Michigan vs. Princeton - Aerospace Engineering Help!

Son has choice…Michigan AE with annual net cost $10,000 per year, or Princeton AE with annual net cost $7,000. All comments welcome.

Princeton is ranked #1 among National Universities (US NEWS), ie, above all other Ivies. Why wud u even consider anything else? U not only have a financial advantage, but recruitment & job prospects from an Ivy significantly outweigh any other perspective school. I do not see the need to even contemplate beyond Princeton.

@blueher I am assuming that you don’t have much knowledge about engineering. Rankings is a terrible way to pick a college. If you did use rankings, UMich outranks P in engineering.

What type of out of class experience is your DS looking for? Some love the idea of spending their Saturday afternoons in the fall with 110,000 friends. Some don’t.

@Eeyore123
I agree it is important to pick the right fit in terms of overall college experience and major. @Curly2012 was looking for opinions, and many would ageee that earning a degree from a prestigious ivy is highly impressive and has serious clout in the job market.

Princeton’s engineering has come a long way. For aero, Michigan is listed a couple of slots above Princeton in most aero ratings-a difference that isn’t a difference. As good as Michigan is, I think you’d gain more in the long run if you go to Princeton while not losing out on a great engineering education.

ps I don’t put much stock in any single rating but converging evidence can paint a pretty good picture.

“Princeton is ranked #1 among National Universities (US NEWS), ie, above all other Ivies. Why wud u even consider anything else?”

Because no one goes to college to major in National University. Being very good at a lot of things doesn’t make you best in everything. Engineering, for example, where Princeton isn’t in the top 10 (if, for some reason, US News rankings mean everything to you)

For aerospace engineering, the two schools are ranked closely, Michigan at 5 and Princeton at 9 so sounds like the academic opportunities at both will be superlative – they are both top 10 departments so not much point, in my mind, quibbling about which is better academically. Princeton is a smaller university, known for a strong emphasis on undergrad education as it does not have the professionals schools (law, business, medicine) which other Ivies and Michigan have. Ann Arbor is a great college town with big sports. Princeton is a walkable town just an hour train from Midtown Manhattan and an hour from Center Philly, so someone who wants access to big city culture can easily enjoy those opportunities. Two fantastic decisions here, no wrong decision, congrats!