Seems to be as expensive as or more than the Ivy League if you’re not right in Michigan.
Michigan does give need based aid for OOS low income families: https://finaid.umich.edu/new-undergraduates/non-resident-students-and-financial-aid/
Hi CEDEotE - same concern we have for our son! sadly, we are not low income but we are not in the income bracket that can afford so much to pay out of pocket! I am also very disappointed that a public school charges more than Ivies - it makes no sense! It is typical of some of the east coast schools - soak the OOS student!! Feel it is counterproductive since many top students are middle-middle class - both parents working decent jobs where the parents stress education. U of M would be just made of in-state kids and rich OOS kids --how does that improve the diversity, I wonder?
Yeah, we are concentrating on top private schools first and will consider U of M only if we get some type of scholarship! For middle class family income levels - Ivies are much, much better than U of M and other top public universities if you are OOS!
P.S. - if you are middle class and live in a decent suburb of a major metro in this country - you are screwed because of mortgage payments - am surprised how the universities are not taking that in to account - similar to COLA (cost of living adjustments)?
Did you run the Net Price Calculator for Mich and any other targets?
https://finaid.umich.edu/estimate-college-costs-with-u-m-net-price-calculator/ may help you answer the question for yourself.
The cost of attendance is on par with Ivies. Is the education comparable?
Public Universities have much more students, bigger class size, more competition for class, clubs, and other resources.
The stats of students are lower than those of Ivies, considering the majority of students are instates, and much easier to get in for instates.
I think it depends on your financial situation. There have been rumors of Michigan going private for years. They sorta run the school as a private. For us, it’s just a bit more then UIUC. For others it is not a good financial match… Michigan does go out of their way to make things happen. Give financial aid a call.
UofM is a Michigan public school and probably does not cost more than an ivy for Michigan students. I am sure @kg2013 that your state, if you are not a Michigander, public university probably costs less than an ivy. Choosing a public education at a state other than your own is a choice. Michigan is also a state that by law does not practice affirmative action in university admissions. Due to heavy fundraising they do have financial need aid now for lower income lower family asset academically qualified students not from Michigan. Run the net price calculator and from there make the decision whether or not UofM can be on the short list for application if you are out of state but it is important to understand the distinctions between the mission of our public state universities and private colleges and universities. They are not necessarily interchangeable and especially for families where cost is a choice variable.
We are OOS and yes, it is a lot. I wouldn’t say that it’s more than an Ivy, but it’s substantial. Plus the cost of traveling back and forth, and it’s a big commitment for our family. We do get some $ (have another in college) but UM tuition is more than what we would have paid if my kid had gone to the local choice (in my kid’s case, UVA). That said, my kid is in a top program and loves it there. I could not see him anywhere else.
I hear folks complaining about the OOS costs for UVA and Virginia Tech, so I feel like it is what it is for OOS. UM is no different.
Public colleges are supported in part by tax revenues of people living in that state. It is reasonable to expect the schools to be more expensive for non-residents.
UM COA: In-state: $29,526 Out-of-state: $62,176
Cornell University COA: $70,371
UVA COA OOS: $64,156 to $65,256
VA Tech OOS COA $44,880
If you can get into an Ivy League school, then go.
FWIW, according to the 2017-2018 CDS, 46% of the first-time first-year students at UMich were OOS. And UMich had a waiting list of 4,124 students. So, thousands of OOS students find it not only “economically feasible,” but also worth it.
And UMich is #4 in the country in college football, so there’s that too. 
I thought the waiting list last year was 10,000…huh…
Michigan is one of the best “instate” deals around for just about any field. Instate kids are definitely lucky.
For 2017-2018, there were 11,127 wait list offers, but only 4,124 accepted. And 470 were offered admission.
http://obp.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/pubdata/cds/cds_2017-2018_umaa.pdf
Crazy numbers. I will have to be more factual on my posts thx
momofthree - we are OOS form U of M - was referring to the cost after the financial aid! In our case - not low income - meaning > 100K - it is cheaper to attend UPenn, Princeton than U of M!
hi sushiritto - 46% from OOS!!
Really curious – how are the students from OOS able to afford the high cost - if they are middle-middle class or even lower middle class - at least in most of the public/charter/magnet schools, my son is attending or attended - a lot of students fall in this category especially if you live in a metro-suburb that has good-very good public schools.
my definition may not be very accurate - this could range from a 70-80K in far away suburbs from a metro (example - Roundgrove, IL or Mckinney, TX) where home prices are reasonable To 200K - in a major metro or nice suburbs with very good schools (Naperville, IL or Plano, TX) where home prices are high & mortgage payments make up a significant portion of the monthly expenses?
Appreciate if somebody can shed some light in to this matter. Thank you.
To clarify my above post: Numbers are family income before taxes. Also, these numbers are much higher than the government numbers but the government does Not take in to account where the person lives! That is why there is so much controversy over tax cuts - 200,000 annual income for a family of four in a San Francisco would be middle-middle or lower-middle class? While that may be Upper-Middle class in Houston, TX or Lower-Upper Class in Columbus, OH, may be?
Cost of living is not usually considered in financial aid calculations and you are right that 200K/year stretches much further in some areas of the country than others. To answer your initial question, a lower income family will get the best bang for their buck staying in state. I don’t see many folks deciding to go an OOS public. Since you have been using TX as the example, there would be 0 need to choose Michigan over UT Austin. IMO, that would be a total waste of $.
I don’t know if it’s a waste of money if you can afford it…the uni is so gigantic that there are alumni in every corner of the earth so it has super high brand recognition and it delivers a quality education for those that attend as do most of the world class public universities…but with 50,000 kids applying for roughly 6,000 seats there is not much business need to lower tuition so Michigan charges what the market can bear. The fundraising has, among goals, to build a war chest for more financial aid for students in need and I’m sure it will be deployed when needed to achieve whatever goals are set forth by administration and the board of regents. Probably one of the reasons the endowment is so high - it’s a well managed university. The kids that attend from out of state tend to come from upper middle class and wealthy families or US families with significant need. Middle class families usually need to manage their money tighter as a college degree doesn’t confer a guaranteed return on the investment.