<p>mnozzi,</p>
<p>I get the feeling that you don't like Michigan just because it's Michigan. </p>
<p>I am from Ann Arbor. I wanted to go to Bryn Mawr. I got in. But it was too expensive. I didn't want to go to U of M and so you know what I did? I transferred out. I gave lots of reasons for leaving, all sorts of reasons like class size, TA's, too many people, it was overrated, and other things like what you said....and I left.</p>
<p>And do you know what I learned? </p>
<p>I learned that U of M is a ridiculously good school and that just cause I'm a townie and, sure, lots of in-state kids get in, it doesn't mean that it's not a good school. It doesn't mean that it doesn't compare to those other top schools. </p>
<p>I'll be going back to U of M after just a semester away. I've learned a lot about what it means to be a student at U of M after being a student elsewhere.</p>
<p>And the comment about being a physical therapist rather than a doctor is a bit silly. There are plenty, plenty of people who go to U of M and become very successful, well-paid doctors and the fact that he isn't a doctor isn't because of U of M. In the end, YOU are the only one responsible for your own education.</p>
<p>Please don't think badly of Michigan just because it's the fall back school and not the one of your dreams. My counselor once told me, when I was upset about the possibility of going to U of M just cause I could not afford another school, "Think of it this way, at the very least you'll be getting an education from one of the best schools in the country." </p>
<p>And it's true. Don't close your mind to it. It's a very good school and I cannot wait to go back. </p>
<p>I also agree with Alexandre.</p>
<p>You can't just look at admissions, but you have to see where the people go when they graduate. U of M may have lower standards of admission but they get the same amount of people into top graduate schools as those other schools you stated as being better than U of M. In my mind, that makes U of M <em>better</em> than those other schools because they start out with less and yet they can still come out with an equally good product. </p>
<p>What I'm saying is that I was once like those friends of yours you talked about, but now I realize how wrong I was to think that way. I think people get so caught up in the big out-of-state names when they are from Michigan that they can't see what's right in front of them. </p>
<p>I'm happy I figured it out and I know that U of M is the right place for me. I hope you find the right place for you, wherever that may be.</p>