Georgetown or Univ. of Michigan (ann arbor)?

<p>Accepted to U Mich with major merit scholarship. Georgetown doesn't give merit money and has a tiny endowment. Mich has a HUGE endowment.
Is there any reason to write 3 new essays for Georgetown and apply there? Originally it was tied as my 2nd choice school with U MIch. I'm not sure about that anymore. U Mich might be better. Any opinions?
Need based aid is not an issue. Can afford to pay full price at both schools, but it's nice to have the merit money.</p>

<p>You cannot put a price tag on being able to have class with a former Cabinet member, Head of State , Congressional Leader or Seminal Author. Georgetown is one of a handful of schools whose cost I would argue( and have argued in previous threads where I am a great advocate of going to flagship state Us. versus high priced private colleges) is priceless. Access to the Albrights, Lakes, Tenets, Aznars, Daschales, Tannens, Natsios etc, etc, etc. is something worth true sacrifice. It is at least worth the "sacrifice" of writing 3 additional essays.</p>

<p>Also ask yourself the personal question,"are you going to college to make a very good living and be professionally respected or to make a mark in the world?" There is nothing the matter with the former and U. Michigan can make you rich and professionally respected. Cetainly as much as Georgetown. But Georgetown as an institution takes seriously the Jesuit "Men/Women for others" motto and this is reflected in the classroom discussions which focus on the larger implications of addressing classroom issues, and in the numerous alumni who enter the larger world of policy and politics.</p>

<p>Michigan was in the mix when I was deciding, but Georgetown won hands down. I kinda considered Michigan a safety school because all one needed to do was break the grade thresholds to earn admission.</p>

<p>Georgetown's process is highly selective and takes other things into consideration because they simply don't have enough spaces for all of the academically qualified students out there.</p>

<p>If you research Georgetown and value what they have to offer then apply to Georgetown. If you want to go to a very good public school with Big Ten football then choose Michigan. At the end of the day, bachelor's degrees from Michigan and Georgetown are equally respectable. It just depends on the people you would like to meet, and the type of environment where you would like to spend the next four years of your life.</p>

<p>Some other things to consider:</p>

<ul>
<li>Michigan and Georgetown are both well known and respected academically</li>
<li>Both schools have strong school spirit, although Georgetown is traditionally a basketball school versus a football school.</li>
<li>Michigan is huge and has a strong Greek system.<br></li>
<li>Georgetown is much more of a community and is more like joining one big fraternity. Georgetown has a strong identity and mission. (See Vienna Man's comments).</li>
<li>Both schools will have brilliant students, but in my experience big state schools tend to have more smart type B personalities, who test well enough to get into school, but don't necessarily get involved with extra curriculars or care about their academic community. (Of course these types of students exist at Georgetown as well, but more of them are weeded out during the very selective admissions process).</li>
<li>More anonynimity at a large state school and more personal attention with a focus on undergraduate education at a place like Georgetown.</li>
</ul>