I am going to have to make a decision soon and my final choices are
Pomona, Williams, Brown and UMich.
Obviosuly UMich is much different than the other schools on this list but since it is in state is is much cheaper.
Given that Pomona and williams will cost me around 50k and Brown around 58k whereas michigan will be 27k . Would it be a mistake to pay that much money to go to one of these schools when I have a fantastic school in state. I would love to go to one of these fantastic out of state schools but I dont know if it is worth the cost. Will my career outcomes be as good from somewhere like Pomona or williams as it would be at UMich Ross?
What is your intended area of study?
do you have $50k? If not, the decision is much easier.
For me, I’d pick Michigan anyway, but if you can afford and prefer smaller schools, go for it.
“Given that Pomona and williams will cost me around 50k and Brown around 58k whereas michigan will be 27k . Would it be a mistake to pay that much money to go to one of these schools when I have a fantastic school in state.“
Yes
They are completely different educations. (I went to Ross, and my kids went to LACs). Do you want to study business? Marketing, accounting, finance, business law, etc? Or do you want to major in a liberal arts subject? What are your career goals?
Do you want to be in classes with students focused on business, networking, and career advancement? Or students who are focused more on non-business topics, maybe many headed for grad school in those subjects?
Do you want a large university with 20K undergrads, or a campus with 1000-2000? (Although Pomona has the Consortium, which adds a lot to the classes you can take and the social pool)
Of course, you can also apply to LS&A at Michigan and major in the liberal arts. Also, I presume you aren’t in at Ross yet.
You have one of the best schools in the country in your backyard. It is most likely the best value of any college in the country being instate. 10,000 people on the wait list last year would tell you to go to Michigan if you get in for ANY major.
In your other thread you wrote that you were a recruited athlete at all of these schools. Athletic participation at a D1 Power Five university is a much different experience than being a student-athlete at a DIII LAC.
With respect to “career outcomes”, it depends in large part upon what type of career interests you.
Normally, I’d say head to Williams, Pomona, or Brown (more or less in that order), as I’m an LAC fanboy. But if the cost is twice as much, go to UMich. Now, if you’re family can afford all of these schools, that’s a different story, but if finances are at all a burden, you have your answer: go Maize and Blue!
Pomona for the weather or UMich for the football/D1 sports.
I’d say it is worth it, if you are not entirely sure you will stick with a business major or if you like the idea of trying different things before declaring a major. Sure, Michigan permits you to transfer between schools but, you’re still required to fill out a form and, presumably, to justify your decision. Whereas, at places like Brown, Williams and Pomona, you may realize by the end of sophomore year that you already have enough credits to go in several directions with ease.
Thanks for the responses. I actually talked to my parents and we concluded that Ross probably isn’t a great idea and if I went to Michigan I would probably major in cs at engineering or lsa. As for finances our family is able to afford the out of state options but I was thinking that if I went in state I would have some money left over to potentially spend on grad school
Should you want external support for a decision you might make, Forbes recognized Williams in this article as being “worth every penny”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/.