<p>well.....?</p>
<p>I think he meant UM had the best athletics among Big10. UM also has more ranked graduate programs than NU just like Berkeley has more ranked graduate programs than Harvard. But NU is more selective.</p>
<p>Well, yeah, I know that. UM is a world class graduate school. So is Wisconsin and in some fields Illinois. They all have many graduate programs in the top 10 that NU do not. </p>
<p>I was just asking on the undergradute education, though. I might have misread.</p>
<p>I re-read the post, but I still have my questions.</p>
<p>U of M is generally regarded, among Midwesterners anyway, to be the "top" all around STATE school in the region. Northwestern may be a more selective school than UM, but a) that's not everything and b) technically, although they participate in the Big 10 conference, I was told (when I visited the campus) that NU is not actually considered one of the Big 10 schools because it's not a public state institution like the others (as weird and ironic as that sounds.) So when I referred to the Big 10 in my previous post, I was referring to public schools - and, when you think about it that way, UM is probably the highest-ranking overall in terms of educational quality, student life and sports.</p>
<p>Living in Chicago has its benefits because you're pretty much dead center of the midwestern school area. It takes me about 2 hours to get to UIUC, Madison or UM, and about an hour and a half to get to Indiana. (Iowa, Ohio, etc are obviously farther.) So a lot of people visit, and the general concensus seems to be:</p>
<p>UM: Really fun. Seems to have the most appeal to a wide range of student types and has something for everyone. You have to like big schools, but generally everyone I've talked to has had a positive reaction.</p>
<p>UIUC: Big. Good for a state school, but most people tend to like it less than U of M. Very good for students who want to be engineers. A large percentage of in-states, particularly from the Chicago area, but every state school has that going on to some degree.</p>
<p>Indiana: Major party school. Most everyone that's visited has said it's nonstop drinking and partying all the time (not just limited to weekends) and that academics seem to take a backseat. If you're cut out for that, that's one thing, but not everyone is. Some seemed very turned off by the fact that non-drinkers are very pressured to drink.</p>
<p>U of W Madison: Everyone is in awe of Madison as a college town. The place has literally EVERYTHING that a college kid would want or need - A restaurant that serves exclusively cereal, a pizza parlor that makes over 200 types of pizza, and an Urban Outfitters on campus. The academics seem pretty solid as well, but other than that, I don't really know too much (sadly.) All in all, it usually gets good reviews from the Chicago contingency. </p>
<p>Western Michigan: I know of 2 people that have gone to this school. I really don't know very much about it.</p>
<p>MSU: I know one person that has gone to this school. I really don't know much about it.</p>
<p>How can you not know much about all these other major midwest schools? MSU? UW-madison? They are huge!</p>
<p>But anyway, Northwestern is in fact part of the Big 10, even after being private. Also, there is no way you get from Chicago to Ann Arbor in 2 hours :)</p>
<p>I did mention Madison, reread the post. Also, I admit that I don't know much about MSU/WMich because I don't have that many personal connections. I wish I did, but I'm ignorant and that's the truth.</p>
<p>Side note: Chicago to Ann Arbor can be done in 2.5 hours. Perhaps not always under the legal speed limit, but it has been accomplished. :)</p>
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Side note: Chicago to Ann Arbor can be done in 2.5 hours. Perhaps not always under the legal speed limit, but it has been accomplished.
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<p>You'd have to go like 110 mph all the way. I am surprised you didn't get caught or crash.</p>
<p>Not true. I've done it lots of times actually, going pretty safe speeds. My whole extended family lives there, so I make the trip pretty often. You'd be surprised.</p>
<p>That your extended family lives there doesn't shorten the distance, does it? Ann Arbor is 240-260 miles from Chicago, depending on which freeway you take.</p>
<p>I'm just telling you how long it takes me. You don't have to believe me or anything, I'm just putting out my personal experience. Yours may be different, but this whole thing's getting kind of redundant in my opinion. Maybe we should get back to the real topic of the thread?</p>