<p>One of the colleges I really like is University of Michigan. Are there any other schools that are comparable in the quality of education/sports/social life/overall atmosphere? One's I'm looking at that I think are close are Penn State, Wisconsin,and Illinois UC. Are they comperable to Michigan, and what other schools would you recomend. (I guess I like the big 10 but am not limiting myself to those schools).</p>
<p>Wisconsin. Maybe UNC.</p>
<p>bumpity bump bump</p>
<p>Wisconsin is a much bigger party school than Michigan, it's social life is drastically different. Although half the size, UNC is very similar in terms of social life, academics, sports, and overall atmosphere. There are others that are a bit more different, like Wisconsin. I'd say UCLA and UCB (although populated with many more asians than Michigan), Duke (much smaller), Virginia (although smaller and not as big on sports), and Texas (although not as diverse; 95% Texans). Michigan is unique.</p>
<p>Wisconsin is almost Michigan's evil twin. Indiana is a nice alternative--not quite as diverse or cosmopolitan, but a wonderful all-around school (social, sports, frats, academics, etc.) and much prettier. U of Texas-Austin would seem to be similar, too. I heard a football announcer mention that the crowd at a U of Texas football game isn't really rowdy, it's more of a wine-and-cheese crowd. And that describes the throng at a U of Michigan game. You've never heard 107,587 people be as quiet as a sold-out Michigan crowd when nothing dramatic is happening on the field. Colorado would be a sort of laid-back Rocky Mountain equivalent of Michigan. U of Maryland might be a less-competitive East Coast equvalent. Florida sort of a sun-drenched version. But I would agree with A2Wolves--there's nothing quite like Michigan. U of Washington might have a few similarities too. Cornell would be the most similar Ivy. U of Toronto is the Canadian equivalent.</p>
<p>It's now 587? It used to always be 501! Those stupid luxury boxes, everyone in the community is against them, it was such a stupid idea. It was Michigan tradition, they had 102,501, then 107,501. Argh. It's almost as bad as that stupid lettering they had up a few years after they won it all.</p>
<p>Don't know what lettering you mean. All I know is that I took my elementary-school-age kids to the Ann Arbor campus in hopes they would be smitten. But after strolling around for 2 hours, they came to the conclusion that the name of the school was "the University of Bush Sucks."</p>
<p>The schools that most resemble Michigan are:</p>
<p>Brown University
Cornell University
Duke University
Indiana University-Bloomington
Stanford University
University of Califiornia-Berkeley
University of Colorado-Boulder
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Texas-Austin
University of Virgnia
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>
<p>I know, those schools are not all similar, but they all share things in common with Michigan.</p>
<p>I would agree with Cornell University, University of California - Berkeley, and maybe University of Texas - Austin. I'm not too familiar with some of the others. I would have to say though that schools like Duke, Brown, and the University of Virginia have more of a "private school" feel to them, partially because they are smaller and more selective. Whether that's a good or bad depends on your personal preferences.</p>
<p>But generally, that's a pretty good list to look at.</p>
<p>UCLA, UNC, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Duke, Cornell, Berkeley</p>
<p>Berkeley and UNC are a lot closer to Michigan in feel than UVA, Brown, or Stanford.</p>
<p>Indiana is much more of a campus.</p>
<p>Wisconsin has too much drinking, the average student at Wisconsin isn't as academically oriented as a Michigan student is. Michigan also has a way better arts scene.</p>
<p>I'd say look at Syracuse, Berkeley, or UT-Austin.</p>
<p>The average UW student is much funnier than the average UM student. And better looking. Madison has just as active an arts scene and a much nicer performing arts center. It has a better pop music scene too. The UW campus is also nicer with the miles of lakefront and the active lakeside student union.</p>
<p>I think the students on average are much more academically inclined than maybe 10-15 years ago as the admissions level has improved markedly over the period. They are just less cut-throat about it. Certainly more academic than Syracuse or UT.</p>
<p>There really is no music scene in Ann Arbor. There aren't many venues and no bands want to play the blind pig because the management sucks and are always kicking bands out. The best venue is the elbow room and that's in Ypsi</p>