Getting Into Michigan State & UofM

College Search & Selection
1

Hello College Confidential, this is my first post on this forum.

I would like to start by saying I have gotten accepted to both to the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, and Michigan State University. I plan to major in Actuarial Science, which is Actuarial Mathematics at UofM. (I believe they are they same thing, just different names.) Anyways, I have visited both campuses, and honestly, I like Michigan State’s campus feel. Instead of UofM, with most of the campus being intertwined with the city of Ann Arbor itself. However, when I visited UofM this past weekend, I fell in love with the urban feel, as well. The real tie breaker for me that I keep coming back on is that at UofM, I will be receiving a better education, but then I always have the fact that Michigan State gave me a full ride. I heard from the students on campus than Michigan does not give much money via financial aid/grants compared to MSU. However, being Valedictorian of my class with a GPA of 4.0, I feel that I deserve a better education. Most of UofM’s undergraduate programs are ranked Top 10 in the nation. The University itself is ranked I believe, 19, compared to MSU, which is ranked 79, if I’m not mistaken. Now, I have some questions, and I appreciate every reply given:

  1. If I were to attend MSU instead of UofM, and I were to major in Acturial Science/Mathematics, is there a higher chance of getting a job with a Michigan degree compared to a State degree?
  2. How good is the actuarial program at both universities? I am not sure if the Actuarial Program is better at State or Michigan, as there is not much information out there that can answer this.
  3. Should I just take my full ride to MSU, in hopes of getting a decent/equal job and salary, as compared to UofM. or attend UofM, but become in debt of student loans? Will it pay off in the end at UofM?
  4. How is campus life at UofM? I heard that most of the students there give off an elitist vibe. I'm not sure if I like that, whereas MSU has more "laid back" students. I'm not sure if I would just fit into the whole elitist vibe, or feel excluded.