IU vs MSU - for transferring to UMich!

MSU major: Information Science
IU major: undecided, but in College of Arts & Sciences (might transfer to Luddy)

My dream school is UMich, but I was waitlisted, so I want to transfer in after a year at either IU or MSU (transfer to LSA). After talking with a transfer officer at UMich, I was given what types of courses to take to fulfill LSA requirements & be a competitive applicant.

MSU:
Pros- Easiest to transfer to UMich from due to more credits being able to transfer/higher chance I’ll be accepted as a transfer student
More options for classes to take that will fulfill LSA requirements
In-state tuition
Cons- I wouldn’t want to stay at MSU for more than a year, so if I was rejected from transferring to UMich I’d be stuck at a college I don’t want to be at

IU
Pros- I wouldn’t mind being at IU for all 4 years (though I’d obviously be disappointed if I didn’t get into UMich as a transfer)
Many more academic opportunities offered/I’ve already gotten into that intrigue me as opposed to MSU
Cons- Less classes transfer to UMich/less options of classes to take that satisfy LSA requirements
If I commit, I’ll be enrolled in 2 classes first semester that don’t transfer to UMich (these classes relate to their research programs & are classes I do genuinely want to take)
Out of state tuition

For clarity, if transferring wasn’t an option, I would have committed to IU by now because I prefer Indiana to MSU as a school in general, but I prefer UMich to both schools, as it’s my dream school. Since I’ve been waitlisted, there’s still a chance I could be accepted to UMich, but obviously I can’t rely on that, so I’m taking my waitlist as a rejection atm.

Please help I’ve been trying to decide for months now :frowning:

Assuming that you stay there for four years, would you need to take on debt for IU? If so, how much?

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Why do you have a dream school?

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I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where I won’t take on any debt for either school, but I do feel bad about making my parents pay more for out of state tuition.

Trust me, I wish I didn’t haha

Then don’t. Free yourself. Nothing says you have to have a dream school or live life by feels.

I assume your instate in Michigan. Go to Michigan State. It’s not less then per se. Yes, you will probably love it and stay but attempt to transfer if you must. It’s a great school. I know it gets flack compared to Michigan but at your internships /jobs you will see both schools represented.

Why take classes that won’t transfer. If you hate it there then apply to both Michigan and Indiana for transferring.

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