<p>if we are talking about academics, the University of Michigan is better than MSU period. That's a fact.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The MSU honors program and James Madison... are very, very good
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I completely disagree.</p>
<p>haha.</p>
<p>All is relative. At Michigan, you will often hear students moan about how bad the Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science and Physics departments are. In reality, those four departments are all ranked among the top 15 in the nation. However, relative to our other departments (all of which are ranked between #1 and #10 in the nation), those four departments are weak. </p>
<p>Indeed, some of our departments (like Anthropology, Business, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology) are ranked between #1 and #3 in the country.</p>
<p>Others, like Engineering, History and Mathematics are not ranked quite as high, but still among the top 6 or 7 in the country. Even our so-called "mediocre" departments", like Economics and English, are ranked in or around the top 10. </p>
<p>At most universities, top departments are barely ranked in the top 20. </p>
<p>In short, Michigan's "weakest departments" are ranked higher than most universities' top departments.</p>
<p>Add to Worst List: Housing!</p>
<p>Someone asked if the weather was really that bad...</p>
<p>I am from Georgia and honestly it hasn't been bad at all so far. I bought a nice down Eddie Bauer coat and some snow boots and I am fine, even in 20 degree weather. I was actually sweating yesterday because I was wearing another sweatshirt underneath my down coat. The snow is beautiful and they plow all the sidewalks and roads so it is no problem getting to class. The buses are also heated and will get you anywhere on campus. Please don't let the weather persuade you not to go to such a great university!</p>
<p>why is housing bad? i've heard that from a few people</p>
<p>Worst:
Lack of sunshine
So decentralized, it makes it hard to get things done/get a straight answer sometimes</p>
<p>Best:
All-around offerings (good academics, good research, good athletics, etc
Ann Arbor
So decentralized, there's a lot of autonomy and innovation</p>
<p>Housing</p>
<p>Michigan has not built a new dorm since about 1967. That fact, in conjunction with their propensity to over enroll the freshman class, makes housing a real issue. </p>
<p>To their credit, they are now embarking on a long term housing upgrade. They are building a new dorm (North Quad) ,which will be in service in a couple years and, on a rotating basis, taking one dorm out of service to rehab/remodel. In the short term, however, taking one dorm out of service only adds to the housing crunch.</p>
<p>despite the lack thereof, how are the dorms?</p>
<p>Housing...</p>
<p>I like Markley...it's the "freshman dorm" on the Hill. It sometimes gets a bad reputation for being all partying, all the time, but I think that the large amount of freshmen makes it fun since everyone is looking to make friends. I am in a substance free hall, so excessive alcohol has not been a problem for me. </p>
<p>Also, the food is quite good...about the same as Bursley's dining hall, though I like Bursley's retail dining better than Markley's. The rooms are smaller than Bursley's, but no smaller than dorm rooms on other campuses like Georgia Tech. </p>
<p>It is a 7 minute walk from Markley to the Chem building, maybe a 9 minute walk to Dennison where you have math/history/physics. It's probably about the same distance as West/South Quads are from those buildings. It's really nice being able to walk to class instead of catching a bus like North Campus people have to do. Also, there is a bus stop right outside of Markley where you can catch the North Commuter bus to North Campus or the South Commuter bus to the UGLi/Union/Big House.</p>
<p>I swear to god one of these days, those big brown obese monsters will kill me.</p>
<p>And none of us will know it because they'll dispense with your remains so quickly.</p>
<p>[deleted -- problem with scrpit]</p>
<p>Quincy, I will not try to interpret JFK's statement. Clearly, he was working the crowd, which was obviously pro-Michigan. But we should also take things into historic context. His speech was made in 1960. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cal and Michigan were generally considered to be among the nation's top 5 universities. Furthermore, Harvard, although very highly respected, did not have the clout it enjoys today. Much of that has changed in the 80s and 90s, as people started to differentiate between undegraduate prestige and overall academic excellence. Cal and Michigan are generally still considered top 10 universities, but in terms of popular (among the masses) clout, they have taken a hit in recent years, particularly due to the USNWR rankings of undergraduate institutions. </p>
<p>At any rate, regardless of what JFK really meant, the shirt is intended to be funny and silly.</p>
<p>Jeez...I'm worried about the weather. I currently live in Texas, so I'm used to shorts all year round (with the exception of like 2 weeks in feb)...</p>
<p>I have a friend who's still wearing shorts...</p>
<p>He's .. insane though</p>
<p>Best
-Alumni network!
-funds for undergraduate projects/research
-academics
-football Saturdays</p>
<p>Worst
-housing
-language classes
-Ann Arbor (I know, i'm in the minority here)</p>
<p>I'm a transfer so housing for me meant off campus. In Chicago i paid a lot less for a nicer place with a better landlord and I <em>looked</em>. The rental market is just awful here.</p>
<p>My parents live in East Lansing and while they both went to schools that are considered "better" than UofM they still give me crap about the whole "people on Ann Arbor are arrogant" thing. I do notice it though, and every time i see someone wearing that stupid T shirt, I want to smack them. But when after i had been here a month alumni started throwing serious career opportunities at me, the attitude started to bother me a little less.</p>
<p>Alexandre, I'm surprised about your comments about Harvard. From all I've seen, Harvard has pretty much had a hammer-lock on US higher ed in terms of prestige since, at least, the American Civil War nearly 150 years ago. While Michigan and Cal are great schools, and I'm sure very well thought of when Kennedy made the Michigan Union (steps) Peace Corps speech, I'm still edgy about "top-5" "top-10" etc, ranking talk. In so many ways, ranking is very subjective. These polls can emphasize certain things to make schools look good -- i.e., USN&WR relying so heavily on "reputation" when, really, its a survey of administrators who schools based on their individual perception, oftentimes, with these administrators knowing little, actually, of the schools they're ranking... I just think people get hung up on so many things which, in the long run, are not universal to every potential student and, on many levels, ends up being rather trivial. This is even more the case when one is “ranking” the quality of the undergraduate academic experience at the undergraduate level of large prestigious research institutions which, per se, have so much media clout… particularly over LACs.</p>
<p>While I never considered Michigan (well, I wouldve, but I had no chance in hell, but my brother is looking at UM), I found it unsettling to see kids playing beer pong on the street. I know it's a state school (and one of the best at that), but I guess I thought more highly of the students before I visited.</p>
<p>I could go for a nice Jimmy John's 'sub' right now, though :)</p>
<p>BO5TON, if you thought Michigan students were bad, you should see students at some other elite universities, particularly those located in rural areas, like Williams and Dartmouth. Drinking is pretty much the main attraction in most college towns, more so on secluded ones.</p>