I’m a prospective social sciences and possibly fine arts major deciding between these two schools. In-state at U of M and no financial aid from Yale. Parents can afford Yale without loans, but I will be left with no money for law school later on (which I’m considering), while my parents could pay for law school straight out of college if I attended UMich. Not entirely sure of my intended career path, so that complicates things a bit. Any advice is much appreciated!
I’m just a high school senior so probably not who you want to hear from. If you like both schools and could be happy with either I would save the money for grad school. Most people who get into Yale probably have a pretty high chance of some form of Grad school in the future.
If your parents will give you a law school fund to attend UM in-state, I would choose that option. UM has strong law placement, and a top-14 law school as well. Yale confers benefits, but I don’t know if a Yale undergrad degree is really a worthy substitute for total law school costs, with an undergrad degree from Michigan.
Even if you don’t choose law, would you still have some of that funding after graduation to get a leg up in life? It could help defray other grad school costs, or going out into the work field, maybe even your first down payment on a house, or other considerations. And Yale would be a great place for the social sciences, and outstanding fine arts. But the fact that you hail from Michigan gives you an option that is hard to turn down.
Edited to add: Yale has a fabulous fine arts MFA program. Would your parents also contribute money to a program such as that if you ended up going that route? Your chances being admitted to a program at that level wouldn’t diminish significantly with an undergrad degree from UM; and, the fact you were admitted to Yale undergrad also leans in your favor.
Yale. Next
@0br0123, that’s a rather arrogant position to take. Where is your evidence to drop an extra ~$150,000? Good lord.
@anhydrite let’s say he goes to Yale. He comes out with a decent GPA and starts looking for internships codec law school. He gets in almost every where he applies and works for a year. He comes back and applies forvlaw school paying a small part of his tuition his parents paying the rest. He comes out of this prestigious law school and then gets a great high paying first job. Within two years he pays back his parents.
Lol I don’t know anything this is just an ideal situation
Well, your “ideal situation” is misinformed, and could get another student into serious financial hot water if he’s not cautious. Law positions are not falling into people’s laps after the crash; law school is insanely expensive; the OP doesn’t know what he will be doing; Michigan, while not Yale, has formidable resources, strengths, and placement, not to mention a top law school; and where did the OP say his parents would cover the rest of law school tuition if he went to Yale?
UM hands down, but only IF you know now you’re headed to law school. Otherwise, Yale.
Law school can be very expensive, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get merit aid there. Michigan itself has I think the number 8 law school in the country.
In your post you mention three careers: social sciences, fine arts, and law. My sense is that you’re undecided. Go to Yale. The college experience at Yale is a notch or two above that of Univ. of Michigan. Let time and experience help you decide your career path.
Michigan is excellent, but Yale is obviously the better university. Under most circumstances, choosing Yale would be the right decision. There are three circumstances where choosing Michigan would make sense:
- The cost of attendance seriously favors Michigan, and money is a concern. This is partially the case here, since the family of the student can pay for Yale, but doing so would wipe out his graduate school fund. Michigan definitely places students into Law schools well, with 92% of pre-law students matriculating in law schools last year. Many of those end up at T14 law schools. So, if the OP is almost certain that he/she will be going to law school, Michigan makes good sense. Nobody wants to graduate from law school with $150+k of debt.
- Culturally, the student fits in much better at Michigan than at Yale. But this had better be a genuine aversion to Yale, and not taken lifhtly because Yale is the better school of the two.
Social science and fine arts degrees are low paying. Save the money for a top law school.
What do your parents think you should do?
Yale is luxury good in this case.
I’m not under the impression that the OP’s query is an open invitation to steer him towards a career in law. In his case, I do feel it’s a priority to take advantage of the graduate school fund he’d have by foregoing Yale. It remains to be heard whether the OP’s parents might consider contributing that UM savings towards another career choice, such as fine arts or social sciences, or something else professional entirely.
Rather than dissuade him, I’d suggest better to address the consequences, and let him decide. Plus, especially for social sciences, Michigan would also provide a very fine education. I don’t dispute Yale is a better university, but it seems this is really a case where the other choice is so good, that it may be helpful to help him realize such. Sometimes it can be difficult for an in-stater to objectively assess just what the resources and reputation of their home flagship are.
Yale. And who is to say that you shouldn’t pay for your own law school upon graduation. Like all things, not all things are created equal–and that is even with a top flight public university like Michigan. Having been on a couple of law school admission committees, all things being equal, a Yale degree will provide a little push, compared against most any other university.
Of course the tradeoff with Yale is a lot more debt at the end of law school if the OP attends law school. That makes the decision more uncertain, due to the OP considering law school but not really being certain.
True, but again, whether he goes to LS or not, I think, Yale affords the greatest array of options.
For what it is worth, the costs of attendance are:
Michigan in-state undergraduate: $27k lower division, $29k upper division, total $112k
Yale undergraduate: $63k, total $252k
Michigan in-state law: $69k, total $207k
Yale law: $78k, total $234k
Michigan undergraduate + Michigan law: total $319k
Michigan undergraduate + Yale law: total $346k
Yale undergraduate + Michigan law: total $459k
Yale undergraduate + Yale law: total $486k
Actual totals will be higher due to college cost inflation.
But the comparisons may be relevant when the OP is seeing how far the parental contributions will go and how much debt s/he will have at the end in each case.
But what needs to really be factored in is the stark contrasts in endowments. So, without knowing his family situation, it is hard to say, but even getting up to close to 200K—one would still see some FA support at Yale. Now, applied to YLS, their financial aid is unparalleled–period. Rare does someone pay full retail. Consider the law school itself has a billion dollar endowment that supports roughly only 600 or so students. Further, the loan forgiveness program at Yale is the largest and most generous in the country…The bigger thing with YLS is trying getting in…if you thought Yale undergrad was competitive, well this takes it up several notches.