Is Michigan the right school for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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Hi everyone. I’ve been accepted and committed to Michigan for this fall, and I’m still not sure if I’m making the right choice. I’m still not 100% sure what I want to study, but within the last few months, I’ve been strongly considering elementary education. I know the School of Education at Michigan is really good, but I also know that I could get an elementary ed degree just about anywhere (my mom is an elementary school teacher, so I would say that I have a pretty good understanding of the field I would say, I’ve helped in her class whenever I can for as long as I’ve been old enough to, etc). Driving for student teaching in a big city makes me nervous, and also the fact that my parents would be spending 25,000 dollars a year for the same certification that I could get at home for $6,000. Money isn’t really an issue, my parents have saved for me to go to college forever so there wouldn’t be any debt involved, but I still feel guilty. Also, I’m definitely a planner and in making a tentative schedule for each semester at Michigan, I’ve realized that I don’t really have room for any electives when all the program requirements are factored in.

There is a local university (Saginaw Valley State University) that’s only about 20 minutes away from home (I would commute but there would also be the option of staying in the dorms). It basically wouldn’t be too late for me to change to attending there until mid-July, I would lose my deposit at Michigan but that wouldn’t really be an issue. I guess I’m just not sure that I’m making the right choice in going away to college at all, especially to as big of a school as Michigan. I know that if I went to SVSU I would be with almost all of my close friends from high school who I honestly see as being my best friends for the rest of my life, and the thought of leaving my mom and not getting to see her every day makes me the saddest that I’ve ever felt about anything (I’m one of those girls where my mom and I are actually best friends, we love spending as much time together as possible, etc). My parents, especially my dad, think I should try going to Michigan for a semester so I don’t feel like I missed out on the opportunity, and they also think that if I pass this up I would be disappointed in the quality of education I’d get at a less prestigious university- but my perspective on it is, like, it’s not as if I’m planning on majoring in neuroscience or engineering where that might matter more.

I’m also a very creative person, I run my own business online (art-related) and I generally just like doing things alone. Like, sure, I like hanging out with friends but most of the things I enjoy most (writing, playing instruments, art) are more solo activities. I guess I usually feel like people my own age are more “grown-up” than me in that respect- I don’t see myself ever being a partier in college or joining a sorority, and in general, I always will choose to spend time with older people or kids than people my own age. I guess my friends that I have now (the ones going to SVSU) are pretty similar to me and that’s why we’re so close.

I guess I don’t really have a specific question here. I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t made a true college choice yet, I’ve told everyone except my close family that I’m going to U of M but I’m so conflicted. It’s literally all I think about and I feel bad that this is consuming the end of my senior year, but I just don’t know what to do.

Does anyone have any advice?

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My advice is expand your horizons. You know what your town, your friends and SVSU is like. You think that’s all you want now but people change and grow over the course of their life. At U of M you will meet all types of people and have so many unique opportunities. Your dad is right, if you don’t like it, you can always go back after a semester or a year.

Take the chance. A few years ago we had to make a decision to take a job overseas. We were nervous but after reading a quote from Mark Twain, we decided to do it and it was the best decision of our lives. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
Good luck with the decision

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Sorry about the delete.

My kid just finished freshman year. We’re from CA. The adjustment to college wasn’t easy. I won’t candy coat it. You could get a great roommate or not. The 1st semester was hard. Far from home, no friends, never experienced cold and snow. But the long and short of it is that a great school year was had.

I’m with the above poster, expand your horizons. Sure you can get a degree close to home, but UMich can’t be more than 90-120 mins away for you. There are many kids from the Chicago area and many of them go home on weekends. You may need more than a semester to get your footing, many do, including my kid. So, I’d go thinking I’ll be there for at least one year.

You can party or not. There are 1,500 clubs to choose from or not. The choices for your free time are plentiful.

One more thing. The bus system is free and expansive. There are elementary and middle schools within a 20-30 min bus ride from the UM campus. First semester my kid volunteered off campus and the buses worked great. And so does Uber.

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Made an account just to comment on this!

I graduated from UofM a few years ago and thought I’d offer my advice as a recent alum. My advice (provided that it will not pose a significant financial burden to you and your family): go to Ann Arbor!

You’re right; Michigan is a big school. But that’s what makes it so wonderful, even for people that don’t think they want to go to a big school! There are so many interesting people to meet, so many different classes to take, and so many opportunities you can pursue (esp if you’re creative and like art! UofM has a great art school and wonderful array of creative and artistic people to meet!). The great thing about Michigan is that almost anyone can find a community there! (You can find ways to make Michigan smaller, but I think it would be harder to find ways to make SVSU feel larger.)

It’s not always easy in the beginning (my own first semester was very hard) but it was so, so worth it. I went in thinking I wanted to major in one thing and came out with a completely different degree. I went in thinking that I was a certain type of person, with a certain type of friends, and came out with a much better sense of who I was and the people I valued. College is about intellectual and emotional growth – and I cannot imagine a better place to do both than in Ann Arbor

And best part – if you don’t like Michigan after a semester or a year, you can transfer! (But I bet that after a year in Ann Arbor you’ll want to stay for the other three :slight_smile:

Either way, go easy on yourself! Not knowing if you’re making the right decision is very common and very normal – trust your gut, take a risk, and enjoy the ride!

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I am going to try to give a different perspective. My son just finished his sophomore year at Michigan and my daughter is a rising senior at a liberal arts college. As a parent, it is truly amazing the transformation we see in both of our kids when they went away. Probably the biggest was my son. He is so much more confident, mature and has grown in these last few years. This is what we want as a parent.

You are just like my niece. All her friends are staying local. Going to the few local colleges. Staying with the exact same friends in the same towns doing the same things. Very close with her mom. My niece decided to break this mold (hard decision). She is the only one from her school going to Grand Valley State. She just ended her first year and could not imagine herself staying home. She was very unsure of her decision the first semester. Looking back she had an incredible year. Met people who are “like” her and still stayed in touch with her besties.

There’s one more thing here. You got accepted by one of the best universities in the world. They saw something in you. Many are still on the wait list “wishing” to get accepted. There is a time in all of our lives that are defining moments. I think this is yours. Not only can you get a similar education degree like your mother. You can most likely combine it with something else that your mother never dreamed of. You can go further since the opportunities are there and Michigan will help you dream of dreams you never new existed.

Go Blue… (your friends will be there and can come up to visit and you can go home to visit also.