<p>deciding between Colgate and UMich (Ann Arbor), got into both.
I've applied to Michigan's Residential College program, which often has classes with less than 10 kids, so class size isn't an issue.
I'm out of state, so both are similar prices. </p>
<p>can anyone give me a brief pro and con list?? which one is more prestigious?</p>
<p>I already looked at those, and didn’t get much out of outdated answers that don’t apply to my situation… some new information would be helpful!</p>
<p>Just trying to get the ball rolling for you sienna4.</p>
<p>Prestige is an “it depends.” Michigan is highly regarded worldwide. Colgate’s reputation is more east coast regional. It’s highly regarded in east coast cities. [To give you an example:I went to Michigan. My son went to Williams. Where we live in Asia, Michigan is considered far more prestigious than Williams.]</p>
<p>Even though Michigan’s residential college will offer a lot of the advantages of a smaller college, UMich is still a huge sprawling campus with tens of thousands of students. You will feel both the immense opportunity of activities on campus and the weight of the bureaucracy. Ann Arbor is a lively college town with a lot going on.</p>
<p>Colgate is in a fairly rural – and snowy – area. Its small size means a tight knit student population and lots of personal attention.</p>
<p>Like all small LACs, Colgate has a distinct personality. At Michigan you’ll find a wider range of types, more diversity. Fraternities/sororities play a large part in the social scene at Colgate. Michigan of course has a dynamic Greek community, but because of the university’s overall size, its less dominate.</p>
<p>This is really a personal decision. The environments are so different. If you’ve visited both, surely one appealed to you more than the other. </p>
<p>Michigan wasn’t the right environment for me at that time in my life. It was too big, too impersonal, and I wasn’t skilled at being the squeaky wheel. Having said that, I received a topnotch education and my alma mater’s name recognition served me well all over the world. My son’s experience at his small LAC was terrific. He liked the rural setting and the close and nurturing academic and social environment. He’s stayed on the east coast and has repeatedly benefited from his college’s reputation and alumni network.</p>
<p>D looked at Colgate last year. Beautiful campus, perhaps the prettiest we’ve seen. Some very nice mission architecture that particularly appealed to D. D loved the place. I had my reservations about the campus: too white, too remote, too small town, too preppy, but I kept those to myself. Academically, it had a lot going for D: the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute, the Center for Language and Brain, and the Keck Center language lab. We heard all about its great alumni network on our visit, and D’s aunt, and alumna, confirms this. D was disappointed when she was wait listed. </p>
<p>I don’t know UMich except as a very large school with very large resources. The people I know who went there or are going there are passionate about how great it is. As D’s college coach said, the students he sends there rave about the place more than any other college to which he sends students. He says UMich has found the formula that makes the most number of u/gs happy. Comparisons to Colgate are very difficult. Why did you choose such different schools? Answering that question might tell you something at which one you will do your best work.</p>