Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Michigan grad here. I have a very slight preference form Madison over Ann Arbor and a more significant preference for Michigan's campus over Wisconsin's. I have visited most of the major state universities. The one most like Michigan is Wisconsin. The one most like Wisconsin is Michigan. I could see choosing either one. I chose Michigan, partly because of prestige/rankings and particly because Michigan does a better job of creating small communities within a larger university. For example, there is no equivalent to the Michigan Residential College (which is sort of like a small liberal arts college) at Wisconsin.

Agree. And next closest to each is IU.

Hardly

For a liberal arts and sciences student or a business student, IU is remarkably similar to Michigan and Wisconsin in all ways save selectivity. For an engineering student, it's obviously not.

I honestly don’t see it, but of course you’re entitled to your opinion. Indiana is more similar to Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State among many others. A very solid university with some great programs, but not in the same tier as Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, or UVA.

You need to remove 'UVA' from that last group.

You mean UCLA.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan grad here. I have a very slight preference form Madison over Ann Arbor and a more significant preference for Michigan's campus over Wisconsin's. I have visited most of the major state universities. The one most like Michigan is Wisconsin. The one most like Wisconsin is Michigan. I could see choosing either one. I chose Michigan, partly because of prestige/rankings and particly because Michigan does a better job of creating small communities within a larger university. For example, there is no equivalent to the Michigan Residential College (which is sort of like a small liberal arts college) at Wisconsin.

Agree. And next closest to each is IU.

Hardly

For a liberal arts and sciences student or a business student, IU is remarkably similar to Michigan and Wisconsin in all ways save selectivity. For an engineering student, it's obviously not.

I honestly don’t see it, but of course you’re entitled to your opinion. Indiana is more similar to Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State among many others. A very solid university with some great programs, but not in the same tier as Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, or UVA.

You need to remove 'UVA' from that last group.

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Anonymous wrote:One thing about Wisconsin grads, they always light up when they talk about it and go on and on about how much they loved the school - in a way I don’t hear about anyplace else. Graduation is like expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

I just posted above and I agree about this. There are lots of WI grads in the DC area and we all can't help but get a smile on our faces when we talk about it. We loved the school, are proud of attending, and think it has served us well.

Great insight. What do you hear most about what people love so much?

There isn't one overriding factor that makes us love it so much, but rather a great combination of all sorts of things. Now I graduated in the 90s, so this is from that vantage point. Excellent and interesting professors (I don't recall having any classes taught by TAs) and classes, a university that cultivates true school spirit, a fun atmosphere - the State Street atmosphere is hard to beat, great sports spirit, and a beautiful campus. And the Memorial Union Terrace! It embodies the best in a college atmosphere. And the town of Madison is just large enough to be interesting outside of the University and easy to get around in. But there was also a feeling that the University believes it is important for your education to matter to the world. The Wisconsin Idea. I left feeling like I was able to contribute something of value to the world while also having a great time learning those values. Now being in DC with public servants galore, it is easy to see this play out with UW alumni, both undergrad and graduate program graduates - there are so many UW law students in DC. And I do think there is a lack of pretentiousness from graduates that makes us easy to relate to.

And I am confident my degree from there helped me in my career advancement, at least early in my career before I earned my master's from somewhere else. My DD has her heart set on attending there. She will need to broaden her choices of course, but I won't do anything to dissuade her from attending if she is one of the 20% of OOS enrollees that is accepted.

Anonymous wrote:This is NOT a slam of anybody.

The thing that seems to be missing in this whole discussion is that half of U of Michigan’s undergrads are from out of state, and perhaps even a bigger % of grad students. And a LOT of those out-of-staters are from NY, NJ, California, & suburban Chicago. That means thousands of folks who grew up in places where typical Midwestern “nice” wasn't the norm. These people tend to be louder & more aggressive than the michigan-born students, & their impact is felt far out of proportion to their numbers.

Ask any in-state student in Ann Arbor if he’s heard a classmate complain about not being able to get good Mexican food, a decent bagel, or authentic Chicago-style pizza, and you will get a pained smile and an eyeroll.

This isn’t bashing the coastals or the Chicagoans…they add a lot to the local atmosphere.

But when people start comparing U of Michigan to U of Wisconsin or IU, it’s very important that somebody mentions that Ann Arbor has very little of the Midwestern humility and niceness that places like U of Wisconsin, Purdue, & Indiana U have.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is NOT a slam of anybody.

The thing that seems to be missing in this whole discussion is that half of U of Michigan’s undergrads are from out of state, and perhaps even a bigger % of grad students. And a LOT of those out-of-staters are from NY, NJ, California, & suburban Chicago. That means thousands of folks who grew up in places where typical Midwestern “nice” wasn't the norm. These people tend to be louder & more aggressive than the michigan-born students, & their impact is felt far out of proportion to their numbers.

Ask any in-state student in Ann Arbor if he’s heard a classmate complain about not being able to get good Mexican food, a decent bagel, or authentic Chicago-style pizza, and you will get a pained smile and an eyeroll.

This isn’t bashing the coastals or the Chicagoans…they add a lot to the local atmosphere.

But when people start comparing U of Michigan to U of Wisconsin or IU, it’s very important that somebody mentions that Ann Arbor has very little of the Midwestern humility and niceness that places like U of Wisconsin, Purdue, & Indiana U have.

This is accurate. UW is midwestern nice. Michigan is aggressive.

Anonymous wrote:This is NOT a slam of anybody.

The thing that seems to be missing in this whole discussion is that half of U of Michigan’s undergrads are from out of state, and perhaps even a bigger % of grad students. And a LOT of those out-of-staters are from NY, NJ, California, & suburban Chicago. That means thousands of folks who grew up in places where typical Midwestern “nice” wasn't the norm. These people tend to be louder & more aggressive than the michigan-born students, & their impact is felt far out of proportion to their numbers.

Ask any in-state student in Ann Arbor if he’s heard a classmate complain about not being able to get good Mexican food, a decent bagel, or authentic Chicago-style pizza, and you will get a pained smile and an eyeroll.

This isn’t bashing the coastals or the Chicagoans…they add a lot to the local atmosphere.

But when people start comparing U of Michigan to U of Wisconsin or IU, it’s very important that somebody mentions that Ann Arbor has very little of the Midwestern humility and niceness that places like U of Wisconsin, Purdue, & Indiana U have.

Anonymous wrote:This is NOT a slam of anybody.

The thing that seems to be missing in this whole discussion is that half of U of Michigan’s undergrads are from out of state, and perhaps even a bigger % of grad students. And a LOT of those out-of-staters are from NY, NJ, California, & suburban Chicago. That means thousands of folks who grew up in places where typical Midwestern “nice” wasn't the norm. These people tend to be louder & more aggressive than the michigan-born students, & their impact is felt far out of proportion to their numbers.

Ask any in-state student in Ann Arbor if he’s heard a classmate complain about not being able to get good Mexican food, a decent bagel, or authentic Chicago-style pizza, and you will get a pained smile and an eyeroll.

This isn’t bashing the coastals or the Chicagoans…they add a lot to the local atmosphere.

But when people start comparing U of Michigan to U of Wisconsin or IU, it’s very important that somebody mentions that Ann Arbor has very little of the Midwestern humility and niceness that places like U of Wisconsin, Purdue, & Indiana U have.

Anonymous wrote:This is NOT a slam of anybody.

The thing that seems to be missing in this whole discussion is that half of U of Michigan’s undergrads are from out of state, and perhaps even a bigger % of grad students. And a LOT of those out-of-staters are from NY, NJ, California, & suburban Chicago. That means thousands of folks who grew up in places where typical Midwestern “nice” wasn't the norm. These people tend to be louder & more aggressive than the michigan-born students, & their impact is felt far out of proportion to their numbers.

Ask any in-state student in Ann Arbor if he’s heard a classmate complain about not being able to get good Mexican food, a decent bagel, or authentic Chicago-style pizza, and you will get a pained smile and an eyeroll.

This isn’t bashing the coastals or the Chicagoans…they add a lot to the local atmosphere.

But when people start comparing U of Michigan to U of Wisconsin or IU, it’s very important that somebody mentions that Ann Arbor has very little of the Midwestern humility and niceness that places like U of Wisconsin, Purdue, & Indiana U have.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan grad here. I have a very slight preference form Madison over Ann Arbor and a more significant preference for Michigan's campus over Wisconsin's. I have visited most of the major state universities. The one most like Michigan is Wisconsin. The one most like Wisconsin is Michigan. I could see choosing either one. I chose Michigan, partly because of prestige/rankings and particly because Michigan does a better job of creating small communities within a larger university. For example, there is no equivalent to the Michigan Residential College (which is sort of like a small liberal arts college) at Wisconsin.

Agree. And next closest to each is IU.

Hardly

For a liberal arts and sciences student or a business student, IU is remarkably similar to Michigan and Wisconsin in all ways save selectivity. For an engineering student, it's obviously not.

I honestly don’t see it, but of course you’re entitled to your opinion. Indiana is more similar to Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State among many others. A very solid university with some great programs, but not in the same tier as Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, or UVA.

How well do you know these actual schools as opposed to their "rankings"? Ohio State and Michigan State offer meaningfully different experiences than Michigan/Wisconsin/IU. Penn State is kinda in between, but also with its own weird inferiority complex twist. (These schools all are more alike than they are different in the grand scheme of things, but if you're grouping them, IU goes with Michigan and Wisconsin rather than with the others. UVA is kinda close to that group, too, but Berkeley and UCLA definitely aren't.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan grad here. I have a very slight preference form Madison over Ann Arbor and a more significant preference for Michigan's campus over Wisconsin's. I have visited most of the major state universities. The one most like Michigan is Wisconsin. The one most like Wisconsin is Michigan. I could see choosing either one. I chose Michigan, partly because of prestige/rankings and particly because Michigan does a better job of creating small communities within a larger university. For example, there is no equivalent to the Michigan Residential College (which is sort of like a small liberal arts college) at Wisconsin.

Agree. And next closest to each is IU.

Hardly

For a liberal arts and sciences student or a business student, IU is remarkably similar to Michigan and Wisconsin in all ways save selectivity. For an engineering student, it's obviously not.

I honestly don’t see it, but of course you’re entitled to your opinion. Indiana is more similar to Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State among many others. A very solid university with some great programs, but not in the same tier as Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, or UVA.