<p>Whats the deal with BC?</p>
<p>While each you listed is fantastic in its own right, in my opinion, I would go with Georgetown.</p>
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<p>That’s one difference, but I wouldn’t overplay it. Greek life at Michigan is bigger than it was back in my day, when it had almost disappeared. But it’s not nearly as big as at some schools. At Michigan 16% of men are in fraternities and 20% of women are in sororities. In contrast, at a school like Vanderbilt 35% of the men are in fraternities and 50% of women are in sororities. The point is, there’s a very active Greek presence at Michigan and it’s available if you want it, but it’s not so big that it dominates campus social life.</p>
<p>Sports are huge at Michigan. Football is by far the biggest and every football Saturday is an extravaganza. The town fills up with alumni and other fans, and there’s tailgating and parties everywhere. But basketball is also big when the Wolverines have a good team (as they did last year and will again this year). Hockey is also big, and Michigan is reliably one of the top teams in the country. But beyond that I don’t think there is a “typical night” at Michigan because the student body is so big and so diverse, and there’s a critical mass of people for every interest, extracurricular, and social event imaginable. There are major cultural events—theater, dance, concerts to suit every musical taste, and I’m not talking just about student performances, I mean top professionals in every field. There are several campus film societies that offer movies just about every night of the week. There is, of course, a steady stream of lectures by world-renowned speakers. And there are more than 1200 student clubs and organizations, with new ones being created all the time for everything from community service to politics to pre-professional societies to literary societies to performing arts to recreational sports. There are also tons of shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs just off campus and in downtown Ann Arbor a few blocks’ walk from campus. So the “typical night” depends entirely on your preferences: if you want it, it’s there. </p>
<p>For my money, Ann Arbor is one of the all-time great college towns, both for what’s available on campus and what’s available in town in close proximity to campus. It’s also important to recognize that most upperclassmen live off campus. For the vast majority of them, that’s by choice. Most people choose up roommates and rent a house or an apartment within a short walk from campus, though there are also residential Greek societies and organized housing cooperatives, another longstanding Michigan tradition. But that really means the students are part of the town and there’s no sharp line of demarcation between what’s “on-campus” and what’s “in the town.” The University in some ways IS the town, and vice versa. While there are other employers, the University is by far the dominant one, and (besides students) most people in the town earn their living from the University’s presence, either directly from its payroll or by selling goods and services to the University, its students, and its faculty and staff. So the life of the town really revolves around the University and its rhythms. That would be different at an urban university like Georgetown, which has a definite presence in DC but is pretty much a flyspeck in comparison to the federal government. I’m not saying one’s better, but to me that would probably be the biggest difference: at Michigan campus life spills over into the town and in important ways dominates the town, and the whole town is geared toward the University, its needs, and its rhythms. At Georgetown campus life will be a little more self-contained, with most students living on campus for four years, and with students individually and in groups making forays into the surrounding Georgetown neighborhood and the larger city as they please, but as a smallish part of a larger urban system.</p>
<p>Typically, these schools are considered:</p>
<p>Georgetown
Boston College
Michigan
Texas</p>
<p>"Depends in the circles you travel in, RML. There are circles in which Michigan is more prestigious than Gtown and circles in which Gtown is far more prestigious. As with everything, it’s regional and dependent on particular circles. "</p>
<p>I think that is generally true. Of course, being considered prestigious in Detroit is a bit different than being considered prestigious in DC or Boston. Think this one through, buddy.</p>
<p>Being considered prestigious by people who have never traveled outside Boston isn’t particularly impressive either.</p>