<p>No really, I lived in Saline for 18 years, I’ve never heard it considered to be part of Metro Detroit.</p>
<p>Saline, Michigan is part of Detroit metro… just not referred that much. Though Ann Arbor is also part of Detroit metro, and all should already know that, at least those that live in Michigan, mainly those consisting in that area.</p>
<p>“Though Ann Arbor is also part of Detroit metro, and all should already know that, at least those that live in Michigan, mainly those consisting in that area.”</p>
<p>The same people you’re claiming should be knowledgeable about the subject are the same ones that are telling you that you’re wrong. Give it up.</p>
<p>Coolbreeze, you need to qualify your statement. All those who live in Lansing “know” that Ann Arbor is part of the Detroit metro area. The rest of the World would not make the connection. Within 30 miles, it would be possible, in some cases, to draw a connection, and even then, not always. For example, Boulder, which is located 28 miles from Denver, is not considered part of Denver Metro. Berkeley is 15 miles from San Francisco and it is not considered part of the SF metro. Even Dearborn, which lies a mere 8 miles from Detroit is not considered part of the Detroit metro. But Ann Arbor is 40 miles away from Detroit. Very few people outside of the Ann Arbor/University of Michigan hating areas are conditioned to believe (as you genuinely have been) that Ann Arbor is somehow part of some metropolitan aera.</p>
<p>Alexandre. Dearborn is certainly part of the metropolitan Detroit area, so you are wrong there. The only time I every heard of A2 as being a part of metro Detroit, is when the U.S. census bureau began a thing called, CMSAs. SMSA’s are usually the norm for considering metropolitan areas. Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Lapeer, and St. Clair counties are considered part of the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area of Detroit. Washtenaw county, where Ann Arbor is located is not. Even Monroe county, just south of Wayne, is considered part of Toledo, Ohio’s SMSA. Windsor, ON a mere 1/2 mile from Detroit is not counted either obviously since it is in another country.</p>
<p>Technically, you are right Novi, Dearborn is part of the Detroit Metro area. However, it is clearly a separate entity with its own identity.</p>
<p>^^^^^^Separate from Detroit for sure. There are dozens of other suburbs around Detroit that are their own entities as well. Dearborn is nothing special in that way.</p>
<p>Hey OP, I will give you the opinion of someone who was in your shoes last year, plus a host of elite east coast private institutions. here’s my take, from someone who dreamt of going to one, and ended up happily at the other:</p>
<p>Firstly, the towns: I personally loved AA. I think it’s one of the finest college towns in America; it’s bigger than Westwood, but pretty much the same types of stores, just more of them. Most people think of UCLA as being totally urban, smoggy and congested. This is inaccurate and false. Westwood is surrounded by Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Brentwood. I walk up Sunset Blvd. to get to my dorm. There are blue skies every day, due to breezes that blow the smog toward the inner-city. Westwood has held a host of movie premiers this year, including Twilight, Madagascar II, Sex Drive and Pushing Daisies. Being so close to Hollywood, people living in dorms will take trips with their hall to see Leno, Larry King, etc. in studio. Plus, there are some great internship opps since LA is such a diverse and economically important city. So it definitely has it’s advantages; and this is coming from someone who was previously opposed to going to school in LA.</p>
<p>Academically, the schools are very on-par with each other. I feel like comparing their academic rep is like comparing that of Princeton and Yale; some departments at some schools will be slightly stronger than others, but overall they’re both world-class universities. One thing to consider might be where you want to work when you graduate. UCLA definitely has a bigger reputation on the west coast, even though Michigan may have a slightly more renowned engineering dept. Michigan probably has a bigger rep on the East Coast, and obviously in the midwest as well. This isn’t to say that you won’t be successful on the WC if you attend Michigan and vice versa, but the vast majority of UCLA students end up living in CA permanently due to job opportunities. I’d assume Michigan has a similar result. </p>
<p>As for the weather, I think you eventually learn to wear 8 layers and get used to it in Michigan. Of course you won’t have that problem at UCLA, but some people get freaked out by 75 degree weather all the time. It’s kinda weird. Anyway, as for the “getting distracted” by beautiful weather…LOL. People here are used to multi-tasking, and since 90% come from CA, we’re used to being well-rounded rain or shine, rest assured 
Sure, there’s a plethora of activities to participate in, but people know when to study.</p>
<p>School spirit and tradition is big at both schools. Michigan has a phenomenal fball tradition, and UCLA is the winningest basketball program in the history of the sport. UCLA also has 103 national championships, 10-20 above Stanford and SC, and about 50 above anyone else. So sports are definitely a huge part of student life here, as they are at Michigan. </p>
<p>One thing that I liked more about UCLA than Michigan was UCLA’s housing system. Instead of being so spread out, all the dorms are concentrated in one part of campus, which is nice for late-night study groups. There’s also 3 types of dorms: halls (everyone on a floor shares a bathroom), plazas (you have your own bathroom or one in-between every 2 rooms), and suites (common room with smaller rooms off to the side). Most of the dorms are either new or newly renovated, so the facilities are nice. I also liked not having to take a bus to class, like you do at Michigan. UCLA is the smallest UC in area, and the farthest I’ve had to walk to class is about 15 minutes (and that was at the most opposite end of campus).</p>
<p>UCLA’s dorm food is also currently ranked #1 in the country, not sure how Michigan’s was. Decent, if I remember correctly, but UCLA puts pretty much any other school to shame in that dept., so I don’t think UM was quite up to par lol.</p>
<p>I think you’ll have a blast at either school. I would consider weather heavily, because they will play a factor in general content and activity level for many students. Also, where do you want to work in the future? Other than that, I really didn’t notice any significant differences in the school atmosphere. I think UCLA students are definitely more chill and laid-back, but some of my best friends go to Michigan and they’re fantastic people. </p>
<p>As for class sizes…I hate to break it to you, but any public university in America will have classes over 200. Michigan is definitely no different (trust me…I sat in on several there). You might find this recent survey, conducted by UCLA seniors, relevant. It discusses class-size, academic experience, access to faculty, etc. I also included a list for engineering companies who recently recruited at an on-campus job fair: </p>
<p>[Senior</a> Survey - UCLA College of Letters and Science](<a href=“http://www.college.ucla.edu/seniorsurvey/]Senior”>http://www.college.ucla.edu/seniorsurvey/)
[UCLA</a> Career Center](<a href=“http://www.career.ucla.edu/Students/CareerFairs/ArchivesPreviousFairs/Winter2009__EngineeringTechnical_Thurs_Jan8.aspx]UCLA”>http://www.career.ucla.edu/Students/CareerFairs/ArchivesPreviousFairs/Winter2009__EngineeringTechnical_Thurs_Jan8.aspx)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Ren… You are from Guam!!! How cool is that! That must be a bundle to fly here and get all your things here, or probably just buy most of it when you get here? Have you been to the US before, or is your dad military based there?</p>
<p>^haha crazy, of course i’m going to buy my things there…i can’t afford flying back and forth,just for some petty stuff…</p>
<p>the cold is michigan is giving me chills now because on guam, the mean high temperature is 86 °F (30 °C) and mean low is 76 °F (24 °C) >.<
Thanks everyone, GoWorld especially :)</p>
<p>Just go to UCLA. It’s obvious you won’t be able to handle winter weather well.</p>
<p>No, I didn’t mean for you to be flying back and forth, I meant ship your stuff… like clothes, sheets, pillow, alarm clock, desk lamp, etc.</p>
<p>hey Ren, </p>
<p>Have you made your decision to go to UMich? That’d be really cool, because I’m from Guam too and I’m pretty sure I’m going. Yeah, I’m worried about the weather too, but I think UMich is totally worth it =)</p>