size of Michigan, such a fraction of a % really take advantage of the big blue pipeline into IB / MBB and FAANG (and with the last one Illinois would place as well)

So you prove what pp’s are saying.

Michigan is pointless for the majority of kids that attend there. It doesn’t provide anything different than a different public school with better weather and more chill lifestyle would provide

Out of 8k students per class, only 1k see a difference vecsuse only 1/8 have the drive plus grades.

The other 7k would be better off at cu-Boulder or Clemson/Alabama

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public university tiers are a fake construct beyond a flagship is a flagship. Same experience, same partying, same rah-rah sports, same rich kids in frat and sorority life, same smart kids at the top, somewhat unmotivated kids at the bottom, same career and grad school outcomes. If schools like Indiana, Alabama and Clemson offer your family a boatload of merit money take it. Michigan is not worth a premium. Nobody is impressed by Michigan undergrad no matter how many times insecure Michigan alums and parents parrot otherwise for years on end on every message board.

I think you are wrong. There are some publics - Cal-Berkeley, Michigan - a few others we can debate the list - that are viewed differently. It probably does not end up making much of a difference for many students but it can. Take one example - Michigan is probably in the top 5 schools in putting undergrads into Wall Street IB Analyst positions. Now is that (or other examples) important to you - maybe maybe not. But I don't think it's correct to say Michigan and Alabama are the same - nothing against Alabama.

Right but considering the size of Michigan, such a fraction of a % really take advantage of the big blue pipeline into IB / MBB and FAANG (and with the last one Illinois would place as well)

So you prove what pp’s are saying.

Michigan is pointless for the majority of kids that attend there. It doesn’t provide anything different than a different public school with better weather and more chill lifestyle would provide

Out of 8k students per class, only 1k see a difference vecsuse only 1/8 have the drive plus grades.

The other 7k would be better off at cu-Boulder or Clemson/Alabama

Are you talking about instate or out-of-state students? Because, it would be a really tough sell to me as a parent in, say, Rochester Hills, Michigan, to pay for one of those schools you mentioned, rather than sending my kids to Ann Arbor.