Boston College Vs. University of Michigan

<p>Hey guys so i have a question. i am looking to add one more reach school to my list. i currently have 7 schools on my list...looking to get to 10. For my last reach i am choosing between BC and UMICH. I am looking for a school with a lively campus atmosphere, i am not a drinker/party person so i want to have something to do on campus or be able to go off campus so i do not get bored. I am also in need of a good financial aid package. Now could i get some pros and cons of BC and UMICH and which i should add to my current list? Thanks! i will post my stats and list below. </p>

<p>STATS
GPA: 91.2/100 (UW) my school does not have a 4.0 scale
SAT I Breakdown: 2200: 760(math) 710 (critical reading) 730(writing)
SAT IIs: 700(Biology), 710(US History), (going to take Math IIC expecting 700 min, hoping 750+)</p>

<p>Taken 5 APs: Euro(10th grade) - 4/5, Psych(11th) - 5/5, US History(11th) - 5/5, Biology(11th) - 3/5, Statistics(11th) - 3/5. several honors, and only 2 regular classes through 3 years in high school and 8th grade advanced courses. Taking 4 APs senior year. Low GP UW but with a very rigorous schedule and an upward trend (did not work very hard until I realized I needed to get serious around middle of 10th grade)</p>

<p>ECs
3 years cross-country
3 years winter track
3 years spring track
(Started sports 10th grade and fell in love, was not very active prior)
Global Awareness Club (3 years)
Peer Drug Educator
Single Student Member (chosen) on local library board of trustees election committee(reviewed resumes of applicants for the board)
120+ hours of community service at local library as part of organization that organized rec events for school kids and members of the community
80+ hours at a nursing home
Camp Business Summer Program at Drexel University </p>

<p>Leadership:
Former Vice President and current President of community service club @ local library</p>

<p>Current List:
Georgetown
UNC-CH
Fordham
Binghamton
Syracuse
UCONN
Macauly-Baruch</p>

<p>Thanks again :)</p>

<p>I don’t think Boston College or UMich is a reach for you. They both seem like matches to me. Apply to both. Visit both if you can. I would need more info on what you’re looking for (I applied and was accepted to both, I’m attending UM this fall).</p>

<p>Assuming you are OOS for Michigan, I would apply to BC instead. BC has a rep for being fairly frugal about giving generous FA, but they will likely not be as stingy as Mich will be towards an OOS applicant.</p>

<p>I’m gonna say definitely all of them except for G-town.</p>

<p>I’m not sure about financials, but you can’t go wrong with either school when it comes to social scene. Boston is a thriving, historical full of cool things to do, and I’ve heard from many sources that Ann Arbor is the best “college town” in the nation. </p>

<p>What’s your intended program? Michigan is definitely superior in most academic catagories</p>

<p>

You are confusing BC with BU, Boston College has great financial aid (Need Blind/full need I believe)</p>

<p>Michigan if he is OOS probably won’t give enough aid so I’d go with BC.</p>

<p>yeah i am OOS and i havent decided on an intended major as of yet but i am intending to go somewhere into management/administration/marketing so i am looking at schools with strong programs in these areas that are somewhat close to me. </p>

<p>I feel like michigan is the overall stronger school and carries more weight and could be a fun place to go to but the horrid financial rep they have is scaring me from applying(i am also thinking about applying to NYU…their financial rep scares me equally),</p>

<p>and thank you all for the thoughts but @pat1120…i have a fairly low GPA and if you take out my electives and go with academic only GPA is somewhere between 90-91 so it even a bit lower…which is why Mich/BC/UNC/Georgetown Reaches</p>

<p>bump</p>

<p>thoughts?</p>

<p>They’re really very different schools and are only similar in where they fall in overall national rankings. BC is mid-sized, Michigan is massive. BC is Boston, Michigan is midwest college town. BC is stingy with merit aid but better with need-based aid than OOS Michigan according to what others have already said. Have you done campus visits to either or like-campuses to get a sense for which type you’d prefer?</p>

<p>@collegedadnh i am able to visit BC but not Michigan…i live in NY so BC is driving distance whereas i would not visit michigan unless i get in (my school is sort of a magnet for michigan) so it is hard for me to make this decision :/</p>

<p>bump</p>

<p>any thoughts on these schools</p>

<p>I don’t really know much about UM, but I’m considering applying to BC this fall. It’s a great school with great alumni networks so you have a great chance of making connections and getting internships and jobs after school, but I read on their website that they do NOT give merit aid scholarships, only need based scholarships. I went on the campus tour also and the students seemed to talk a lot about reflections and religious experiences they had which may or may not be a turn off depending on if catholicism is an important factor for college for you. It has great campus life with hundreds of clubs and activities and they have a lot of free or reduced cost concerts and activities to do in Boston, which is only a few T stops away. Theres a T station right outside campus to get into Boston which has loads to do. And of course who wouldnt want to go to a school where the library looks like the great hall from Harry Potter:) It’s a good school thats crazy about hockey and basketball but does have some drawbacks</p>

<p>And of course who wouldnt want to go to a school where the library looks like the great hall from Harry Potter."</p>

<p>[University</a> of Michigan Law School: Virtual Tour](<a href=“University of Michigan Law School”>University of Michigan Law School)</p>

<p>“It’s a good school thats crazy about hockey and basketball” and football. </p>

<p>Sounds like Michigan. :-)</p>

<p>@crose17 i am not catholic but i am also considering other jesuit universities such as Georgetown and Fordham. Fordham seemed to be surprisingly liberal as did georgetown, despite its religious roots. So would you say BC is along those same longs? or more strongly conservative?</p>

<p>@rjkofnovi michigan is beautiful and is seems to have everything i want in a school. prestige, great basketball, great programs, and a lively campus/surroundings. i think i’m leaning twoards UMICH but i need to do some more research first</p>

<p>The Jesuits in general tend to be more liberal than other Catholic orders. Fordham and Georgetown are probably the most secular with BC a touch more ‘religious’; by comparison Notre Dame (non-Jesuit) is considered far more conservatively Catholic. ‘How secular’ is a personal definition but I’ll say that you’ll get an exceptional education at any of your Jesuit listed schools.</p>

<p>That said, I think you may be over-worrying this last reach school. Michigan is the perfect college town and “Big School” experience, but there’s little around Ann Arbor after the college. Boston is a college city, with more schools than you can imaginer, so there are plenty of off-campus opportunities. Neither is better or worse.</p>

<p>With a 3.5-3.6 UW GPA the business schools at both are going to be reaches. If you have the time, money and energy, apply to both, otherwise go with your gut.</p>

<p>thanks for the input!</p>

<p>While Michigan is awesome, they will not meet your full financial need as an OOS’er. Thus if $$ is your object, you would be likely wasting your app fee.</p>

<p>What is your class rank? Approx. 85% of all matriculants to BC were in the top decile of their class. (I’m guessing a 91 puts you in the second decile?)</p>

<p>@bluebayou my school does not rank. but if i’m taking a guess…i want to say sometime in the top 10-20% of all students in my school if i’m taking a conservative estimate. and i know…i really want to apply to michigan because i plan on going inton Business and ross is a great school but the money issue is my only problem with it.</p>

<p>It is an assumption that Michigan will not meet all of the OP’s needs. Many OOS students reporting receiving all the aid they were expecting. While I agree that Michigan is not generous with aid for OOS students, it is by no means unheard of that the University will meet the FA needs of OOS students. </p>

<p>It should be noted that Michigan is about to announce a new fundraising campaign which is designed to increase FA funding for all students. By the end of that campaign, Michigan will meet 100% FA need for all US students.</p>