<p>If I got a quarter tuition scholarship (Dean's) at USC, (is it the better university?), what would you expect me to get at the College of Engineering if I'm OOS and where would you recommend me to go?</p>
<p>USC is not a better school than Michigan. If you look at basically every ranking out there besides USNWR, Michigan is ranked significantly higher than USC. Here is the QS World University ranking 2010, the major world ranking, which has Michigan at 15 in the world and USC at 113: <a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010[/url]”>http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010</a>
And here’s the Times Higher Education rankings 2011 which also have Michigan at 15 in the WORLD and USC at 73: [Top</a> 200 - The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-2011](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html]Top”>World University Rankings 2010-11 | Times Higher Education (THE))
I would go as far as to say Michigan is decidedly the better school. I don’t know what you would get financial aid wise.</p>
<p>It might be helpful for others to make suggestions if you can disclose the branch of engineering that you might pursue. Also your state of residence (for in-state fees), with the assumption that you are a legal resident/citizen? If your stats are in the top (say 5 percentile?) of incoming freshmen at U of M, you might get $8000 merit award, but it is very competitive and time may be running out.</p>
<p>Michigan has better engineering across the board compared to USC.</p>
<p>Michigan is ranked between #4 and #9 in undergraduate engineering. USC usually ranked between #25 and #30. Admittedly, there isn’t a significant difference between #5 and #25 if you are looking at overall rankings, but if you are looking at rankings in an individual field, the difference between #5 and #25 is significant.</p>
<p>materials engineering. an $8000 merit award only? I know people with great stats but nothing too amazing who got full tuition to Michigan, how is this possible then?</p>
<p>it’s $20000 for OOS, and there are other scholarships available</p>
<p>sic_infit you haven’t provided us with any stats so it’s hard for us to gauge how you stack up versus other candidates. Michigan like most every other public university is comparatively stingy when it comes to monies for OOS applicants. That doesn’t mean you won’t get money but private colleges like USC can award scholarships without regard to geography.</p>
<p>As for whether USC is “worth it” versus Michigan, that’s a question destined to devolve into pointless arguments about rankings. Is the cost after your scholarship from USC less than attending Michigan OOS? What is the overall value of your financial aid packages? Where do you want to go to school? (Tip: Los Angeles is warm most of the year, Michigan gets that way occasionally - usually when your back at home for summer break). Where do you want to work and live after graduation? (Hint: USC will have more contacts in California and the West Coast while Michigan will clobber them from Chicago to the East Coast).</p>
<p>It strikes me that you’re worrying about making a decision with incomplete information. Get your fin-aid packages and then decide.</p>
<p>“Where do you want to go to school? (Tip: Los Angeles is warm most of the year, Michigan gets that way occasionally - usually when your back at home for summer break).”</p>
<p>Here’s another tip. You can walk 5 miles in any direction from the campus and feel relatively safe in A2, at USC you can’t even do that after 5 blocks!</p>
<p>sic_infit,
When I was looking at colleges, I applied all over the country but my decision eventually came down to the University of Michigan and USC. I am originally from Seattle, WA and knew I wanted to go out of state and major in engineering, so I found many pro’s for both schools as they both have strong engineering programs and are in great, although very different, cities. I eventually decided that USC was the place for me.</p>
<p>Although I don’t know the exact rankings for either school, I can tell you that I’ve had a great experience at USC. I’m a senior majoring in Civil Engineering, and will continue here next year pursuing my Master’s in Structural Engineering. Some of the main differences I found between Michigan and USC were the size of the schools, the weather, the amount of time professors spend with students, and location.</p>
<p>USC and Michigan are both large schools (Michigan obviously being larger), but what I didn’t know initially about Michigan’s campus is that you have to take a tram to get to the engineering campus. This is in contrast to USC where all of your engineering classes will be scattered around the same campus that every other undergrad takes classes. I’ve loved the freedom I’ve had when selecting courses to take; I’ve been able to take plenty of classes outside of engineering including ballroom dance and psychology.</p>
<p>Weather should never be the #1 reason to attend a university. BUT, when I thought about trekking through feet of snow in the winter vs. biking in 70° January weather, the sunny option definitely won.</p>
<p>I never took a class at Michigan, but I can’t imagine the availability of professors to be any better than what I’ve experienced at USC. Every professor is required to hold office hours each week, and if you have a scheduling conflict they are more than welcome to make an appointment to meet with you. On top of this, TA’s will hold discussion sections outside of regular class time, as well as their own office hours to answer any questions you have. This personal attention was very important to me when deciding between universities.</p>
<p>Finally, the fact that USC is in LA was a huge deciding factor. It was really a question of whether I wanted to be in a college town (Ann Arbor), or a major metropolitan city (LA). I’ve been able to take advantage of the amount of opportunities here both in terms of things to do on the weekends as well as internships and jobs. Since it is such a big city, a lot of my classmates found internships after their freshman year and then continued to work at these firms through the school year. Many of them will continue working at the same office after graduation in May. In terms of the area around USC, I’ve lived a few blocks off campus for the past few years, and have never felt unsafe walking to and from class even after my night classes end. I think you have to be aware of your surroundings no matter where you go to school, but I’ve never had a problem at USC.</p>
<p>You’ll get a good education whether you choose to attend Michigan or USC, but I am personally very happy with my decision to attend USC. If you have any questions feel free to email me at <a href=“mailto:vstudent@usc.edu”>vstudent@usc.edu</a>, I know this is a big decision!</p>
<p>Best of luck,
Lisa V.</p>