Make me love Michigan

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>Full disclosure: I've grown up a Michigan State fan (not that it matters) and I'm biased against large, state universities.</p>

<p>I'm comparing Michigan to Tulane (large merit schoalrship), and Santa Clara (large merit scholarship).</p>

<p>I need help falling in love with Michigan. I'm an in-state student, and financially Michigan is a good option. My family is pushing U-M hard, simply because of its national and international prestige. </p>

<p>BUT - I'm not sold on Michigan. My impression of the university is relatively negative. I get the sense that Michigan is a degree-mill, and that the undergraduate experience is more about getting a prestigious degree than truly learning. I understand that the graduate programs are top-notch, but I'm not going there for graduate school. I also want to move away from home to a cool city like New Orleans or the Bay Area. </p>

<p>I want to be educated, not just lectured to. I don't care about Michigan's prestige, and things like research funding statistics will make me hate Michigan all the more. My impression of the alumni network, while expansive and influential, is that graduates are arrogant and don't truly follow their hearts.</p>

<p>Please forgive my potentially unfounded concerns and comments, and help me fall in love with this place.</p>

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<p>lol do your own research</p>

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<p>Any university can be a degree mill. You must actively pursue your interests, they won’t just fall into your lap. Michigan provides a ridiculous amount of programs and opportunities. I’d hardly classify it as a degree-mill. Also, it sounds like your opinions are not from any empirical experiences but rather from some bull you heard as a state fan. You’ll of course be educated. We have our reputation for a reason. Your classification of alums as “arrogant” and people who “don’t follow their hearts” sounds ignorant and immature. You cannot classify millions of people by some of the few people you know.</p>

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<p>@square - Exactly the response I didn’t need. I’ve been doing intense research for over a year. I’m speaking on an emotional level. I know the exact statistics of every school I applied to, but now I’m trying to develop an emotional connection to a university I’ve grown to dislike. </p>

<p>@kobudnik - My comment about being a State fan was simply a humorous introduction. Obviously my loyalty to athletic programs has no effect on my college decision. And I did apologize in my original post for any comments that may come off as arrogant or immature. What is said is simply how I currently view the university, and I posted here to have people persuade me to appreciate what Michigan has to offer. So far, the tone of both responses has made it easier for me to keep disliking Michigan.</p>

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<p>^ it’s alright, Michigan is full of jerks like me. Don’t come here if you need someone else to convince you to like it.</p>

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<p>You don’t convince someone to love Michigan. You convince Michigan to love you…</p>

<p>On the real, though, there’s a reason Michigan is one of the highest rated public schools in the country (and school in general), and nicknamed the Harvard of the West.</p>

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<p>Cougar, a college education is what you make of it. If you take an active interest in it, you will have a great experience no matter where you go. Obviously, a university with 27,000 undergraduate students and virtually unlimited resources at its disposal will require a great deal more planning than a university with 7,000 undergrads and limited resources. It will also offer far more opportunities. Like I said, just how much one gets out of his education depends on the individual. </p>

<p>Bottom line, college is about fit. You should go to the school you like best. There is enough factual information on all three universities floating around the internet for you to make an informed decision without have to ask people for their flawed opinions.</p>

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<p>I’ve grown up a Michigan State fan and I’m biased against large, state universities.</p>

<p>wat</p>

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<p>That’s not our job, haha. Plenty of people on these forums would kill for your spot so if you don’t completely love it, open up your spot for someone that completely does.</p>

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<p>Oh no. How will I ever sleep tonight knowing you may not go to Michigan?</p>

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<p>

Let’s me see if I understand you. You want to be educated but you don’t consider research to be an important part of your undergraduate education, right?</p>

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<p>In the case of the OP, I think Santa Clara or Tulane is the way to go. Both are excellent universities in their own way. He just can’t seem to “feel” Michigan, and that’s not a wise way to choose a university.</p>

<p>Cougar, do the honorable thing and let Michigan know of your decision as soon as possible. You could afford another applicant, one who truly wishes to be a Wolverine, the opportunity of attending Michigan.</p>

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<p>@Alexandre - Thank you for your genuine responses. I appreciate your insight, and your posts have helped me in the past. I will consider letting Michigan know that I won’t be attending. </p>

<p>@GoBlue - I’ve never planned on making research a large part of my undergraduate experience. </p>

<p>@Kobudnik - I didn’t think asking for help was such a big deal. Your inflammatory sarcasm is really disheartening. Sorry for wasting your time. </p>

<p>@Everyone Else - I apologize for asking a group of Michigan supporters to assist me in the decision-making process. I assumed I’d get positive responses from such a helpful community. I guess not. </p>

<p>Michigan is a fine university, but apparently isn’t the right fit for me. Hopefully Brown comes through on Thursday,
or it’s off to New Orleans.</p>

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<p>Then I agree with Alexandre. Santa Clara and Tulane may be a better fit for you. Good luck.</p>

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<p>If you have no emotional connection to Michigan please choose someplace else and free up a spot for someone who does.</p>

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<p>You drank too much of that MSU koolaid. Do you see what they’ve done to you? lol. Degree mill? Please. I’ve learned so much **** here in the past year and they’re not making it easy for us. Truth.</p>

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<p>There is a myriad of things any one of us could tell you that might make you love Michigan. Its student body, its research opportunities, its professors, its campus, Ann Arbor, etc. - there is so much to love and so many reasons to be proud to attend Michigan. </p>

<p>However, it’s your job to love Michigan - not Michigan’s job, or anyone else’s, to make you love it. It’s pretty clear that you’re not interested in going to U of M, and that’s fine - you have a right to go where you want. You seem to have already decided how to feel about Michigan, and nothing we say on here is going to change your mind. </p>

<p>Michigan is one of the best universities in the world, and if you want to turn it down because of “impressions” you have, that’s fine. There are thousands of intelligent, eager, and deserving students who would be a better fit here, and since you seem not to want to go here, you should let them have your spot.</p>

<p>If you got into Michigan you’re obviously smart and capable - but if you come in with an attitude like this you’re not going to enjoy Michigan, no matter what people do to make you “fall in love with [it]”. School spirit and pride are HUGE at U of M, and I think it’s safe to say that you’ll be looked at funny here if you don’t bleed maize and blue.</p>

<p>Also, I would not be surprised at all to hear that in two years, you decide to transfer to Michigan. I’m a junior, and I know that about a quarter of my graduating class from an Ann Arbor high school that went out of state - UCSD, MSU, Northwestern, etc. - ended up transferring to Michigan for sophomore or junior year. People often think that they want to go away for school, but end up realizing what an awesome and financially-unbeatable deal Michigan is, and want to attend here. Keep that in mind if you do end up at another school but don’t like it as much as you had expected.</p>

<p>If your family is financially comfortable paying for you to go out of state, then by all means, withdraw your application from Michigan so that someone else who wants it can take it. There’s no room for ambivalence and/or lackluster school spirit at Michigan.</p>

<p>Lastly - you could always go to MSU if you’re a big fan! There’s a school for everyone, good luck wherever you end up.</p>

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<p>This sentence is telling. I view the act of being educated as something perpetuated by the student in question :wink: </p>

<p>I think what you meant to communicate is “I enjoy and learn more effectively through a Socratic approach.”</p>

<p>Cougar, had you said that, I would have suggested that you physically explore and sit in on classes of UMich’s Residential College, which has more of the “liberal arts” small-class style interaction I suspect you prefer.</p>

<p>Since Tulane and Santa Clara are both privates, (meaning large scholarships don’t really end up saving your family any money in comparison to in-state UMich) and since the SF-Bay area is PHENOMENALLY EXPENSIVE in terms of living accommodations, I feel you owe it to your family to take another shot at exploring UMich with an open mind.</p>

<p>So if you will, please tell us how many times you’ve been on campus, and how many classes you’ve actually sat in on; as well as how many times you’ve been to the other schools and how many times you’ve sat in on classes. </p>

<p>If you truly would like help seeing UMich through a different lens, then tell us a little more about what area you hope to pursue in terms of major, and what activities you’re interested in, and perhaps we can direct you toward opportunities that you could experience to form a more meaningful sense of UMich.</p>

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<p>cougar23, your initial post was an invitation for trash talk. Since you dished it out, you should have expected it to come back and been able to take it. After all, this is an internet forum.</p>

<p>If you are looking for an excuse to go elsewhere you have it. If you don’t think you’ll fit in at U-M, you shouldn’t go there. If you like schools that wear green, Tulane will be a good fit. I am not sure what else you will find there.</p>

<p>If you want to know more about U-M, I would suggest looking around on the forum for information. There is some good information here. Better yet, I would go to Ann Arbor and find out first hand what it is like. You won’t be the only Moo fan there.</p>

<p>Below is a link to some TV shows that give some insight to what goes on at the university.
[OOTB</a> - Out of the Blue](<a href=“http://ootb.tv/]OOTB”>http://ootb.tv/)</p>

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<p>I don’t believe there is anything anyone can say here that will make you “love” Michigan. If your heart is not in it, I would suggest you go elsewhere. My daughter had a roommate who didn’t love Michigan and she was a miserable person to be around. Give your spot up to someone who truly wants the Michigan experience.</p>