<p>Unless you’re trolling, the consensus is Michigan over ASU. Not sure it can get any more clear than this thread.</p>
<p>OK Thank you. It’s a pity for the weather but if you say it I think I’ll choose UM.</p>
<p>Birdwatch: don’t make your decision based on OUR criteria.
Now you know the score. Make the decision yourself. You’re going for a year so make the decision based on what will matter to you for that year.
UMich has: motivated students, 4 seasons with a long, cold, snowy winter, great campus, great college town
ASU has: lots of sun, the desert, unmotivated students, great campus, culturally interesting city</p>
<p>You gotta make your own decision man. We can give you the pros and the cons but you should never let us choose for you.</p>
<p>Each school has perfectly good reasons to do a study abroad program at.</p>
<p>OK you’re totally right ! Thank you very much for all your advices !</p>
<p>Birdwatch, I can say with absolute certainty that ASU is being unfairly portrayed in this thread, by people who know absolutely nothing about the school other than their acceptance rate. </p>
<p>There are far more things to consider than just acceptance rates and exclusivity… ASU is a very well-funded school, with a diverse student body, and excellent resources and research opportunities available to students. There is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing to spend your ONE YEAR at ASU, and I encourage you to consider it still… quite honestly I think you will enjoy it more than Michigan.</p>
<p>I have nothing bad to say about Michigan other than its a very serious school for very serious students. If you really want to spend your one year in the US in cold, wintery weather surrounded by very competitive students, that’s your call. If it were my choice though, and I had one year to spend in a foreign country, I’d go to the school where the work-life balance was better, and that offered a solid education.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say here is that some people are are grossly exaggerating how bad ASU is. It’s a fine school, just not as selective or well-known as Michigan.</p>
<p>Your’re right they look really serious and competitive… I’m not really a fan of competition. It’s really hard to decide. Both schools look amazing, but with better people at UM and a better weather and surrounds at ASU…</p>
<p>I agree with the above poster. It’s the biggest school in the country, so yes, there are going to be people who are unmotivated and are there to party but there will also be students who are there to work their tails off and get a degree. The school is so big that you can fit in anywhere. It’s unfair to categorize all students at ASU as “unmotivated” because not all of them are. Anyway, go with your gut. Don’t just listen to a bunch of strangers on a college forum.</p>
<p>I just created this thread to get advices from real americans and not French people who found everything perfect no matter how it really was. But thank you I’ll try to make my choice.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I have 3 family members who have attended ASU. I know enough about it to have a basis for my opinion.</p>
<p>ASU has 60,000 students. It’s obvious some won’t fit in the above descriptions…
It’s important to remember that indeed with schools so big, you’ll be able to find your “niche”. If you want to find UMich caliber students at ASU, you’ll find them in Barrett. It’s not like every single student at ASU outside Barrett is unmotivated but let’s face it, their high school career has generally not been as assiduous, well-rounded, and driven as the students at UMich. For 10,000 people who party almost every day you’ll find 10,000 who party on Saturday only… and 10,000 who’ll happily spend days in the library or the lab. 
Academically, the top students would be the same, but the middle and lower-level admits would be quite different. Still, why does it matter? If OP loves the desert and likes warm weather, OP should choose ASU; there are plenty of good junior-senior level classes to choose from at ASU and with so many students there’s got to be people who OP will get along with. OP will have more time to devote to extracurriculars and will have an equally awesome year abroad.</p>
<p>Hopefully Birdwatch you’ll come back to let us know what you decided :)</p>
<p>@lsky: outside alumni rivalry, the adults who post on this site and advise students typically know what they’re talking about :)</p>
<p>Ok I’ll make you know when I’ll choose</p>
<p>I will say that Michigan is very well known internationally. It certainly would look nice on your CV when you are looking for work/grad school upon graduation.</p>
<p>MYOS1634: I meant that the OP shouldn’t just listen to people who don’t know the circumstances that he/she is in, not that they don’t know what they’re talking about regarding schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No one gives a damn what school someone spent a year abroad in. It won’t impress or look especially nice on the resume/CV. The benefits of going to a rigorous university are also pretty negligible with only one year at the university. </p>
<p>You’re two choices are essentially between these two universities: Your first choice is Michigan. It’s is a rigorous university in a great college town. However, it generally has awful weather and is even worse now due to the polar vortex; the second choice is ASU, which has worse academics, is heavily populated, and a non-rigorous school (which might also be a party school.) But it has nicer weather than Michigan, and perhaps less career-oriented and more sociable students.</p>
<p>Ignore the partisans in this thread. If you want to go to ASU, go there.</p>
<p>@lsky: I understand now. Thanks for clarifying. :)</p>
<p>There is a lot of ASU trolling in this thread. LOL.</p>
<p>“No one gives a damn what school someone spent a year abroad in. It won’t impress or look especially nice on the resume/CV. The benefits of going to a rigorous university are also pretty negligible with only one year at the university.”</p>
<p>Not necessarily true beyphy. It really depends on many factors. A good friend of mine went to the American University of Cairo for his undergrad MechE studies and did a year abroad at Cal where he maintained a 4.0 GPA. After graduating from Cairo, he was admitted into MIT and Stanford for his MechE PhD. Trust me, his 4.0 from Cal is what got him in.</p>
<p>If the OP wants to apply to graduate school in the US after college, going to an elite university in the US and doing well there, even if for just one year, can make a difference. </p>
<p>That being said, the OP seems pretty adament on good weather and is clearly indeferent about academics. In that case, ASU, a good university in its own right, seems like a better fit.</p>
<p>I agree. Employers will see it as another positive point on a resume if they see someone went to Michigan rather than ASU. Sure, the degree isn’t from Michigan, which may be better than where the candidate graduated from, but having a school like Michigan on a resume certainly doesn’t hurt and if anything, will be looked upon more highly than seeing ASU.</p>