I got into Macaulay Baruch for Corporate Communication. Full Ride, I can stay in the City, and there are a lot of amenities.
I also have a full tuition ride to U-Mich. I’ll be paying around 1.3k for a single room & private bath + 2k in external costs and travel expenses. For U-Mich I declared the following interests: Economics, Politics, and Chemistry.
I basically have no idea what to do. I visited Baruch and it gave me okay vibes. The main Macaulay Campus near Lincoln center is what gave me great vibes its truly amazing. I have not visited U-Mich, but I did the virtual tour. It looks amazing 1000% a better campus.
The Pros of Macaulay:
- In the City so I’m guessing its easier to find internships.
- A lot of amenities
- I get to stay in the comfort of my home
- Great advisors
- Great Grad School Support
- Small School, But, I will know a lot of people there
- Good support Network
- Easier to standout and succeed at Baruch
- Special events
- I’ll be paying little to nothing maybe 1K - 1.5K ( a school year )
The Cons of Macaulay:
- Lack of name recognition (absolutely no one outside of NY knows about Macaulay and not a lot of people in NY know about Macaulay either…)
- Still a CUNY education even though I’ll have Honors Classes and will take the Macaulay Seminar classes.
- Commuting sucks (but I’m used to it)
The Pros of U-Mich:
- Small and Quiet town (which I prefer over the loud city)
- I have a lot of amenities. Umich is also offering a “free macbook” and I also got into the residential college which basically means smaller classes ~= 17 students per class (like the honors classes).
- The social life will be amazing
- One of the most recognized schools in the worlds
- SPORTS!!!
- School Pride great alumni network
- Great connections overall with Wall Street as well
- Great Grad School Suppourt
The Cons of U-Mich
- Away from home and friends (not a lot of people from my school got in and those who did have to pay a lot of money)
- Hard to stand out and succeed (competitive nature at U-Mich and a lot of students).
- Advisors wont provide the same amount of individualized support
- I still have to pay 6.6k a school year (estimate)
@DadPreme I don’t see this choice of schools come up very often on CC. Perhaps it’s because Michigan is now able to meet almost the full need of out-of-state students whereas in prior years it could not. Congrats on your acceptance—You are very fortunate to have this opportunity to attend such a great school as Michigan at such a low cost. I’m very familiar with Michigan (an alum and have visited many times after graduating) but not so familiar with Macaulay and Baruch even though I am from the NYC metro area. Several questions: Can your parents afford to help pay the cost of Michigan? If not, are you willing to take out loans to pay about 6.6K per year at Michigan? You will basically be in debt around $25,000 to $30,000 when you graduate versus no debt at CUNY Macaulay Baruch. But if you work over the summers while staying at home, and if you work a bit during the school year via Work-Study, and get a good paying job upon graduating (and not go immediately to graduate school) then you should be able to pay that back that amount without much undue financial hardship. Baruch has the advantage that you are in the business school whereas at Michigan you would be in liberal arts college (LS&A). Do you prefer the business courses at Baruch or the economic courses at Michigan? Look online at the course catalogues to compare and contrast. If you want politics/political science and chemistry, then Michigan is preferable over Baruch. Michigan is rated as one of the top schools in the country for political science and chemistry. Your Pros for Macaulay Baruch —namely ability to get internships during school year and summers in city which could lead to job, comfort of home and where you know people at the smaller school, a big fish in a smaller pond, should not be underestimated. Your “pros” for Macaulay Baruch , combined with the cons you list for Michigan —-away from home and friends, harder to stand out in a very competitive environment, leads me to see your decision weigh more initially (but read more below) towards Macaulay Baruch. You will do better at a place where you are comfortable. On the other hand, you’ve heard the saying, “ a ship is safe in the harbor, but that was not what a ship is built for.” Maybe it will be good for you to get out of NYC and get out of your comfort zone. Go to a world renown University (you’ve heard the saying “Harvard—the Michigan of the East”) and take your chances. You can’t go wrong. And if it doesn’t turn out well after one full year in Ann Arbor, you won’t have any regrets and “what if’s”. You can always easily come back to NY and transfer into Baruch as a sophomore. But the reverse is not true. You wouldn’t be able to get the aid you got at Michigan as a prospective freshman if you start at Macaulay Baruch and want to transfer later to Michigan. And even though you will not be in the Ross business school at Michigan, the quality and breadth of courses in LS&A are exceptional at Michigan and you will be challenged by the top professors and top students in the country. There are plenty of undergrad research opportunities —there is a research program, see
https://lsa.umich.edu/urop you need to apply for as freshman which I would highly recommend you try to obtain because the skills you learn are invaluable and could help you get a job and prepare you for possible graduate school. You will have to have excellent time management skills and work very hard to succeed at Michigan. Ann Arbor is well integrated with the campus and it’s the quintessential college town. You should definitely visit it in the next two weeks to make your decision before May 1. And of course there is the rah rah spirit and cult like following of Michigan Football, Michigan basketball and Michigan hockey, which will be exhilarating. Your folks and friends back home can watch you on TV in the Maize and Blue crowd (105,000 fans fill up the Big House every football weekend) as Michigan football and basketball games are broadcast to the NYC area almost every week on the major networks. Probably also because there are a ton of Michigan alumni in our NYarea. The sports mania contributes to the great school pride and loyal alumni base. But Michigan is large enough that there are many students who don’t care about sports and spirit and never attend any games. I highly recommend you get season tickets to Michigan football games. The experience is worth whatever it costs (students get a discount). And go to at least one or two basketball and hockey games. The academic and recreational and dorm facilities are all top notch. Michigan is constantly modernizing and rebuilding. It has one of the largest endowments of any University in the world. There are hundreds, if. not 1000 of clubs and extracurricular activities to choose from. If you like to play sports there are plenty of intramural teams. And if you just want to work out of the gym there are several gymnasiums and exercise rooms and pools on campus. Good luck with this decision and let us know what you decide.
@DadPreme I also recommend that you repost your questions in the College Search and Selection forum and also the University of Michigan forum, because from past experience this New York Colleges forum does not get much viewershi or traffic amongst the College Confidential members.
@trackmbe3 Thanks for your response! I’ll continue to contemplate and will try to visit U-Mich soon!
One thing that Macaulay offers is that it’s located practically on Wall Street. You would have great access to internships and real job opportunities. Where do you want to work ultimately?
When I see Macaulay on a resume, I know this person is making smart choices, academically and financially. As for “just a cuny education” CUNY professors many of them come from having taught at Ivies and go back to teaching in Ivies. Academia is a tough, competitive profession and many would prefer to live in NYC. Getting a CUNY job allows them to live in the City and work in their desired profession.
If sports excites you though, maybe Michigan could be the place for you.
Current price for 2019-2020:
Football $175
Basketball $175
Hockey $150
Service Charge $15
Total = $515
Just recently paid it for my UMich student. 
I’m being honest here, I’m from CA, and I had not heard of Macaulay. My apologies. NYC is wonderful city. Ann Arbor is a wonderful college town. It sounds like you have two excellent choices.
One thing I cannot agree with is the “competitive nature” of UMich. It’s totally anecdotal, but as a parent, I don’t hear that from my UMich LSA STEM student.
@Dustyfeathers @sushiritto Thanks for your input guys!
Open a spread sheet right now. For each college enter the specific courses you’d take to fulfill course requirements for each year, freshman through senior. For Baruch, include your Macauley requirements, Baruch college-wide requirements (if any), and requirements for the Corporate Communications major. For Michigan, include the writing requirement, quantitative reasoning requirement, race and ethnicity requirement, foreign language requirement, area requirements, and required courses for your major. Here’s a link. https://admissions.umich.edu/summary-lsa-degree-requirements
Also, there are required courses for the Residential College. Add those in too. Write down the names of the specific courses you’d choose.
I think once you see it all laid out in the spread sheet, you will know your answer. The money is actually negligible, and you would have some control over your budget at Michigan by limiting travel and renting books (instead of buying). Personal expenses would be similar in NYC and Ann Arbor, so that’s a wash. Also, you won’t have subway fare in Ann Arbor.
I have two questions for you:
- You said you have a full-tuition scholarship at Michigan. That would leave about $12k for room and board, but you only mention the premium fee for a single room.
- Why would you choose a single room and incur that extra expense?
I would pick Michigan for several reasons:
- you already know NYC. You have your whole life to return to NYC. You have a full ride to a fantastic new town, no strings attached, no worrying about a spouse’s job or kids’ schools or anything else, you can just go and know you’ll be taken care of. Time to spread your wings a little, fly away from the nest! And the best time to live in a college town is as a college student.
- Macaulay full ride is great. Baruch/CUNY redtape is most definitely NOT. This is a HUGE downside.
- the campus experience v. commuting. Living in the Residential College and being a 100%, full time college student is an experience you can live only once in a lifetime.
- if you don’t like UMich, you can return to NYC and commute to Baruch (+Baruch Honors), no problem. The reverse isn’t true: If you don’t attend UMichigan, as a transfer from CUNY you won’t have the same financial aid offer (UMich only meets need for freshmen).
- Baruch is a good college and a great value for NYC residents; but even with Macaulay, it doesn’t exist in the same academic universe as UMich.
Since you would be in a residential college at UMich, you probably know where your housing will be, correct? Central Campus? If so, all your LSA classes will essentially be across the street. No bus or subway!
Some students want the" bright lights, big city," “if you make it here, you can make it anywhere” experience. And some prefer the old-style/time college atmosphere. If you visit Ann Arbor, then you will choose UMich. I can almost guarantee it.
If you can cover the cost difference, I would also choose Michigan. You will still have plenty of internship possibilities!
“If sports excites you though, maybe Michigan could be the place for you.”
A bit condescending wouldn’t you say?
Out of all the great insight provided that is what is important to point out?
@trackmbe3 that was one of the most balanced and excellent review of options I’ve read on cc. And coming from a UMich grad, which is one of the colleges involved, is even more impactful to me.
OP make note of the insight.
Personally if this were my choice to make, I would choose UMich
The great school, the great fun and sports, the traditions, the alumi network, the great value plus the opportunity to spread your wings a bit.
@brantly I calulated total cost estiamtes of room and board, travel, & external costs. For a single room cost of 1 year would be around 10k. For a double it would be around 8.5-9k. Not a huge difference but I would personally like to live alone for at least a semester.
@sushiritto as a NYC resident I am kind of tired of the noise and fast paced life style. I feel like I would love U-Mich too. Money is the only factor in the decision…
If you were targeting Wall Street, then Macauley Baruch is worthy of very serious consideration.
But, if I understand correctly, the annual cost difference between the two schools is just $5,500. If correct, then spread your wings & enjoy the opportunities at the University of Michigan.
@brantly with subsidized loans 6.6k without it’s 10k.
Michigan for 6-10k including some amenities I’d still choose Michigan. 
@DadPreme
Not sure I understand the financial numbers you’re posting. Is it that you still have to pay 6.6K after applying the student loan (about 5.5 K)? Looks like the only free thing you got was tuition - room and board will be on you through students loans, and there is still a gap for 6K or maybe 10 K even? Am I interpreting correctly?
I assume your family will be able to contribute very little. Is that right? I think you may not fully understand the finacial picture here . And there will be insurance that’s required, and travel.
U Mich is a great opportunity, as many here have already told you., and from the perspective of most of the people who’ve posted here, it looks to be a great bargain. But I don’t think all aspects of the cost of attendance have been examined fully. OP is posting contradictory numbers. Please clarify for us so that we can give you more objective advice.