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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are VA residents with a DC who graduated from Michigan in 2025 and another DC who is a second year at UVA.

Here are some observations for consideration, but at the end of the day, it is a gut decision on "fit" (and that includes thinking about the $ involved, no matter how much you say to yourself it doesn't matter):

1.  UVA's administration is much more user-friendly (for both students and parents) than Michigan's. Students at Michigan really need to be self-starters and need to require less hand-holding in interactions with the administration and faculty.

2.  The in-state/out-of-state divide is different at the two schools.  Michigan is 50/50 in-state/OOS, and the OOS, as noted previously, tend to be from CA/NY/Chicago and are of course wealthier than the in-state students, since they can afford OOS tuition. The UVA OOS is of course wealthier than in-state students, and tend to be more from the NE.  UVA is also 67/33 in-state/OOS. However, we did notice that the in-state students at UVA tend to skew wealthier because there are more relatively wealthy NOVA and Richmond residents in the UVA in-state student population, which we did not notice in the Michigan in-state population (e.g., the Grosse Pointe folks did not make up as large a portion).  These different dynamics affect the social and cultural vibe of the schools, including Greek life.

3. Watching sports is a much bigger deal at Michigan.  But you can ski at UVA and do more outdoorsy stuff there.

4. Restaurant and bar scene is better in Charlottesville. We liked Ann Arbor's F&B too but the "student" restaurants were not as good as at UVA, with the "alum" restaurants pretty good but noticeably focused on the alums and working professionals in Ann Arbor (of which there are a lot).  The relatively higher share of wealthier students at UVA makes for a larger number of good F&B, e.g., the "student" restaurants were pretty decent and the "alum" restaurants have a larger number of student patrons.

5. Michigan is a bigger brand name, including overseas, due to the large alumni base and overall reputation.  I am a Michigan alum and travel to Asia and Europe frequently and will say "Go Blue" to another alum on each trip.  UVA, not so much, but it is still understood to be a good university both here and abroad.

6. UVA is not NOVA public school v.2 unless your DC wants it to be that way.  Our UVA DC will see familiar faces but it's not a constant thing.  Michigan, OTOH is huge and DC had to find their own people. It was difficult in the beginning but after a year, DC had a core group of friends.

DC #1 wound up at Michigan because that was the dream school for years after years of watching Michigan sports.  DC #2 chose UVA because it felt more like a smaller liberal arts school (but hardly a SLAC; I also attended a SLAC so I know!), had better weather and more off campus options, and ultimately, the cost. DC #2 wants to go to a grad school, and although we could afford it even if DC #2 had gone to Michigan, this was a consideration.

At the end of the day, it's a monetary and emotional value proposition.   Michigan is indeed more well-known and higher regarded than UVA but not much more.
For DC #1, that pointed to Michigan. For DC #2, that pointed to UVA.

Good luck to OP and their DC.
[/quote]
Not the OP, but this is a great response!
[/quote]
Yes, a great response. Helpful to me as I help my kid think through a similar choice. [/quote]

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