I am applying to the university of Michigan EA. I’m from New York; therefore, the tuition would be very expensive. Do you think it is worth it to attend Michigan instead of a private institution? (I’m not interested in attending any SUNY or CUNY schools, so please compare Michigan to other private colleges.)
U Michigan is known to offer some financial aid to low-income out-of-state students, although most public universities do not. Run the Net Price Calculator on Michigan’s financial aid website to see what might apply to your situation.
Michigan OOS cost of attendance is 67k for freshmen/sophomores and 70k for jr/sr. Indeed, that is roughly on par with the cost at many privates for full-pay families.
As a parent, my personal bias would be against spending as much on a public university as could be spent at a private because of various disadvantages that are not uncommon at large publics, such as not getting the courses one needs in a timely manner due to overcrowding. I do not know whether Michigan has had that issue.
Michigan as a whole doesn’t have that issue of not getting classes. They actually run like a private. It really isn’t your typical public college. There are tons of people from the East Coast going to Michigan. But the first question is what can your family afford? My son goes to Michigan OOS and it’s with every penny. We do get some aid with two in college.
Are there advantages going to Michigan… Sure it’s ranked in the top ten in just about every major field out there. The alumni association is a real thing and they are willing to help. Professors are willing to help advance a student that is interested.
I would compare it easily to just about any private out there. But remember every school has advantages /disadvantages.
What are you looking to study?
What schools do you want to compare it to. Northwestern? Cornell? WashU?
My kid is UM OOS and we think it’s worth it. But (and it’s a big BUT), my kid is in a very specific program and we do not pay full price (some need-based aid and even more merit aid).
Honestly, only you and your family can answer this question. My suggestion would be to do your own research (programs, classes, FA, etc.) and decide for yourself.
Roughly 45% of the entering freshman are OOS. We’re from CA. It’s a fairly popular OOS destination here locally.
My kid is sophomore in LSA taking STEM classes. There have been no issues with getting classes, seeing advisors, obtaining afforable housing after freshman year, etc.
The UMich student-teacher ratio is 15:1. As an example, ND is a large private with a 10:1 student teacher ratio, IU 16:1, Wisconsin 17.4:1, OSU 19:1, Cal/UCLA are about 20:1. So, certainly not small classes, but not too big like a large public.
Value is an individual thing. I believe there’s OOS value for us.
Note, however, that not all private colleges are well funded. Many private colleges have relatively weak finances, so a student should not expect the kind of luxury class experience that is associated with the highly selective well funded private colleges that are most commonly referred to on these forums.