<p>Probably Columbia if you’re pretty sure you’re not going to grad school (since you’re more comfortable with that school/location)… although you may calculate 35-40k debt now, but after tuition goes up, it may be more like 45k which is pretty significant.</p>
<p>Definitely Michigan if you may go to grad school… might as well save your money now</p>
<p>Yeah, go to U of M.</p>
<p>I know someone who’s apparently a genius who was accepted to both MIT and Michigan (in-state for UM), and chose Michigan Engineering. I don’t even think it was a major decision for him. He can still say he was smart enough to be accepted to MIT.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. Zephyr15, you are absolutely right! Problem is I can’t seem to figure out what one is the superior school… Thanks again, all. I’m open to hearing more ideas if you’ve got them.</p>
<p>Michigan is a great school. All things equal with finances, Columbia is clearly better. </p>
<p>If it were me and the loans came out to be (subsidized, fixed interest federal loans) around 40k - I would go with Columbia. If debt approaches over 50k or relies heavily on variable interest loans, Michigan is the better choice. Especially if you could see yourself taking out more debt for graduate school. </p>
<p>Also, the great part about going to a state school over Columbia is that you will probably be at the top of your class instead of struggling for 50% at Columbia.</p>
<p>You’re very lucky to have such great options. I was in a similar spot as you…I went to an instate public for undergrad (UNC) and then ivy league (Penn) for my phd. Can’t imagine I could have made a better choice. Best of luck with your decision.</p>
<p>“Also, the great part about going to a state school over Columbia is that you will probably be at the top of your class instead of struggling for 50% at Columbia.”</p>
<p>lol, top of class? at michigan? that’s a bold statement bro.</p>
<p>I don’t think its unreasonable. I’ll use SATs to make my statement more concrete.</p>
<p>At Columbia 25/75 range is 1370-1550. Michigan it is about 1230-1440. Since he got into Columbia, I am assuming he has a 1400+ SAT. At Michigan he would be much closer to the top 25% of students. </p>
<p>I didn’t mean he would be the smartest person at Michigan, just that he would probably have an easier time being a “top student” at Michigan.</p>
<p>Lake – as far as which is better, it depends on what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Overall, very few would say that Michigan has a significantly better overall reputation than Columbia. However, many would say the schools are equivalent</p>
<p>To an extent, it depends on what you’re looking for. Michigan’s engineering school has a much higher ranking. If you were looking for east-coast investment banking, I’d say Columbia for sure. Then there’s the “Ivy Aura”. Some would say that the opportunities at any Ivy (plus maybe MIT, Stanford) are better than any other school. Others would say the Ivy Aura is nonsense.</p>
<p>None of this says anything about the actual education and even less about the education for certain majors (i.e., human rights).</p>
<p>using SAT scores to predict college success is really not a good idea. I know one dumb*** with a 2350SAT who dropped intro chem lab when he was in my group. A few other 2100s who arent doing so hot because they’re lazy. Now if you have a 4.0 from HS, then that’s a diff story. SAT score alone is not enough</p>
<p>I turned down Columbia in favor of Michigan, and cost was not even a factor. My mother, a Columbia alum herself, urged me to go to Michigan because she did not feel Columbia would offer as complete an undergraduate education as Michigan. Looking back, I definitely made the right decision. Michigan blows Columbia out of the water when it comes to campus life, student community etc…and Ann Arbor is the coolest college town on Earth.</p>
<p>Academically, Michigan and Columbia are roughly equal. Not including HYPSM, reputationally, Columbia is one of four universities (Cal, Caltech and Chicago being the other three) I would rate in the group slightly above Michigan, but that is truly negligible and certainly not worth $40,000 in debt. </p>
<p>However, if you feel that Columbia is a better fit for you, I would say go for it.</p>
<p>JohnBlack: Michigan and Columbia are both great schools. All things equal, they both are clearly better than UNC. I see that going to UNC didn’t hurt your chances of getting into an Ivy for your graduate education. You saved a lot of money and still got into a good graduate program. Even you admitted it was the best decision you could have made. Perhaps the OP should come to the same decision that it is better to graduate with no debt.</p>
<p>I don’t know though … I was in a similar situation, but it wasn’t the same… Everyone has to make their own decision. I definitely say (and did) he has two good options. I was just saying that if it was me, I would seriously consider Columbia if the debt was ‘reasonable’ - which is relative as well. To me and I think most of the country, Columbia is a better school than Michigan. Most people would choose Columbia over Michigan regardless of the strength of each individual department. Just from lay knowledge - Columbia is considered one of the best schools in the world. In contrast, I have heard Michigan mentioned in various parts of the country as a great public school. But I can understand why you and others here think differently.</p>
<p>Actually JohnBlack, lay people are likely to think more highly of Michigan than Columbia. Columbia is not exactly a household name while Michigan at least appeals to the masses thanks to its football program.</p>
<p>In academe, I think Colimbia has a slight edge. The way most respected academics would classify schools is as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>HYPSM</li>
<li>Cal, Caltech, Chicago, Columbia</li>
<li>Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn</li>
</ol>
<p>Where Columbia has a significant advantage over Michigan is among USNWR-worshipping high school students.</p>
<p>I see your point JohnBlack, but I honestly feel that you under value the prominence of The University of Michigan. Michigan is also considered one of the best schools in the world. All you have to do is to look at international rankings. To be quite blunt, it is considerably more prestigious than your alma mater. I have a great deal of respect for UNC, as it is a fine public university and certainly better than almost all of the public schools in the U.S. It’s just not quite at Michigan’s level. </p>
<p>Columbia’s location is also a hindrance to many who would otherwise apply there. Not everyone wants to live in a huge, bustling, impersonal city. Now in the OP’s case, I agree that he seems to want to attend Columbia much more than Michigan. That is the only reason I would recommend Columbia in his case. For the difference in money and location, I personally would pass on Columbia for Michigan in a heartbeat.</p>
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<p>I don’t really know about that. I think to the average person in the US both are viewed as strong schools. The only time the words “considerably more prestigious” would be appropriate is probably abroad. When I was in Germany it seemed like Michigan was one of the few schools that everyone knew about.</p>
<p>I noticed that too Infinit. Michigan has a huge reputation in Germany. I think it is because Michigan is the first US university to have been founded in the German model. All universities in the US at the time of Michigan’s founding followed the English model.</p>
<p>Also not sure if this is related but when I interviewed at Michigan they kept talking about a research consortium with a few German schools (FU Berlin and others) maybe a french school and UVa. I thought it was pretty cool because I took German in HS and undergrad. Not really sure if this group was specific to my discipline or a university-wide initiative…</p>
<p>I think this is where fit and money should be the deciding factors. You’ll have great job opportunities and grad school opportunities at both. Some people cum in their pants whenever they hear about a certain sports league and any school associated with it though… If youre going for investment banking columbia is going to have a slight edge because of location and a lot of people in ib spoil their pants when they think ivy cause they mostly seem like snobby ****<strong><em>s (i know there are a lot of exceptions but I’ve been told that if I get a job in ib, to hide the fact that I used to be a body piercer… Which is why I’m trying for s&t now lol. I’m not gonna deal with *</em></strong>**s like that.).</p>
<p>You’re going to get a great education from both…</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
<p>Lake363, like everyone’s stated make the decision on fit and money. Of course most people will vouch for their Alma Mater, but once you break into excellent schools like Umich, UNC, and Columbia, for most careers the limiting factor will not be the school you went to but rather how well you seized the opportunities that were presented to you.</p>
<p>Umm, pardon my ignorance, but shouldnt this decision have been made when you made your deposit on May 1st.</p>