Choice of Emory vs. Michigan

<p>I would really appreciate any thoughts anyone has on helping to choose between Emory vs. Michigan for a liberal arts degree - possibly leaning toward law or business, coming from a notheastern suburban public school. I'm trying to weigh factors like national reputation, post-grad benefits, etc. Do upperclasses at Mich get significantly smaller? Is there a true "college" feeling of loyalty to Emory in the absence of a competitive sports program, etc. How good is the advising program at each?</p>

<p>What would you be paying for each, and how difficult is the money to come by? And, and it doesn't matter so much if it is law, but if business, where (geographically) do you see yourself living in 10 years?</p>

<p>I'd be paying the full cost at each & probably living back in the northeast in 10 years. Both seem to have good reputations here in general, but I am trying to get a sense of the perceived distinctions.</p>

<p>If you don't mind Michigan's size, it's definitely better for business.</p>

<p>What about law, psych or poly sci? Anyone with any info on how good/bad the course advising is at either school? - I'm more concerned about that with respect to Mich because of its size.</p>

<p>I hear people gripe about the advising here at Michigan. Of course, people seem to get through here anyway, many of them quite happy overall. So I don't know--it is like parking, something that people are grinchy about on every campus?</p>

<p>Here's sort of a useless anecdote--for a long time, I mean a really long time, Michigan had in-person registration (we got a phone registration system way later than most places). Anyway, Michigan had to hire all these temps every year to handle registration for those time periods, and many of them did it year after year and were quite good at, if not exactly "advising," at how to reconfigure a schedule on the fly (such as a course being closed, available sections conflicting, etc.).</p>

<p>Everyone used to complain about having to go to a certain place and a certain time, and having to wait in line clutching their little paper registration forms. It was a drag. But when they trashed all that and went to the much-more-convenient phone system, people really missed those savvy, friendly, problem-solving temps! Go figure.</p>

<p>Another unhelpful post authored by hoedown.</p>

<p>In the northeast, I doubt you'll find any distinctions worth talking about. There are more UMich alums, and you see their football team on tv more often.</p>

<p>If you aren't getting better advising at Emory, something is radically wrong.</p>

<p>Ah yes, registering for class at U of M -- it was called CRISP in my day, not sure what the acronym stands for, except that I believe the C is for Computer.</p>

<p>I also CRISPed!</p>

<p>When they got the phone system, there was a desperate hope on campus that they'd get James Earl Jones to do the voice that walked you through it. Didn't happen, but it was great to think about.</p>

<p>The knock on Emory is that it lacks school spirit. Michigan seems to be quite the opposite. Although Emory is ranked #20 and Michigan is #25 on the USNews College Rankings, Michigan's peer review score is 4.5 and Emory is 4.0. Michigan also is the number 3 ranked undergraduate business school, and its graduate business and law schools are ranked in the top 10. However, the weather at Emory is obviously much better than Michigan during the school year.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input. Where do the peer review rankings come from and do you know what factors are considered?</p>

<p>These schools have a very different "feel". They are both great schools. Why don't you go to the one where you think you'd be happiest? (when asked, my teenage daughter said she'd take Emory because it's near a city and has good weather. My son said "only Michigan" because he loves sports. Spend some time at the schools and choose the one you want to be at for four years. They both have great reputations.</p>

<p>Sweetdreams, here is how USNews determines the Peer Assessment score:</p>

<p>Peer assessment (weighted by 25 percent). The U.S. News ranking formula gives greatest weight to the opinions of those in a position to judge a school's academic excellence. The peer assessment survey allows the top academics we contact--presidents, provosts, and deans of admission--to account for intangibles such as faculty dedication to teaching. Each individual is asked to rate peer schools' academic programs on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Those who don't know enough about a school to evaluate it fairly are asked to mark "don't know." Synovate, an opinion-research firm based near Chicago, collected the data; 57 percent of the 4,098 people who were sent questionnaires responded.</p>