help! michigan vs. miami (OH)

<p>i need help deciding if i should go to the univerisity of michigan or miami university... i live in michigan, but wouldn't mind getting away from the kids in my high school. also, i plan on majoring in premed. but i guess most importantly, is miami comparable to michigan academically???</p>

<p>haha i bet all the Michigan people will love this one</p>

<p>Only you can decide which is the better fit. Michigan and Miami have a lot of cross-applicants so you're not the only one facing this choice.</p>

<p>The only thing I'll say is that getting away from your classmates may not be such a big issue at Michigan. I avoided my own state flagship for that same reason, but my classmates who went there told me I'd have been surprised. On a big campus, people get mixed in and spread out (unless they make a concerted effort to room together).</p>

<p>I am a huge Michigan person, but honestly, if i were you i would go to Miami. I would never go to my own state school, because part of the college experience is doing something and going somewhere different. I will NEVER even consider UGA or GT.</p>

<p>In all seriousness, go to Michigan..getting away from high school classmates is a silly reason to pick a worse school.</p>

<p>I go to Miami OH if you have any questions about it. It really comes down to where you want to be. Oxford is very small. I had a roomate you left the first week to go back to michigan.</p>

<p>Miami is pretty good academically (it doesn't have the same reputation as Mich, though...) but it has a completely different environment from Michigan. Some people I know adore Miami, others hate it. It's got a "preppy" atmosphere, I guess. It's all about what you're looking for...</p>

<p>Miami is very preppy</p>

<p>if you have the grades to get into michigan and you wanna get away... go to UCLA or UC Berkeley .. apply to stanford or other big colleges with big names</p>

<p>Goto Miami Ohio.</p>

<p>But Matt, would you chose the University of South Carolina over UGA or GT? Miami and Michigan aren't exactly comparable universities.</p>

<p>"...i guess most importantly, is miami comparable to michigan academically???"</p>

<p>No Rachel, Michigan is significantly better than Miami academically. Michigan's PAS is 4.5, Miami's is 3.4. That's a substantial difference. Michigan's endowment stands a $5.7 billion. Miami's is only stands only at $0.3 billion.</p>

<p>However, Miami is a good university in its own right, its campus is quite beautiful and if your intent is to go to Medical School, Miami should provide you with the necessary tools to make it. In fact, Miami may afford you the luxury of better grades, which to medical schools, are more important than the prestige of the university. A medical school would probably chose a 3.9 Miami student over a 3.5 Michigan or UCLA student, assuming the MCATs are comparable. Graduate from Miami with a 3.8+ GPA and a good MCAT score and you should make it into a good medical school.</p>

<p>Oh, how quick is Alexandre to defend that Michigan is "significantly better" when it is finally compared to a lower ranked school, haha.</p>

<p>In case you didn't notice, I did not mention rankings. I don't believe in them. I only believe in grouping universities. And why do you take things so personally? I only recall praising the University of Chicago.</p>

<p>There's nothing personal. One truth on this forum: everyone feels the need to defend his/her university when it is being associated with another school which he/she believes is not as good, myself included.</p>

<p>^ Why are you always so quick to put down Michigan? I'm sure you don't intend to, it just seems that way.</p>

<p>And to the starter, Michigan is definitely stronger academically, but seeing as you live in Michigan and want to get away from the other students at your school, I'd pick Miami b/c you're not likely to find as many students from your school going there. I've heard, though, that the student body there is very homogenous.</p>

<p>Where did I put down Michigan in this thread? I'm sorry if it seemed that way.</p>

<p>I can tell the OP that even if Miami offered me a full ride, I would never go to Miami over Michigan (not because I want to get away like the OP does). In fact, even as an Ohio student, I applied to Michigan but not to Miami.</p>

<p>uChicago, you obviously feel Chicago is better than Michigan because you picked it over Michigan. I personally chose Michigan over Chicago and NU. To me, Michigan is a more ideal university. From a purely academic point of view, I personally rate Chicago #1 in the Midwest, with Michigan and NU tied for a very close second. I really love the University of Chicago and chosing Michigan over it back in 1992 was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. Chicago, along with Brown and Michigan were my final three schools. But the difference between Michigan and Chicago is negligible. Even if you believe in the USNWR, which I personally don't, Chicago is generally ranked 10 or so spots higher than Michigan (out of over 1,500 universities). Even in the most extreme of cases, the two universities are separated by just 15 spots. I can understand your firm belief that Chicago is better than Michigan. There is certainly a lot of evidence to support that belief. But I don't think you should feel insulted just because some people feel that Michigan and Chicago are comparable.</p>

<p>Insulted is a bit too strong a word. No, I don't feel insulted. I understand your dislike of USNews, and I admit the rankings are not perfect. However, even with that, a difference of 10 to 15 spots (whatever the gap is) every single year does mean something. You can compare them, but they are not equal. That is my view.</p>