ASU or UM

[Birdwatch]

<p>Thank you very much celesteroberts for these informations. It’s another intersting point of view !</p>

[rjkofnovi]

<p>“There is smart, and then there is smart and gracious.”</p>

<p>…and then there are ASU students. j/k ;-)</p>

[celesteroberts]

<p>Trying out the new animations, huh? Very cool. </p>

[beyphy]

<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>Did your friend get letters of rec. from those Cal professors Alexandre? If so, then that probably had a much stronger impact on his applications than him simply doing a year abroad and getting good grades at Cal. For example:</p>

<p>

@The Splintered Mind

When I was a student at Berkeley, it seemed that almost all my classmates were from top universities (Harvard, Princeton) or renowned liberal arts colleges (Amherst, Swarthmore). The few who weren’t from such name-brand institutions seemed to have done time at such colleges (a classmate from Northeastern, for example, had spent a year at Oxford and had letters from professors there).

</p>

<p><a href=“The Splintered Mind: Applying to Philosophy Ph.D. Programs, Part I: Should You Apply, and Where?”>http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2007/09/applying-to-philosophy-phd-programs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>While going to Cal might have given your friend access to those professors and high quality letters of Rec, he might have gotten that from a number of universities, including non-elite ones. A student in philosophy might similarly be able to get fantastic letters of rec from Rutgers or Pittsburgh. Neither of those schools are name-brand universities; both, however, have strong philosophy departments. And one certainly doesn’t need to be a student studying abroad at those schools to have access to their faculty.</p>

<p>And don’t discount your friend Alexandre! He likely had had a strong application overall too, especially if he got a 4.0 at Cal.</p>

<p>

“There is smart, and then there is smart and gracious.”</p>

<p>…and then there are ASU students. j/k

</p>

<p>There are respectable Michigan alumni, and then there is rjkofnovi. j/k… maybe. ;)</p>

[UCBChemEGrad]

<p>

UM</p>

<p>+people
+better for studies
+Midwest
+Ann arbor</p>

<p>-weather
-competitive athmosphere</p>

<p>ASU</p>

<p>+weather
+relaxed athmosphere
+Southeast
+Tempe</p>

<p>-more conservative</p>

<p>Looking at it, ASU seems a better choice…

</p>

<p>Odd analysis/conclusion.</p>

<p>You go to a school to learn, not bask in the sunshine. A more competitive environment and interacting with more accomplished students is how you push yourself and grow. Michigan is on a whole other level academically.</p>

[Birdwatch]

<p>I don’t have enough money to study in the US. I’m just talking about doing one year there to have a cultural experience. So studies doesn’t really matter to me. Maybe that was what you didn’t understand about my analysis…</p>

[rjkofnovi]

<p>“So studies doesn’t really matter to me.”</p>

<p>Go to ASU. End of thread.</p>

[Alexandre]

<p>I agree, in the case of the OP, ASU makes better sense. </p>

[Birdwatch]

<p>Thank you for confirming my choice ! And if anybody have something else to had which could change my choice, I’d be glad to hear it. Thank you very much !</p>

[fractalmstr]

<p>I can’t believe how ridiculous some people are here regarding ASU…</p>

<p>It’s a perfectly fine school.</p>

[Alexandre]

<p>ftactalmastr, I do not think anybody said that ASU was not a fine school. It is definitely a good university. And given the OP’s criteria, it makes better sense than Michigan. </p>

[fractalmstr]

<p>I realize that, Alex, but the OP has pretty clearly stated what he’s looking for (i.e. less competitive, prefers desert environment with good weather, and decent-to-very good academics)… clearly Michigan is a poor fit in this case.</p>

[Alexandre]

<p>I agree, which is why I said all along that ASU is a better fit.</p>