<p>Hello. I'm a fairly qualified high school student from West Michigan, and I was looking for some advice. I've applied to two schools, Michigan and Michigan State. I've already been accepted to Michigan State, and I'm fairly confident I'll be accepted to Michigan. My issue is : which do I choose?
Michigan is obviously an amazing, highly competitive school with a lot of resources. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was six years old, and I've been planning to double major at Michigan - biochemistry (for obvious reasons) and drama (for the communication, thinking on feet, handling stressful situations, etc. Plus I love theater.) I'll get a great education from Michigan and I expect to be very prepared for medical school.
Yet, lately I've been thinking about the underdog, Michigan State. State is also an excellent school, but not quite as highly ranked or competitive. But, State has a legitimate pre-medical major, and excellent resources. I'd nearly be guaranteed a spot in the honor's college, and I've heard talk that the education quality at State is just as good as Michigan's. (Is this true?) Unfortunately, I don't know if I'd be able to double major, and I'm really looking forward to theater in college. But, that's not a deal breaker.
So, is there any advice? Which school would you consider better for an aspiring doctor (leaning towards cardiothoracic surgery). Which has better education quality and benefits (resources, research opportunities, med school opportunities, etc.)?
Thanks very much in advance, any response is greatly appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Nothing against MSU but you’ll be surrounded by higher ranked programs, students and research opportunities plus A2 > EL. Don’t turn down UM if you have a choice. And don’t lower your standards believing you’ll benefit by lower competition. If you do, you’ll be cheating yourself of the better education.</p>
<p>Could you explain what you mean by A2 > EL?
And no, I would love a highly competitive environment. That’s where I thrive. I’m just making sure I’m not overlooking State without getting all of the information, that’s all. 
Thank you for the quick response, by the way!</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is a better college town than East Lansing - few would dare argue that. Four years in Ann Arbor is a blessing.</p>
<p>Ah. Makes sense. And duly noted. Thank you very much.
Does anybody else have input I should consider?</p>
<p>I’d go UM for sure. Consider its alumni base along with its superior rankings</p>
<p>I’m tempted to say that if you can’t see that Michigan is clearly the better choice, then you should probably go to Michigan State, because you’re obviously not Michigan material. But that would be snarky.</p>
<p>Seriously, though, I’ve known people who have chosen Michigan State over Michigan. Usually it’s for one of three reasons. Sometimes MSU offers generous merit aid to top students; in that case, MSU can be significantly cheaper, though in general MSU’s need-based financial aid for in-state students is not as good as Michigan’s, so most Michigan residents will find the net cost comparable or lower at Michigan. Second, MSU offers some majors that Michigan doesn’t–ag, for example. Third, there’s the legacy thing–some families are just loyal Spartan families, and the kids wouldn’t dream of attending the hated rival Michigan. </p>
<p>Apart from those reasons, however, most people who have a choice choose Michigan. Parchment.com is a suspect source because their “data” consist of unverified anecdotal reports by self-selected respondents, but FWIW they report that 80% of cross-admits choose Michigan over Michigan State. Of course, not everyone applies to both, and of those who do, not everyone is admitted to both. </p>
<p>Also, in my experience there’s a lot of “tracking” that goes on in Michigan high schools: the top students are told they have a shot at Michigan but they should also apply to Michigan State as a back-up, while the next rung down students are told they’re Michigan State material and probably shouldn’t bother applying to Michigan because they’re unlikely to get in. That’s why Michigan gets so few in-state applications (<10,000, out of a total undergraduate applicant pool of 47,000 or so) and has such a high in-state admit rate (>50%, compared to something on the order of 25% for OOS applicants). It also may explain why 80% of the cross-admits choose Michigan: many state residents who have Michigan as their first choice also apply to MSU as a back-up, while those who have MSU as their first choice in many (most?) cases won’t bother to apply to Michigan, a more selective school. As a consequence, the cross-admit pool is heavily stacked in favor of Michigan because it’s heavily populated by people whose first choice is Michigan and who are using MSU as a back-up.</p>
<p>That said, most of the people I’ve known who went to Michigan State enjoyed their experience there and have no regrets. It’s a good school, and Michigan residents are fortunate to have two such strong contenders.</p>
<p>See, that’s what I was looking for. Michigan was and is my first choice, I was just looking for legitimate data and unbiased opinions to make sure I wasn’t counting out state because Michigan’s ranked higher. Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>I attend U of M. Of course being accepted here, i got accepted to state as well with there 20 min application. If you get the opportunity to attend Michigan if accepted, take it. Its a great experience. Although very challenging. Nothing good in life is easy. You will be receiving a great education and having a great experience socially at the same time. Use the time you have wisely and you will be successful educationally and socially. Talking to state students myself, they admit that they would have chose U of M if accepted but I can’t speak for everyone. All in all, U of M is great. It has great programs in all fields and you WILL have fun.</p>
<p>Their* Grammars my pet peeve</p>
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<p>No. BUT… the one thing you may want to consider is that Michigan is a harder school than State, thus making it more difficult to pull the grades you need for med school admission. Plenty of pre-meds wash out when they hit the competition of college, and the stronger the rest of the student body is, the more likely that you will have a hard time.</p>
<p>I went to Michigan in the '80s and was accepted into the business school (before it was named Ross - but it sill had a top ranking). The grading in the business school was extremely competitive. The curve in many classes was set to only give out 1-2 A’s per class. And you are with some of the smartest students at Michigan. Back then BBA was only junior and senior year and my GPA went from a 3.8 my first 2 years, to around a 3.1 so that I graduated with a 3.4. My LSAT score was very high (different scale then but people with my score from Michigan got into Harvard and Michigan law schools). I did not even get waitlisted at Michigan for law school. Had I stayed in LSA and continued to take classes I enjoyed and could do well in, I would have gotten into a much better law school (Wisconsin was the only top 20 law school I was accepted to).
My advice would be to do some research into grading at Ross, as well as how important grades are v. course rigor and prestige of school at the law schools you are applying.<br>
I know I could have gotten into Michigan Law with an easier courseload. I don’t know how much things have changed, but it is worth looking into.
As an aside, my brother went to Michigan State, Wayne Law School for one year, was third in his class and transferred to Michigan Law School for his last two years.</p>
<p>I posted this answer on the wrong Michigan v. Michigan State thread. My apologies. I am moving the answer there as well.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’d go to Michigan if I had the chance. Big sports; I’ve heard only positive things about Ann Arbor; top notch research opportunities for an aspiring med student; the opportunity to do the double major you want; and an excellent alumni network. I live in NYC and sometimes it seems like everyone I know went to Penn State or Michigan.</p>
<p>For medical school admissions, overall GPA (& in pre-req science subjects), along with decent scores in MCAT, medical related activities (research/shadowing) & general extracurricular activities are considered very important. The competition at Pre-med level at Michigan is extremely tough, and it may be difficult to maintain a high GPA. It is true that you will be surrounded by a larger number of bright students at Michigan. </p>
<p>However, at MSU, if your ACT score > or = 33, & you are in the top 10 percentile of your graduating class, you will have the opportunity to be a professorial assistant, and participate in some interesting research activities. Whereas at Michigan, the selection for getting into UROP is very competitive.
[Professorial</a> Assistantship ¶ Program | MSU Honors College](<a href=“http://honorscollege.msu.edu/professorial-assistantship-pa-program]Professorial”>http://honorscollege.msu.edu/professorial-assistantship-pa-program)</p>
<p>With the admission to MSU’s Honors College, there is a higher probability of getting larger merit aid than at Michigan. In addition, MSU has 2 accredited medical colleges (MD & DO). But there are fewer hospitals & health clinics around East Lansing (compared to Ann Arbor + western suburbs of Detroit), and to get a spot for shadowing doctors and health professionals may be more difficult at MSU. </p>
<p>Recommend that you meet with pre-med advisers at both the universities, compare research and shadowing opportunities, evaluate merit aids, and make an informed decision.</p>
<p>Essentially anyone at Mich has a strong opportunity to participate in UROP if they wish. Not difficult to get a project</p>
<p>^^ Not true in engineering. My son, despite stellar grades, summer experience at a renowned national lab, and perfect standardized scores, had to wait a year before he had an unpaid UROP opportunity at Michigan. In comparison at MSU, he was offered a paid research professorial assistantship in any area of his choice. Perhaps he was too selective in his choice of projects at Michigan, but that is how it played out.</p>
<p>If you are a big sports fan, do you root for blue or for green? I am serious in asking that question, as sports are a big part of both schools and it can be hard to change your allegiance in a rivalry. I grew up a Duke fan, and while I was rejected by Duke, I could not apply to UNC, for example.</p>