<p>I believe that my D will use the following schools as reasonably safe schools. Aside from the obvious difference in size, and assuming she will pursue a general liberal arts education in advance of going to law school, is there a meaningful difference in reputation, quality of education and overall quality experience at these schools:
1. University of Michigan
2. Union College
3. University of Rochester and
4. Lehigh University.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>the only comment i would have is that i've never heard of Union College... sorry but i don't know much about the others</p>
<p>i am not an expert in this area but from my friends' and my experiences i know that Lehigh is a lot more competitive than Union college. by the way i am also a student applying to unis this year :) good luck</p>
<p>Great, boring, boring, a little narrow.</p>
<p>union is a great school and does very well with grad school placement. cant go wrong with any on that list.</p>
<p>Union is a LAC that has a beautiful campus and gorgeous facilities for the students. The surrounding city is not particularly exciting. Students at Union tend to be preppy. There is a lot of frat activity on campus. It is a friendly place and the academics are solid. My son was looking at it for the sciences. It eventually dropped off his list because it wasn't a "match" but it could be a good place for the right student. </p>
<p>Rochester is still on my son's list. It's similar to Brown in that there are virtually no core requirements. He's been there twice....once to visit and once to do a weekend and interview for the Renaissance Scholarship. The college is particularly strong in political science and in the natural sciences. Poly Sci could be an attractive concentration for law school. The campus is lovely and sprawling. The surrounding city definitely has things to offer, but is not a Boston or a Chicago. Kids are pretty serious at Rochester. Some complain that there is a certain amount of grade deflation. If U Rochester were in a more desirable location, it would probably be an enormously popular school. Right now, it's one of those middle-sized research universities that has a lot to offer in terms of academics, and it's a bit easier to get into than other schools of comparable ranking. If you have good stats, it's possible to get some great merit aid. </p>
<p>Oh, yeah, make sure to bring your long underwear! </p>
<p>I will leave the rest to others. But you need to think about the kind of campus atmosphere you want---a middle sized school, a LAC, or a gigantic place like Michigan. The schools you've listed are all over the place (of course, you may have a reason for your choices that's not immediately obvious.). Despite UM's excellence as a school, my son had no desire to apply there because of its size. I came from Michigan and turned down a large scholarship to UM to attend Kalamazoo College, an innovative LAC also in Michigan. Someone else would want the large school and make the opposite choice.</p>
<p>Thanks for the detailed reply on Rochester and Union. I am a legacy at Union so I happen to agree with your comments. I know that the sizes are different, but I really have no sense of the reputaions of, let's say, Michigan and Lehigh. That would help.</p>
<p>Your daughter must have great stats if she can consider Michigan, Rochester, and Lehigh safe schools.</p>
<p>A 1450+ top 10% could consider these safeties.</p>