<p>I am planning to major in physics and I can't decide between these two schools. Anyone have any input?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>They are vastly different schools. Michigan is an outstanding state school, with a huge student body. Holy Cross (I am an alum and the father of an alum) is a relatively small, oustanding liberal arts college. HC will have small class sizes, no teaching assistants–all classes taught by professors, and you’d have easy access to your professors. I don’t know about Michigan–I suspect that the school does use some teaching assistants and probably has some very large classes at the intro level. I could be wrong there. Holy Cross has one of the most beautiful campuses you will ever see–it takes a back seat to no one–and it’s laid out well–you can walk to all your classes, a plus I think. It has a great atmosphere for learning. Michigan, due to its size, will offer some things that HC does not–I guess you have to decide on what’s important to you and see how the two schools stack up. Holy Cross has extremely loyal alumni–it’s one of only a very few colleges with 50%+ participation rate by alumni in fund raising. I don’t know where UM stands on that, but it’s a good measure of student/alumni satisfaction with their college experience. Holy Cross has recently opened a $63MM science center and the college has always been noted for the sciences and pre-med. No doubt Michigan, due to its size and prominence, has outstanding facilities as well.</p>
<p>At Michigan you’d see that 70% of the students come from in-state. At HC probably 65% come from out-of-state. Best bet is to visit both campuses–get the vibe at each–and decide where you’d best fit in.</p>
<p>I’m currently a student at Holy Cross, and, like you, I narrowed it down between UMich and HC as well. AND I’m currently thinking about becoming a physics major.</p>
<p>I only chose HC because it was cheaper (after financial aid) than Michigan. But otherwise, I would’ve chose to go to Michigan.</p>
<p>Currently, first year physics is pretty good. I advise you take General Physics if you do decide to come to HC. General Physics doesn’t have labs. </p>
<p>The science center as noted above is really nice. Like any small school, your professors will know you and help you out a lot. It all comes down to what you prefer. You’ll probably be taking physics courses at Michigan with 100s of people in your freshman year.</p>
<p>(My location (to the left) says Michigan, but it should say HC. I’m just too lazy to change it.)</p>
<p>@KY Crusader 75</p>
<p>Thanks! This is some great information</p>
<p>@Eryi</p>
<p>I am actually a transfer student, so I won’t have to take any of the intro physics classes because most of my credits will transfer over (currently an engineering major). I really like the size of HC and how all my classes would be small, but I think I will get the same thing at Michigan. How are research opportunities? Are most professors happy to help hardworking students? How is the social life for a physics major? Any clubs/activities/seminars available to physics students? I also don’t have a religious bone in my body, so I am not sure how I will fit in.</p>
<p>I went to HC for four years undergrad and went to UMichigan-Ann Arbor for an MBA. I greatly preferred the smaller supportive community feeling at HC and the academics were for the most part superior to what I experienced at the Michigan business school. The classes were much larger at Michigan and the professors were not as accessible as at HC. The football was obviously far superior at Michigan ;-> Ann Arbor is a great town as compared to Worcester but I definitely prefered the greater Boston metro area to the greater Detroit metro area. Was really glad to get back to the east coast after graduating.</p>
<p>I am going to visit HC again this week. I haven’t visited Michigan yet, so I should probably do that before I make a decision. How is the social life at HC? and research opportunities?</p>
<p>Since there are no grad students at HC, undergrads get lots of opportunities to do research with their professors. The school has lots of social activities going on and has free bus service to Boston and Providence on Fridays and Saturdays.</p>