<p>lildude_ravi covers some points that I'm curious about. If we are interested in work directly after an undergraduate degree, in this case, in engineering, is a UM degree signifiantly disadvataged in comparison to an MIT degree?</p>
<p>Of course, I'm not in the position to make a choice, but can only hope so. I am, however, a MI resident, so UM is a great bargain.</p>
<p>Lildude_ravi, a 3.5+ GPA from Michigan will open many doors. Only the top 15% of Michigan's student body get such a GPA. Whether or not a 3.5+ GPA is equal to a 4.5+ GPA at MIT (MIT works on a 5.0 scale) is hard to say. I would say that equal GPAs would favor MIT. But a 3.5+ GPA at Michigan is greater than say a 4.0/5.0 GPA at MIT. I graduated with a 3.4 GPA and had job offers from Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan upon graduation. I also got an acceptance into Columbia's PhD Economics program. I chose Lehman Brothers in London over Columbia or JP Morgan in NYC. Later on, I got accepted in Kellogg and into Cornell's graduate program of ILR. I chose Cornell because it was exactly what I wanted to do. Most people I know who graduated from Michigan with 3.5+ GPAs got excellent jobs and into top 10 graduate programs (except for those who were aiming for Law or Medical schools). Those usually require GPAs in the 3.7+ range if you are aiming for top 10 programs. So, needless to say, a 3.5+ GPA from Michigan really opens doors.</p>
<p>Alexandre-That was a long time ago though ;)</p>
<p>Not so long ago. We are talking about 1996 (the year I garduated from Michigan and joined Lehman Brothers) and 1999 (the year I applied to Kellogg and Cornell).</p>
<p>UMich is not atrocious but it is nowhere near the academic institution of MIT, Caltech, and Berk. </p>
<p>It IS completely overrated and that is a FACT. </p>
<p>As I stated before it UMich engineering will NOT prepare you for graduate level engineering at the higher levels (such as MIT graduate). People go to UMich from MIT to boost their grades at an easy and overrated university. </p>
<p>The selectivity is so low that in a way grade inflation is practiced. I would say it is roughly 1/4th the work needed to complete at MIT. </p>
<p>Take the smartest UMich graduate and put him next to an MIT dropout and you will quickly find that the MIT dropout is exponentially more intelligent. </p>
<p>The engineering at MIT is unable to be measured because it is so unbelievable. At UMich it only reached such high standings because practically all rankings PREFER large universities. </p>
<p>Large universities are incredibly oerrated and because there are so many students attending it is easy as hell to pull off a "4.0". </p>
<p>If you were ranked in the top 3% of your HS class (lol) you will be able to get a 4.0 at UMich because it is incredibly easy. </p>
<p>Thats it, case-closed. I'm not going to argue about how overrated large universities are, however, I hope that other people can learn to see through it.</p>
<p>Enough is Enough!</p>
<p>Ok..first of all: I did not post my stats on the MIT forum because I have half a dozen friends that attend the university</p>
<p>I'm looking for opinions from students at the University of Michigan. I've heard from many (as MITgrad) that UMICH is overrated. I know little of the university and I admit, I am biased towards the opinions of friends.</p>
<p>MITgrad your post is extreme! Please state where you're getting your information from. I hear the university is second rate but come now, you make it seem as though you were speaking of Michigan State</p>
<p>Perhaps my first post was a bit arrogant, I apologize</p>
<p>I cannot say whether the claims of MITgrad are consistent with the facts. I am open to all of your opinions, please share!</p>
<p>Alexandre.. you seem the most knowledgable on the subject of UMICH. May I ask what the benefits of UMICH vs MIT are? </p>
<p>***Please leave out personal opinions! I'm interested in the facts</p>
<p>AND who is this Funkmaster character? WHAT THE HELL is i Are The Rise supposed to mean? Can someone please remove his posting privileges! What a waste of life!</p>
<p>One more thing...I was under the impression I was in the Honors Program (I assumed it was included in the scholarship) There is no Honors Program for engineering, I checked...Thanks for clarifying</p>
<p>If you want to make this believable, at least wait more than 23 minutes before responding to your own post. Honestly...</p>
<p>My own post???</p>
<p>Choosing the college that's best for you is VERY IMPORTANT</p>
<p>I'm checking this site constantly for feedback on my question (a little obsessive I know but what can I do?)</p>
<p>Well this thread certainly took an unexpected twist.</p>
<p>Ahh Ignorance is Bliss now isnt it.</p>
<p>Oh and about your little genius UMich-inspired deduction that I only have 5 posts. This is because I HAVE another name, but obviously I wouldnt want to trash a school and get to a huge argument on my real CC name. You can say I'm a wuss but this was my way of revealing my true feelings, not going to ruin my CC reputation to do that. Ha, actually I'm pretty respected on the MIT forum.</p>
<p>You true intellectuals on the UMich forum couldnt deduce that, huh? </p>
<p>And...you think that Collegeconfused and I are the same person when we both post within 20 minutes of each other during prime time. Pure Genius.</p>
<p>All I did was state an opinion on a name nobody can identify me with, thats it.</p>
<p>MITgrad</p>
<p>for a supposed graduate from MIT... you're either really ignorant or simply looking to spark a few arguements.... or both. </p>
<p>I'll leave it at that. Everyone ignore him. He's flame baiting.</p>
<p>MITgrad..... check this out.....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Registration and Your Identity. CollegeConfidential.com seeks to maximize the utility of its forum to its members and visitors, and does not knowingly allow members to misrepresent themselves. Multiple registrations by the same individual without written permission from CollegeConfidential.com are not allowed. Re-registration by individuals who have been banned or denied posting privileges in the past is not allowed. Individuals who misrepresent themselves (e.g., posing as a student or parent when they are not, claiming a false affiliation with a college, etc.), or who register with multiple identities, or who re-register after having been banned, will be reported to the abuse department of their internet and/or email service provider and may be subject to civil or criminal action depending on the nature of their violation.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL
MITgrad and collegeconfused are the same people. They both joined in Feb 2005, have low post counts and only posted in this thread. Also, collegeconfused claims to have been accepted to a program that does not exist, an engineering honors program. In addition, they post one after another.</p>
<p>It doesn't take a MIT genius to figure this out</p>
<p>To MITgrad: You just provided your own evidence that you were breaking the rules. Hahaha that's some MIT intellect there, genius.</p>
<p>Dude are you listening to yourself? You're worried about an online reputation.</p>
<p>Get a life.</p>
<p>GO TO MIT. Don't be stupid</p>
<p>
[quote]
Lildude_ravi, a 3.5+ GPA from Michigan will open many doors. Only the top 15% of Michigan's student body get such a GPA. Whether or not a 3.5+ GPA is equal to a 4.5+ GPA at MIT (MIT works on a 5.0 scale) is hard to say. I would say that equal GPAs would favor MIT. But a 3.5+ GPA at Michigan is greater than say a 4.0/5.0 GPA at MIT. I graduated with a 3.4 GPA and had job offers from Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan upon graduation. I also got an acceptance into Columbia's PhD Economics program. I chose Lehman Brothers in London over Columbia or JP Morgan in NYC. Later on, I got accepted in Kellogg and into Cornell's graduate program of ILR. I chose Cornell because it was exactly what I wanted to do. Most people I know who graduated from Michigan with 3.5+ GPAs got excellent jobs and into top 10 graduate programs (except for those who were aiming for Law or Medical schools). Those usually require GPAs in the 3.7+ range if you are aiming for top 10 programs. So, needless to say, a 3.5+ GPA from Michigan really opens doors.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thanks Alexandre for your sharing information..... I think this will be helpful for many people who are still in the process of deciding......</p>
<p>"GO TO MIT. Don't be stupid"</p>
<p>So what your saying is: Never choose UMICH over MIT because MIT is superior in all aspects? Is MITgrad's opinion valid?</p>
<p>Not really, in several ways, Michigan is surperior to MIT. For example, in the social sciences (with the exception of Economics), and the humanities, Michigan is generally superior to MIT. Michigan has top Medical and Law schools, MIT does not. Michigan owns and operates one of the nation's top 10 hospitals. MIT does not have a hospital. Michigan's student body is more well rounded and academically, more diverse than MITs. School spirit at the University of Michigan is much stronger than at MIT. Michigan is a center for the arts, MIT is not. Michigan has awesome sports teams, MIT does not. MIT's Business school is not superior to Michigan's. I would say they are about equal in Business. </p>
<p>In short, with the exception of Engineering, the hard Sciences and Economics, which MIT is superior to Michigan (but not by much since Michigan is ranked #5 or 6 in Engineering, top 10 in Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Geology and Economics), I would say that MIT is not superior to Michigan in many aspects of college life. It really depends what you want. If you only care about studies, and wish to study Engineering, the hard sciences and Economics, yes, MIT is superior to Michigan. Otherwise, I would say Michigan is at least as good as MIT.</p>
<p>In short, MIT is an amazing academic institution (top 5 nationally). Michigan is not quite as good as MIT, but it is also a very good university (top 10-15 nationally) and it is more versatile than MIT.</p>
<p>mitgrad, cool down, you're making us look bad.</p>
<p>Collegeconfused, I'm a freshman at MIT now and I must say, whenever I get to a career fair things are always looking great :) (besides the fact that I'm a freshman, but you can't hide from that haha).</p>
<p>We asked an IBM rep where they ranked MIT in terms of recruiting. The answer he gave was: "absolutely #1". He said that MIT was the only school in the country that they were doing 2 days of recruiting at. I don't know what the details of that second comment means, as I'm sure that companies recruit for more than 2 days ... or maybe he was just trying to be nice to us, but I feel that there is at least some sincerity in his comments.</p>
<p>Ultimately though, it's not so important what college you go to, as opposed to what you do there. Personally, I feel like $10K/year is not enough to justify UMich > MIT, especially if you're interested in anything related to the sciences. If money REALLY is an issue for you, as in squeezing out every cent is important, then take the scholarship and go to UMich. Otherwise, if money will only be a burden (I guess as it is for all of us non rich people lol), then I would suggest you go for MIT.</p>
<p>In terms of what Alexandre said about versatility, I half-agree and half-disagree. I don't know the specifics, but I think MIT's political science is actually ranked quite high in the nation (top 10 at least) and linguistics and economics is hardcore. I'm not going to argue that we have a humongous art/music atmosphere, because, well we don't (though of course we have the majors, classes, and clubs), but I think if you're relatively set on some science, then MIT is a solid choice.</p>
<p>Another popular thing to do at MIT is double major with a management degree (Course 15). Btw all the majors at MIT are called "courses" and are given numbers, as everything is either an acronym or a number. For example, I'm (planning on) double majoring in EECS and Management, and ultimately head towards a career in finance. The management degree isn't hard to tack on, because those classes aren't that much more difficult and there is actually a reasonable overlap between computer science and management.</p>
<p>"there's a world to conquer, Kevin" -- the guy down the hall</p>
<p>actually, we're gonna play basketball.</p>
<p>Excellent post Vecter. And yes, MIT does have a top 10 Political Science program, but Michigan is slightly better (top 2 or 3). </p>
<p>At any rate, I agree that if Collegeconfused is intending to major in the sciences, he should pick MIT. I also agree that $10,000/year should not alter his mind if MIT is the right fit for him. But for many people, Michigan is a better fit than MIT and to them, I would recommend Michigan. In short, the difference between MIT and Michigan is not that great.</p>