<p>This is a purely hypothetical thread, as I have not yet received a decision from UofM. Regardless, I think it is fair to start weighing the benefits of attending certain institutions. </p>
<p>The only other school I have been accepted to so far has been Tulane, with a 108k merit scholarship over four years. The cost of attendance would be around $30,000 per year.</p>
<p>Outside of UNC-CH, for which I would be in-state my sophomore year on (family is relocating to North Carolina, mother works at NC State Univ) and Tulane, all of my other choices would be north of $50,000 per year.</p>
<p>Is the $52,00-55,000 cost worth it at Michigan compared with the cost of Tulane and UNC, or compared with the slightly higher cost of elite privates with smaller classes (WashU, Notre Dame, Bowdoin, Rice)? My family has enough means to not be burdened at all wherever I go for undergrad.</p>
<p>I went to undergrad 8 miles down the road at the rival school but UNC is the runaway answer here. Its one of the best public unviersities in the country and offers perhaps the most complete collegiate experience of all schools and is $50,000 cheaper than your other options? Why are you even hesitating? :)</p>
<p>Hahah well I mean I haven’t received a final decision from anywhere except Tulane (still waiting on 11 schools). As for your being down the road, Duke was actually my first choice and my sister went there (both of our parents went to UNC- a house divided), but I was deferred so I’m expecting the worst. UNC would be nice out of convenience but I want to keep my options open.</p>
<p>“I went to undergrad 8 miles down the road at the rival school but UNC is the runaway answer here. Its one of the best public unviersities in the country and offers perhaps the most complete collegiate experience of all schools and is $50,000 cheaper than your other options? Why are you even hesitating?”</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP is interested in engineering where UNC is a non factor? By the way goldenboy, Michigan offers a more complete collegiate experience than UNC simply because it more diverse.</p>
<p>I’m not applying to engineering anywhere. Just the typical LSA/arts and sciences applicant.</p>
<p>I agree with goldenboy that UNC is the runaway choice. For someone accepted to both universities, unless the applicant lives in Michigan, I would always recommend UNC.</p>
<p>Michigan is obviously better than UNC, but the difference in quality is marginal and the cost of attendance seriously favors UNC. Unless your parents can easily afford the difference in cost, I would recommend UNC.</p>
<p>My family can fairly easily afford cost-of-attendance at any school. They were able to pay for my sister to attend Duke without aid, and my mom has told me she has close to $200,000 saved for my education already, so I assume she has a high enough income to support undergrad costs wherever. </p>
<p>My family has told me multiple times not to worry about cost, but the thought still pops up. The only point where I will have to worry about costs is if I decide to attend professional school.</p>
<p>Talk to your mother. If she tells you that they can help you with grad school, then chose whichever school you like, including Michigan. Like I said, for those with the means, Michigan is a step up from UNC. But if she tells you that you are on your own for grad school, but that whatever remains from your education fund after colleges is yours for grad school, I would go with UNC and save as much as possible.</p>
<p>my s also has a merit scholarship at tulane. He was admitted ea to u mich. we’ve told him not to worry about money so I’m sure will choose u mich over tulane. Still, as the person paying, the $100k difference is hard to swallow…</p>
<p>^^^hence your screen name. ;-)</p>
<p>Alexandre…my kid has applied to Michigan and not UNC, but in what universe are you in to say that Michigan is a clear step above UNC? This is news to me, since they consistently are ranked in a virtual tie along with UVA, akin to comparing Williams vs Amherst. UNC is a phenomenal school and is probably a more difficult admit OOS than Michigan.</p>
<p>108K from Tulane? Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.</p>
<p>UNC is a pretty darn good school. However they would love to be allowed to do what Michigan does, which is to admit as many OOS as they please, which raises the academic level of their admits as so many qualified students want to attend. UNC would be exactly like Michigan if that stranglehold were lifted. But the citizens of NC want the school to be primarily a resource for NC students, which is their right.</p>
<p>finalchild, what ranking are you speaking of? If you are referring to the USNWR, I submit that the ranking is fraudulent and should be brought up on charges of misleading the public. In what world is Penn equal to MIT and Stanford or WUSTL superior to Brown and Cornell? Most other rankings have Michigan ranked above UNC, and with good reason. How can UNC be considered exactly as good as Michigan when Michigan:</p>
<ol>
<li>Has a much better Engineering program</li>
<li>Has a slightly stronger Business program</li>
<li>Is ranked higher than UNC in virtually every traditional discipline (save Chemistry)</li>
<li>Has an endowment of $7.5 billion compared to UNC’s $2.2 billion</li>
<li>Has a consistently higher peer assessment rating (4.5 average for Michigan vs 4.2 average for UNC)</li>
</ol>
<p>And those are just criteria that automatically address quality of undergraduate education. As a university overall, Michigan also has significantly better Law and Medical school, and a far larger and more spread-out (both nationally and internationally) alumni base seriously upgrading the status of the institution.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong. I agree that UNC is phenomenal. As you state, UNC used to be more selective for OOS students (that no longer is the case by the way). In fact, I was admitted to all the universities I applied to back in the early 1990s (including Cal, Duke, Michigan, Northwestern and several Ivies) save only one; UNC. I am by no means stating that UNC is not a peer institution or that it is in any way not excellent.But Michigan has a slight, albeit clear, edge, just as Cal has an edge over UCLA, or Harvard over Penn etc… As I stated above, if the money has the means, Michigan is worth considering. If the family does not have the means, UNC is the clear choice. </p>
<p>As for Tulane, I would not really consider it if the OP can attend UNC for the same price.</p>
<p>“my s also has a merit scholarship at tulane. He was admitted ea to u mich. we’ve told him not to worry about money so I’m sure will choose u mich over tulane. Still, as the person paying, the $100k difference is hard to swallow.”</p>
<p>quietdesperation, is that $100k gap going to be a major hardship. If it is a mere inconvenience, it is fine, but if it is a real hardship, you really should have a talk with your son. No university is worth selling the farm for, especially not when you have a good university like Tulane at a more affordable price. You could save this money for his future. It would serve him much better than an undergraduate degree from another university. He could use that $100 k for graduate school, or on a downpayment for a very nice home when he settles down.</p>
<p>i would like to throw in UC Berkley into the discussion. son has also received $108k in merit scholarship from Tulane. We are waiting to hear from UCB and UMichigan.<br>
Annual costs: UCB=$40k, Tulane=$32k, UMichigan=$52k
our current plan: if he receives a direct admit into Ross (business school), then he will go to UM. Otherwise, UCB (hopefully, he will get in to Haas as jr.) . Tulane is the back up option. </p>
<p>Does this sound reasonable?</p>
<p>mymoby, your $40k price tag for UCB vs $52k for Michigan seems a little suspicious. If you are CA residents, UCB should cost significantly less than $40k (more in the neighbourhood of $30k). If you are not residents of CA, UCB should cost just as much as Michigan (±$55k).</p>
<p>^^^^I haven’t studied all of the data you reference, but your post strikes me as written by an obvious Michigan fan. Listen, there are reasons why my D applied to Mich and not UNC, and I am from NC, but still…UNC’s med school isn’t as good? And I’m sure sure you’ve heard of the Research Triangle.</p>
<p>I have heard of the Reasearch Triangle as well as the Bermuda Triangle. The point Alexandre was making is that Michigan is a top ten medical school and UNC is not.</p>
<p><a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings</a></p>
<p>Alexandre is just stating the obvious fact that in terms of sheer academics, in the vast majority of comparable disciplines, Michigan trumps UNC.</p>