<p>Hi. I'm going to write this cut and dry. I plan on majoring in Neuroscience and Creative Writing, maybe some business.</p>
<p>I live 45 minutes outside of Ann Arbor (in Ohio). I like seeing my family often. My sister attends Michigan. My sister and I are friends.</p>
<p>I sort of enjoy college sports. I play and enjoy watching tennis. I hate the rap/hip-hop clubbing scene. I like chillout, jazz type places or clubs that play real music (like rock or electronica or ambient).</p>
<p>When I visited Emory, I hated Emory Village. Emory Village is a piece of ****. When I visited Michigan, I loved the atmosphere. It was probably the best atmosphere I've ever encountered.</p>
<p>I like warm weather. I hate cold weather.</p>
<p>Emory will cost me $5,000 after grants. Michigan will cost me $23,000. I value money.</p>
<p>So...What would I do? I'd appreciate it if you could tell me because I have no idea. :-D</p>
<p>go to umich every pro for you is in michigan the cost is significant but this is 4 years of your life, remember that...it is not only a means to an end it is for you to enjoy the ride</p>
<p>So you can save $80,000 by going to Emory? Michigan is great and all, but it is probably going to take you at least five years in the working world to save $80,000. This shouldn't be a tough choice.</p>
<p>Ouch, that's a tough decision. You love one school, but another school that's just as good is offering you a better deal. Will attending Michigan hurt you (or your family) a great deal financially?</p>
<p>Honestly, i was going to scream "EMORY" from your subject line...until I read that you felt lukewarm about Emory. It sounds like you've got a tough choice.</p>
<p>If you decide to go to Emory, my advice is to go with the attitude that you can (and will) make the best of it! Attitude matters a lot, and if you head out expecting the worst it may come true unnecessarily.</p>
<p>I cant speak towards the scholastics, but the area around Emory is really nice once you get beyond the dorm housing. There are some great communities with a lot of character within 1-3 miles of the campus. </p>
<p>If you are indeed looking at an $80,000 difference, I would absolutely go for the less expensive option but ONLY IF you think that the program would still be a good fit for you. If you go begrudgingly, all the while looking back over your shoulder at everything that could have been at UMich, then you will have a miserable run at it and probably end up transferring anyhow.</p>
<p>With your money saved, you will be prepared to splurge on grad school if need be, where paying big bucks has a stonger ROI.</p>
<p>Oh, and surprisingly enough, the cost of living around Emory is cheaper than Ann Arbor. I live near Emory and pay $750 for a good 1bd apt in a killer area. The same set-up in Ann Arbor is closer to $900-1000.</p>
<p>Even if you don't like Emory, you aren't putting yourself in a financial burden by going there. It's a savings of $18K/year, for the same type of reputation. Over 4 years that's $72,000. That's a car, down payment on a home, and money to be used for graduate school. You could always transfer to Michigan if you hate Emory.</p>
<p>Although I disagree with NUGrad's insinuation that somehow, Michigan is not worthy of out of state tuition (there are currently 8,000 undergrads at Michigan who would dispute that), I do agree that Emory is not $80,000 weaker than Michigan (or Harvard for that matter). Of course, if your parents are loaded and $80,000 is just a drop in the proverbial bucket, go for Michigan. But I suspect that money is an issue and if that's the case, Emory is definitely the way to go. Emory is a top 20 university and is definitely very strong in the fields you are thinking of. Ann Arbor is almost unanimously considered one of the top 10 college towns in the country, so I understand why you fell in love with it, but Atlanta isn't bad either.</p>
<p>I had the same deal with Michigan and Vanderbilt and I am sooooo glad I picked Michigan. This decision is really yours: go with your intuition. It's a hard choice, but I'm sure you'll pick the right now.</p>
<p>Alexandre, no, I do not think that Michigan is worth 35 K out of state when you have another option (a similar caliber school). Why pay more money for large classes, less attention from professors, and to ultimately subsidize the tuition for in-state students when you can go to another school like Emory. And I will concede that what I am saying is somewhat hypocritical since my brother will be attending your alma mater. He did choose it over a similarly ranked private university. For confidentiality reasons, I will not disclose what school it was. But it is a school that is ranked between 18 and 30. You can fill in the blank. However, in his case, money was not a major factor.</p>
<p>NUGrad, it is a myth that you will get less attention from professors at Michigan than at a comparable (top 15 university) private university. Yes, classes are a little larger at Michigan, but only by a small margin (slightly over 30 students per class as opposed to slightly over 20 students per class) and largely at the intro levels. But do you honestly think that those professors, most of which are responsible for 5 or so graduate students and millions of dollars of research, are going to be able to provide 20 students with significantly more attention than 30 students? </p>
<p>And I don't understand what in-state student subsidies has anything to do with this. Those in-staters have been paying big time taxes for the right to attend Michigan. It is not their fault that other states don't take the necessary steps to turn their state universities into World-class universities. </p>
<p>Where we agree is that unless a student comes from a wealthy family, paying $100,000 over 4 years to attend a university when there is an alternative that is comprable that will cost $20,000 isn't worth it.</p>
<p>The Michigan having huge class thing really is a myth. My friends at schools two, three, or four times smaller have had much bigger classes than me...in fact, all 11 classes I have taken at the University of Michigan except 3 have had less than 30 people in them. 2 of those 3 classes with more than 30 people have had smaller discussion groups with 15 people, and you got to know everyone in the class.</p>