<p>I go to Hopkins and my brother goes to UMich and I've visited twice, so I think I have a pretty good idea of the dilemma you're facing. You've pretty much got it figured out - both are top schools and you really can't go wrong with either. However, there are a few key differences.</p>
<p>-The engineering programs at both schools are top notch</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The Ross School of Business (which my brother attends) is a top-5 undergrad b-school in the nation, as well as a top-5 MBA program. Subsequentially, there is A LOT of recruiting going on there if you want to go into the fields of finance, Wall Street, business, etc, much more so than here at Hopkins. However, there are also many more people there who you'll be competing with to get spots. Big finance firms (GS, Lehman, etc) recruit here at Hopkins, but not nearly as much as they do at Michigan.</p></li>
<li><p>The econ program at JHU isn't one of the strong programs here, I'd say Michigan has an advantage here</p></li>
<li><p>Hopkins IR is generally regarded as one of the top in the nation (and its the most popular major here). HOWEVER, that being said, unlike undergraduate b-school rankins, undergraduate IR rankings or perceived prestige carry VERY, VERY, LITTLE weight in the real world. Most companies will be oblivious to how good the undergraduate program is and will care more about the name "Johns Hopkins," but I guess that also depends on the field you're going to pursue. JHU's MA program in IR, SAIS, is generally recognized at top in the nation. However, the campus is in DC, thus making access to SAIS professors and resources difficult for JHU undergrads.</p></li>
<li><p>Job placement is pretty good for both schools due to prestige, although from what I hear from my brother, the career center at UMich is much better than the career center here (at least for my interests in business and law). However, a lot of that is due to the fact that Michigan has much more people, much more resources, a top graduate business school, and a top graduate law school on campus. If you do well at either schools, it shouldn't be difficult to land a top job.</p></li>
<li><p>I personally enjoyed the atmosphere at AA much better than here at Baltimore, but I think thats probably just because I enjoy quintessential college towns more than I enjoy bad cities, but its your personal preference.</p></li>
<li><p>Michigan has a lot more people and is generally more social. While lacrosse games are kinda fun here, its nothing like waking up, start drinking real early, and then heading down to the Big House with 110,000 other people. The game day atmosphere there is nuts. Although Hopkins is changing and becoming more social, there are still significant portions of the students who don't go out. While thats probably true at Michigan as well, the sheer number of students there more than balances it out.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Looking back, I don't know for sure if I would have chosen Hopkins over Michigan again, although I probably would just because it was cheaper for me to go here than to UMich and I was accepted to an accelerated BA/MA graduate program. I realized once I arrived in college that I prefer the big college-towns over cities, but thats my personal preference. You should visit both before deciding. The "Hopkins" name carries a little more prestige than the "Michigan" name (due to it being smaller, a private school, lower acceptance rates, etc), but the difference really is minimal and shouldn't be a deciding factor.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>