Northwestern vs. Michigan

<p>I've applied to both of these schools, but have trouble deciding which one I want to attend more. Being in-state for Michigan it would be incredibly cheaper to attend it over Northwestern, but I was wondering if attending Northwestern would benefit me more in the long-run. By the way I'm probably going to major in Chemistry. Any opinions about which school is better, etc. would be appreciated :).</p>

<p>Without knowing much about either chem program, I would have to say that since both of them have great reputations, you would have to decide if the quality of Northwestern is good enough to justify such an expense, especially since Michigan is such a good school in its own right.</p>

<p>My cousin was in the same position. She ended up choosing NU. Chemistry is one of Michigan's lowest ranked programs, while it is one of NU's highest. NU is significantly smaller than Michigan in terms of campus population/size. In terms of overall education, they are equal.</p>

<p>The difference in quality of education and quality of life between the two while existent is not significant enough (IMHO) to justify the cost difference unless your parents are very rich. </p>

<p>In terms of career prospects - no difference whatsoever.</p>

<p>I agree with datadriven. If I had them both all paid for, I'd choose Northwestern, but there's no way that it's worth $80,000+ more than Michigan.</p>

<p>don;t wrry about this yet...worry about it once you do get into nu...i'm only saying this b/c umich is extremely easy to get in if you r instate which in no way even puts you in the application league for nu...i think this year's rd for nu will be extremely competitive hence my caution...do not feel down when rejected/waitlisted...umich is a great school also =D</p>

<p>Michigan's lowest rated department is Chemistry.... but its still top 25... #21 if im not mistaken</p>

<p>chillin, can you plz tell me how to find the rankings for like chem and stuff? which source do you use for ranking, umich is a cool school btw i partially applied to it =D</p>

<p>
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umich is a cool school btw i partially applied to it =D

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<p>How do you "partially" apply to a school?</p>

<p>withdrew app b/c it was rolling admission i partially applied to it and finally withdrew at the end...but it is definetly a great school still almost at tier w/ ucb</p>

<p>so why are you still asking?</p>

<p><em>edit</em> forget my comment.. I was looking at the wrong screen name</p>

<p>lol betterday55 =D i was like O.o</p>

<p>Their lowest ranked program is #21? My God...</p>

<p>HOW DO YOU GUYS KNOW THE RANKING OF PROGRAMS WHAT THING DO YOU GUYS USE?...i personally can only find grad rankings on us news and the other thinging...plz tell me what do you guys use to find rankings of programs?</p>

<p>northwestern in a heartbeat...please look at my thread baylor vs miami FL thanks</p>

<p>They both have equally great reputations. </p>

<p>I'd go with Michigan. It's a great school, but will cost you a lot less. Your 20s are so much more fun if you're not paying off $80k of college debt. =]</p>

<p>And, actually, on an international basis, I think Michigan is even better known.</p>

<p>Michigan is only cheap if you're in-state. </p>

<p>Yes, it's better known internationally, but so what? Do you want to work in China after college? </p>

<p>Take Northwestern.</p>

<p>Unless Northwestern gives you a significant scholarship or unless your parents are very wealthy, I'd have to say go for Michigan over Northwestern. In terms of overal academics and reputation, the two schools are pretty even. When it comes to Chemistry, Northwestern is generally ranked somwhere around #10 in the nation and Michigan around #20 in the nation, so there isn't that much of a difference, especially where undergrads are concerned. Both have nice campuses, amazing academics, fun social scenes and great graduate school/professional placement. Evanston is more ideally situated than Ann Arbor, but Ann Arbor is more fun and pleasant than Evanston. </p>

<p>In short, we are talking about two institutions of equal quality and reputation with a $100,000 difference in their price tags. So, like I said, unless you get a substantial amount from Northwestern...or unless your folks are so wealthy that $100,000 is insignificant to your family, I'd say go with Michigan.</p>

<p>which one will help you better in the long run? neither, that's all up to you and how you perform at your job. </p>

<p>for the short one, they're both probably evenly matched. Doing well at either one will get you in the same place. </p>

<p>Having debt is not something you'll want:
<a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2006/09/01/8384574/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2006/09/01/8384574/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/01/pf/college/reverse_dowry/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/01/pf/college/reverse_dowry/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>go to Michigan. Save the money, then buy a sweet car with the same job you would have gotten otherwise.</p>