<p>I have received admission offers from both schools. The catch is that Michigan has offered me a 4 year $100k scholarship (Shipman scholarship). I will be contacting Penn in order to ask about financial aid. </p>
<p>I am interested in biophysics, which means that research is incredibly important. Both Michigan and Penn are renowned research universities. Both have roughly equal endowments (although Penn is a little less). I am completely stuck. </p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate some insight. Please do not hesitate to ask any other questions about my goals.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptances from both schools, and on your scholarship at Michigan. Both are amazing schools, so you really can’t go wrong with either choice. </p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the Shipman scholarship; are there any another benefits besides the tuition scholarship? I think you should wait to receive your financial aid offer from Penn. All things being equal, I think I would choose Penn, but it all depends on which school environment you would prefer. If Penn doesn’t give very much aid, I think I would go with Michigan (unless finances are not a concern for your family). </p>
<p>Have you visited both yet; if yes, which did you prefer? Do you plan on attending the admitted student days? What would be the COA for each school? I realize you may not the answers to these questions yet, but I think these should some main considerations before making a decision.</p>
<p>Michigan is hard to beat in Biophysics (it is a leader in the field). As it is, Michigan is $5k cheaper than Penn. With the $100k scholarship from Michigan, it would be $120k cheaper than Penn over 4 years. Without the cost differential, this would be a tough decision as both universities are exceptional. But with the $120k difference in CoA, I think Michigan makes much better sense.</p>
<p>Thanks! The Shipman scholarship has been offered to 42 students this year (15-20 of which received a full-ride; the others received a 4 year $30k scholarship). All Shipman get to stay in the same residence hall (which is actually very nice). </p>
<p>I contacted Penn admissions today, and it seems they are unlikely to offer me much. My family’s gross income is around $200k, but we are also responsible for taking care of my grandparents and paying for my brother’s medical school. The Penn representative said that they do not consider expenses on a sibling’s GRADUATE school as something to consider; similarly, the scholarship from U-M will not be considered since it is not need-based. </p>
<p>I have toured Michigan’s campus extensively. I plan to visit Penn very soon. I have always wanted to be immersed into a smaller college community, which Penn definitely offers. My COA for Michigan would be $0 since I am in-state. My likely COA for Penn, assuming they give me no aid at all, would be around $35k/year.</p>
<p>I am in-state for Michigan. Combine this with my scholarship, the COA is ZERO DOLLARS.</p>
<p>So far, I have received nothing from Penn. I plan to apply for financial aid, but I do not expect to receive much if anything since they do not consider other responsibilities of the family that are not entirely discretionary. Being legally blind, the Michigan Commission for the Blind may aide in financing a Penn education, but the extent of this support is currently unknown to me.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of you that have replied. Your input has certainly helped!</p>
<p>My plans are to pursue a MD/PhD, which means I will need to attend medical school. I am not sure how instrumental an Ivy League undergraduate education is to admission in medical schools. Even if it is, Michigan is nationally renowned, having a terrific medical school of its own. The other issue is that Penn offers a much smaller community, which is something I am definitely interested in.</p>
<p>MCAT score and GPA are the two most important things for Med school admission. The fact that you go to Penn over Mich will likely not help you in those terms. </p>
<p>I’d go with the full ride to Mich. Save your $ for Med school.</p>
<p>plasmaprestige, Michigan is one of those universities that has a reputation that pretty much matches that of the Ivy League. And while Penn is indeed significantly smaller than Michigan, it is not a “much smaller community”. With 10,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students, Penn is not exactly small.</p>
<p>The extent to which Penn will give you aid, or to which the Michigan Commission for the Blind will finance, you is still unknown. As such, it is not possible to give you definitive advice. However, assuming that the difference in the cost of attendance remains substantial (only your parents and you can define that amount), I think Michigan makes much better sense.</p>
<p>Do you think Penn would put more emphasis on its undergrads in comparison to Michigan, or do you think the difference would be negligible? </p>
<p>In terms of biomedical research, both Penn and Michigan are equal, receiving roughly the same amount of NIH funding (both greater than any other Ivy League school, only surpassed by Hopkins). </p>
<p>Then again, around 70% of the classes at Penn have fewer than 20 students, which is incredible. At Michigan, the Organic Chemistry lecture hall is the second biggest on the entire campus. I do not see how it would be possible to form relationships with professors in such an environment.</p>
<p>plasmaprestige, you should check enrolment numbers in identical classes. For example, Orgo at Michigan vs Orgo at Penn. I doubt the difference in class size will be significant. Both universities are large and have faculties that are dedicated to research. You will be able to build relationships with faculty at both schools, but it is unlikely to happen during Freshman year.</p>
<p>While I could not find specific enrollment numbers for Orgo, I did find the following:</p>
<p>70% of the classes at Penn have fewer than 20 students;</p>
<p>48% of the classes at Michigan have fewer than 20 students;</p>
<p>The Student to Faculty Ratio at Penn is 6:1</p>
<p>The S:F ratio at Michigan is 16:1</p>
<p>I am most likely going to choose biophysics as my major, which is not listed as one of the most popular majors at Michigan. I am struggling to find which college has a better biophysics department.</p>
<p>"The Student to Faculty Ratio at Penn is 6:1</p>
<p>The S:F ratio at Michigan is 16:1"</p>
<p>FYI, private schools just love to separate undergraduate from graduate students when figuring S:F ratiosm. Publics, like Michigan, include all students when figuring out this stat.</p>
<p>“Michigan is hard to beat in Biophysics (it is a leader in the field).”</p>
<p>I have been trying to find the best biophysics undergraduate institutions, but to no avail. Do you know where I could find such a list? I know Michigan has a great biomedical department in general, but how do you know about biophysics?</p>
<p>I think you are grasping at straws here. Any elite research university including the Ivies, Stanford, Duke, MIT, Chicago, Berkeley, Texas, Michigan, etc. can provide you with a solid foundation in Biophysics to carry on to grad school. I would decide based on fit and overall prestige when deciding between Penn and Michigan; not departmental reputation.</p>
<p>If finances prove to be a struggle, go to Michigan. All things equal, I would choose Penn.</p>