<p>You’ve always loved Michigan, can afford it, want to stay close to home, it has the “precise” program you want … this is a no-brainer to me.</p>
<p>Also, I find it unseemly to rally 'Bama parents to convince this kid that 'Bama is the better choice (check out the 'Bama board, OP). Passion for your kid’s school is one thing; thinking it’s the answer for everyone is silly.</p>
<p>*… M2ck “The state is business friendly because it’s a low tax state, it’s a right to work state, and it’s a “less red tape” state.”</p>
<p>==============</p>
<p>Economic studies have found right to work to negatively affect wages, so that’s not a good thing for a future employee. Those states with right to work have had negatively effects on average wages, not positive.*</p>
<p>I’m not talking about wages across the board, which is what you’re dealing with. Sure, “union type” jobs will pay more in union states than RTW states. But, this convo is about professional employment. In that area, the salary differences will mostly be tied to COL…with somewhat lesser salaries in regions where rent is 30%-50% less than pricey regions.</p>
<p>*CE5: “If the OP is interested in med school, law school, etc., then under grad doesn’t matter.”</p>
<p>Rjk:
Simplistic nonsense. Of course it matters. It might not matter as much as getting high grades and test scores, but it definitely matters.*</p>
<p>No it doesn’t. Not when you’re dealing with state schools. Ivies/Stanford grads might get a nudge, but not for state schools.</p>
<p>And as for med school admissions…as someone who has just been thru this process with my younger son, and having spent a good amount of time looking at profiles on SDN, clearly the name of the undergrad means little as long as it’s a reputable school. An ivy name might give a slight edge, but beyond those ranks, the undergrad name means nothing because it’s really all about BCMP GPA, cum GPA, MCAT score (and subscores), LORs, and ECs. (Heck, there are ivy applicants on SDN with no MD acceptances this cycle!) State schools are state schools in the eyes of med school adcoms. Umich isn’t a nudge.</p>
<p>to convince this kid that 'Bama is the better choice</p>
<p>the point isn’t to say that Bama is better. No one is saying that. Those who have real experience with Bama are countering this implication that attending there is somehow a bad choice. They’re implying that for virtually any major/career choice, spending $60k more for UMich is worth it. Some us don’t believe that to be true. </p>
<p>I understand “going with rank” when costs are nearly the same or the family can easily pay the difference. My son will likely be doing that with his med school choices. One of his MD acceptances is significantly higher ranked. Cost isn’t an issue at all, so he’ll likely go there.</p>
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<p>I’ll save everyone time. Here’s exactly what it says on the Bama board:</p>
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<p>Interpreting that as rallying parents to convince the OP that Bama is the better choice and the answer for everyone is . . . silly.</p>
<p>The OP is entitled to hear points of view from both sides.</p>
<p>The OP needs to clarify what his goals are before this conversation can truly become productive. RJK is a notorious Michigan partisan who sees U of M as a top 15 undergraduate institution while M2C is an infamous Alabama partisan who believes a full-ride to Bama trumps attending any other institution in most scenarios.</p>
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<p>I don’t think this is at all what’s going on. If you read through this thread, you’ll see parents of Alabama students who have encouraged the OP to choose Michigan, as well as parents who have said the Michigan choice is a fine one, but UA has its benefits as well. I haven’t seen any 'Bama parent say that Alabama is the clear cut answer, and honestly, it isn’t for a student who WANTS to go to Michigan, is in-state for Michigan and can afford to pay the in-state cost. But who better to get some input from than people who are familiar with one or both of the schools? A lot of folks who frequent the Bama board would never have seen the OP’s post unless it was pointed out to them. Maybe someone should encourage folks from the Michigan board to weigh in as well.</p>
<p>I don’t consider Michigan a slam dunk choice over Alabama, any more than I’d consider one of the Ivies (Stanford, MIT, etc.) a slam dunk choice over Michigan. I think one ought to have good reasons to spend $55K more if that amount of money would require family sacrifices. </p>
<p>In this case, it sounds like the OP has a clear preference for Michigan. Michigan has the exact program he wants. He says his family can afford the extra cost. I get the impression Michigan is the right choice for him; he just wants the emotional reassurance that he’s not being “selfish” for spending the extra money. If that’s what is going on, and his parents have left the decision entirely up to him, then I’d say choose Michigan. </p>
<p>If he’s committed to med school and costs are a serious concern, that’s different.</p>
<p>Since the OP can afford Michigan, presumably without any undue financial hardship, and prefers Michigan over Alabama, then the OP should attend Michigan. Sometimes it’s worth paying extra money to get something one really wants rather than just choosing the cheapest option. Other times, it makes more sense to just choose the cheapest option. Most people don’t go on vacations making sure to only stay in the cheapest hotels, eat the cheapest food, etc.; they mix and match cost and quality to find an affordable mixture that works best for them. Why should college be any different for those who can afford a variety of options? </p>
<p>Should the OP choose Alabama, nothing is saying that they can’t transfer back to Michigan or attend Michigan for grad school. After all, they will still be Michigan residents, but might not get the extra $1500 per year scholarship. One of the good things about not getting a lot of incoming freshman-only scholarships at ones preferred in-state school, yet still being able to afford said school, is that one has the freedom to attend a different school on an incoming freshman-only scholarship, and if they don’t like the different school, they can transfer to the in-state school provided that they maintain high grades and that the in-state school accepts transfer students.</p>
<p>On a somewhat related note, having “always” wanted something does not mean that that specific thing is the best option for oneself. Change can be a good thing.</p>
<p>“RJK is a notorious Michigan partisan who sees U of M as a top 15 undergraduate institution while M2C is an infamous Alabama partisan who believes a full-ride to Bama trumps attending any other institution in most scenarios.”</p>
<p>You have it half right goldenboy. I see Michigan as a top 20 undergraduate school. :-)</p>
<p>“Should the OP choose Alabama, nothing is saying that they can’t transfer back to Michigan or attend Michigan for grad school.”</p>
<p>Anything is possible I suppose. You just assume Michigan is easy to transfer into. It isn’t. Besides that, I can almost guarantee that a number of classes taken at Alabama aren’t going to transfer over.</p>
<p>I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but have visited both of these campuses with my kids. S ultimately chose Illinois over Michigan due to superior accounting program and preferred Champaign-Urbana over Ann Arbor. D just visited Alabama through the Honors College and absolutely loved it. </p>
<p>While it is admittedly a small sample size, the students we talked to at Michigan complained about having too many classes taught by TA’s, small dorm rooms, and the long, cold, harsh winters. Every student we talked to at Alabama absolutely loved it there. I won’t rehash all the positives because they are covered elsewhere in this thread but to me that was telling. I asked 7-8 of them if they’d do anything differently and all said not a thing. </p>
<p>Are Michigan’s stats higher than Alabama for entering freshman? Absolutely, at least for the median. Does Michigan have a better national reputation? In general, yes. But if you choose the right major and work hard in class I believe you will have great opportunities coming from either school. And if you choose T-Town you’ll have $50-60K more in your wallet at graduation</p>
<p>And while rjkofnovi dismisses Champaign-Urbana compared to Ann Arbor consider this. C-U has grown 20% in the last ten years while Ann Arbor has lost population. Ann Arbor has a higher cost of living and gets almost triple the annual snowfall that C-U does. And many people would rather be two hours from downtown Chicago than one hour from downtown Detroit…</p>
<p>“No it doesn’t. Not when you’re dealing with state schools. Ivies/Stanford grads might get a nudge, but not for state schools.”</p>
<p>Michigan, which has a top ten medical school, always takes a good chunk of its own graduates into their program. So much for your theory.</p>
<p>“And while rjkofnovi dismisses Champaign-Urbana compared to Ann Arbor consider this. C-U has grown 20% in the last ten years while Ann Arbor has lost population. Ann Arbor has a higher cost of living and gets almost triple the annual snowfall that C-U does. And many people would rather be two hours from downtown Chicago than one hour from downtown Detroit…”</p>
<p>Are you sure you’ve been to both cities? First of all, Ann Arbor has expanded to its city limits. It actually has suburbs, not just corn fields. It’s population has been pretty steady for decades. Secondly, Ann Arbor does have a higher cost of living which is not unusual. Desirable places usually cost more to live in. Finally, there is no way on God’s green earth anyone is going to be able to travel from UC to Chicago in two hours! That is unless you charter a plane and fly into a nearby airport. By car it is a good three hours, and that is without any traffic. </p>
<p>I am glad your child is happy living in the most boring town in the B1G conference. I’d even give W. Lafayette the edge over UC.</p>
<p>I thought people went to college for an education.</p>
<p>I admit I have not read this whole thread so my apologies if I am misinterpreting . But I always hate to see this kind of stuff . The OP is in Michigan, likes Michigan. What kind of conversations took place with the parents before applications went in? My older kid could have gone to a place like Alabama that is known for merit aid for free but we are in Virginia and were willing to be full pay if he wanted to go to UVa. If we had not been willing to pay (since there really was no merit aid there), we would have told him so and he would have had to look for merit aid somewhere. Alabama sounds great if everyone is onboard with it but for a Michigan kid who really prefers Michigan,it might be an adjustment.</p>
<p>I wonder if the OP is just sitting back laughing looking at all of these posts. By all means, support your school, but there’s no need to bash other colleges and especially no need to attack entire cities and even states as a whole. All the OP is looking for is input from other members according to their own experiences with each university rather than attempts to convince them that the other school is worse. In my opinion, the aggression and overall negativity shown in previous posts only makes the university look worse rather than better despite the information being presented. Let’s all just agree that each school has incredible opportunities, and the OP just has to evaluate what their priorities are when deciding which college to attend.</p>
<p>"“Should the OP choose Alabama, nothing is saying that they can’t transfer back to Michigan or attend Michigan for grad school.”</p>
<p>Anything is possible I suppose. You just assume Michigan is easy to transfer into. It isn’t. Besides that, I can almost guarantee that a number of classes taken at Alabama aren’t going to transfer over."</p>
<p>I can guarantee almost every common class that’s a freshman or sophomore level class will transfer from Alabama to Michigan. Maybe the University of Michigan website hasn’t been updated in quite some time haha… It says they accept all those easy classes like organic I and II, cal I and II, physics I and II, english composition, etc…</p>
<p>Michigan is what this student wants, and is apparently affordable for ~$60k extra. It’s hard to answer without financial context, but if I were in that situation I think it would be worth it.</p>
<p>“I can guarantee ALMOST every common class that’s a freshman or sophomore level class will transfer from Alabama to Michigan.”</p>
<p>Thanks for reaffirming my opinion.</p>