<p>Any input - accepted into both schools - Washington University in St. Louis and University of Michigan? As the parent I am favoring one over the other. What factors do other parents consider? Who ultimately decides? Applications are pending with other schools as of this writing.</p>
<p>D was accepted to both. Both great schools, but they are very different. We let her make the choice. Wash U was a very “soft landing”. Smaller, lots of attention, no impacted majors, easy to get to school via airport and metro stop right at campus, small campus with all freshmen living together, fun loop area for exploring. As a school where most kids are from more than 300 miles away they are all there every weekend and the school keeps them very busy in the freshman transition. Have a service where your kids stuff is picked up and stored for the summer and delivered to their room in the fall. Not cheap – but neither is shipping everything each time or paying for extra bags on plane. That being said there’s a lot more choices, opportunities and diversity at U of M. Ann Arbor is amazing. And the school spirit and sports culture is very exciting. Known kids to be happy at both. </p>
<p>How much does each cost after scholarships/grants but before any loans?</p>
<p>Are you in-state or OOS for Michigan? What is the cost difference? Unless you are in-state for Michigan, and hence the costs would be much less, I would lean towards WashU. </p>
<p>My son is a senior at WashU, and has had a great experience there. Very personal attention, great advising. Great campus, facilities, food. Diverse student body, with the entire country represented, plus international. Great academics in many different areas. My son is a political science major, and such a wide range of classes are offered each semester that he has a hard time picking which classes to take, since so many interesting classes are offered. They have Div III sports, and the students don’t seem to be very interested in sports, so that could be a factor for someone who wants to go to watch Div I sports games. </p>
<p>I consider 4-yr graduation rate and freshman retention rates to be important factors when selecting a college. Wash U’s numbers in those areas are quite good. I don’t know what Michigan’s numbers are, but they should be easy to find.</p>
<p>What factors do other parents consider? One, primarily, cost to child and parents. Both are great schools, but what is each going to cost you and can you readily afford it? Do not ruin your next four years or your retirement to pay for an undergrad education when you could get as good or better without ruining your finances. Don’t get caught up in the prestige thing. It matters not a lick to grad or professional schools or 99% of employers. What they care about is what your child did while he or she was in school. Did they make the most of their academic and experiential opportunities? If they did, they could have gone to a school that costs half as much, and if they didn’t it won’t matter where they went (with tiny exceptions including, perhaps, both these schools). Congratulations to your child on having this dilemma. Don’t you as parents fumble the next question.</p>
<p>I would also consider intended major.
For example, one school is quite a bit stronger in engineering vs. the other.
If costs are roughly similar, that would be a factor I would consider. </p>
<p>WashU parent here. My son, also a senior (hi saachi!) and I was surprised he chose WashU over so many other terrific choices. But he had fallen in love with the school when he visited one weekend. I can see why. He’s the kind of kid who has a collection of very good buddies in a wide variety of areas. I have been told this is considered the “Harvard of the Midwest” although I hadn’t known of it until my son started exploring colleges. {I’m from the east coast.) Every semester, I am reminded again of what makes the school special. They keep the parents in the loop. If you’re a kid, you don’t care about this, but as a parent, I have really appreciated getting letters from the dean of students, telling us what the kids that year are doing, what activities to look for that are coming up, and what the kids are focused on. Seems obvious maybe, but we never heard boo from the schools when my other two kids attended college. WashU administrators don’t overdo this, but I really like that I wasn’t a forgotten family member cheering from the sidelines for the success of our child.</p>
<p>This is our third child and our two oldest have had wonderful experiences at Michigan. Michigan is much closer than Wash U. We are out of state for Michigan and at either school will have to pay the $$. Distance, employment upon graduation are two factors important to us. What is the undergraduate business school placement like at Wash U?</p>