MIT vs. Umich with $$$?

<p>I was accepted MIT this fall. I was also accepted to the University of Michigan, and the honors college and residential college, with a huge sum of money. I plan to study biology.</p>

<p>I am really undecided because I love both schools. I know that MIT is more prestigious (I don't care about getting wows when I tell them where I go to school, but I suspect that getting into grad school from MIT might be easier and that the classes are generally taught at a higher level), but I'm not sure that I want such an intense environment as MIT. Additionally, the range (not necessarily the availability) of different research opportunities seems to be greater at Umich. I also really like the sort of zany activities and hacks that MIT students seem to be into.</p>

<p>On the other hand, although I like the math/science kids at my school, my really close friends are not the ones with the highest GPAs. </p>

<p>Which would you choose? Why? Convince me that I'm not needlessly passing up a relaxed atmosphere and lots of money, OR an outstanding but really intense and education surrounded by super-smart people?</p>

<p>
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I was accepted MIT this fall. I was also accepted to the University of Michigan, and the honors college and residential college, with a huge sum of money. I plan to study biology.

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</p>

<p>I can't give you much advice, but I'm in the exact same position as you. I'm leaning toward going to Michigan.</p>

<p>My choice my senior year of high school was between MIT and the Ohio State honors college with lots of $$$. I (obviously) chose MIT, and I'll tell you why.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Sure, a big state school has more professors with labs, but it's often really difficult to get into those labs since there are so many people competing for spots. Labs at MIT are likely to be considerably better-funded (and therefore more likely to pay you for your work). More importantly for me, labs at MIT are more likely to have a favorable view of your intelligence as an undergraduate and allow you to pursue interesting research in an essentially independent manner. Many of my friends at state schools had to wash dishes for a year or more before they were allowed to move to real research projects. Washing dishes is not a job for an MIT undergraduate; washing dishes is a job for a dishwashing machine, okay.</p></li>
<li><p>The concentration of excellence at schools like MIT is really unmatched in the large state school environment. Sure, you can find a group of equally smart people at a big state school, but at a small elite, everybody is smart and motivated and encourages you to work your hardest. My personal suspicion is that more kids from the ultra-elites get into graduate school in biology not because of their inherent intelligence (just as many equally-intelligent kids end up at their local state school), but because the environment at the ultra-elites is more conducive to staying motivated -- there aren't as many not-smart kids acting as a social distraction.</p></li>
<li><p>For me personally, I felt that it was a good idea to get out of Ohio and experience life on the east coast. A lot of kids from my senior class went to OSU or other state schools and are now planning to work in Columbus after graduation. That's not really something I ever saw myself doing, so I was glad to go someplace different. (Probably not such a concern for you, as your info says you're from NY.)</p></li>
<li><p>Biology happens to be one of the few majors at MIT that's as intense as you want to make it. There aren't as many classes required for the degree as for most other majors, so some people finish in 3 or 3.5 years. If you wanted to be all intense about it and take 5 or 6 classes a term (like this girl molliebatmit that I know), you can do that too. Your choice.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>The money thing was hard to pass up. But in the end I'm terribly glad I made the decision I did. I hope you make a decision that makes you happy! :)</p>

<p>the atmosphere is very very different. visit both and see.</p>

<p>Tetrahedr0n, would you mind elaborating on why you are leaning toward Umich?</p>

<p>an honors michigan education will be just as good as an mit education. you won't be competing for lab space as there arn't many honor students, and michigans endowment is huge so you won't be using crummy equipment. also, if you come out of michigan honors you will be just as competitive in grad school admissions as mit grads. </p>

<p>that being said, mit gets a wow factor from 17 year olds on this website and michigan doesn't. but if you really plan on going to grad school - thats the school you hope to get "wow's" from.</p>

<p>in short, you can't go wrong either way, mit or mich honors will most probably be able to challenge you in any way you can think of academicly. make a list of things that are important to you completely outside of the name of the school you go to. do you want city life? do you want awesome collegiate sports? do you want a huge undergraduate body? do you want to go to a city with 100,000 college students? Its a matter of taste. visit both - see which one you think you fit better into. Luckily for you - the balls in your court...you just have to decide which one you'll have more fun at now!</p>

<p>good luck and congrats on these 2 acceptances!</p>

<p>How many biology undergrads are there at Michigan? How likely is it that you'll be able to take an upper-division course with 20 people in it? Critically, how likely is it that you'll be able to become close with at least three professors who can write recommendations for graduate school?</p>

<p>I just finished interviewing for graduate school at all of the top five programs in biology. There were a lot of MIT kids on the interview circuit (EDIT: By "a lot", I mean about 15-17 out of the 100-125 kids who were interviewing at all the top programs), but I didn't meet any from Michigan. To me, that says Michigan kids are having problems getting into labs and getting close with professors, which is really the most important component of an undergraduate biology education.</p>

<p>I think Michigan is a very good school, don't get me wrong. But I think there are some serious benefits that go along with MIT's higher pricetag, particularly if you're interested in going further in (notoriously elitist) academic science.</p>

<p>Biology isn't a huge major at Michigan, and those who major in it are usually not looking to do grad work in that area like those at MIT. Michigan, like all state schools relative to elite private universities, will produce students that are more interested in careers applying their knowledge rather than pursuing a deeper knowledge of their subject in grad school (like pursuing medicine rather than Biology or applied science/engineering instead of theoretical physics). To answer one of Mollie's earlier posts, Michigan's honors college is significantly more distinguished than Ohio State's, and the upper-level bio courses are indeed very small (as is just about every class with course number 300 and above) and it's not hard to get recommendations if you're in honors. In fact, just about every honors course at Michigan is below 40 people, upper-level or not.</p>

<p>I know Michigan > OSU (no matter how much my diehard football fan father wouldn't believe it!). </p>

<p>I'm just trying to promote asking the questions that matter when picking an undergraduate program. Admittedly, I happen to go to and love MIT, but I think that's evident enough in my choice of a username that hopefully people would seek several opinions and not just mine.</p>

<p>I do think it's fair to ask questions about the feasibility and popularity of undergraduate research at institutions a student is considering, particularly when, as the OP stated, the student is interested in continuing on to graduate school.</p>

<p>
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Tetrahedr0n, would you mind elaborating on why you are leaning toward Umich?

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<p>Because of money. It's going to be tough for me to pay the full fare at MIT - we'd have to stretch our family resources to the limit. From your post, it seems like you have a little bit better situation, which gives you more choice.</p>

<p>Which UM scholarships did you get? Maybe we'll meet at Shipman weekend.</p>

<p>You'll have to look at exactly how difficult finances will be for you at MIT
compared to Michigan.
My 2 cents: Michigan is an excellent school and the MIT name (I think)
will not be worth that much more.</p>