<p>would anyone consider Ann Arbor prestigious? I just got accepted today but I having a hard time convincing my mother to let me go btw I am from New York</p>
<p>It is MUCH more highly regarded in the midwest...like I tell people I got into Dartmouth...nobody cares. I tell them I'm GOING to Umich..there like "ohh..that's great...what a great school!!"...I'm not even joking.</p>
<p>yea i agree</p>
<p>in new England it's not THAT prestigous, but in midwest many people ahve heard of it. overall, why do u need prestige? Mich's academics is very strong, one of the best business school-ROSS</p>
<p>mich is perhaps one of the most underrated schools out there. it's got over a 60% admit rate which is very high compared to the other schools that have 'prestige,' so a lot of people discount it as another public school, another 'safety.' people are always amazed when i tell them that i got into berkeley, but they don't have much of a reaction when i tell them that i'm going to michigan--and those two schools are always ranked right next to each other. it may not have much of a reputation outside the midwest, but it's got amazing academics.</p>
<p>Also, Michigan has an excellent student body. Many are ivy qualified and I think 90% of Michigan students are in the top 10% of their class (higher than many of the top private schools)...it really makes me wonder how I got in. x_x</p>
<p>UMich is a highly respected university that has an extremely successful alumni base all around America and the world. I don't really like the word prestigious because its used too ambiguously. If prestige and pretension are important to you, only consider the Ivy League Colleges. Aside from college rankings and reputations, just visit the college and see if its a good fit for you. Even if you could get into the "best college in America (like Harvard/Princeton)," it doesn't mean that that's best college for you. Besides, a college won't MAKE you prestigious, you still have to make your own reputation in life.</p>
<p>anonymous1300..you just got the acceptance today?were u one of the ones that got deferred?</p>
<p>UMich is has worldwide prestige.</p>
<p>i wasnt deferred im really surprised i got in though</p>
<p>It's a top public school, right up there with Uva and berkeley. Many would say it's a "public ivy." With that 60% acceptance rate, it might seem easy to get into, but it really isn't. The only reason the number is high is due to the fact that the school is huge.</p>
<p>anonymous1300..then how come u got the acceptance that late? u live outside the US?</p>
<p>It depends what you mean by "prestige". If by prestige, you mean what will your school friends, neighbors and the average person on the street think of the University of Michigan, then no, Michigan is not very prestigious. But then again, neither are Brown, Chicago, Dartmouth, Penn or Rice (to name a few). But as far as academics, graduate school adcoms and corporate recruiters are concerned, Michigan is extremely prestigious (on par with schools like Cal, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Penn etc...). </p>
<p>As someone hinted above, Michigan is extremely respected in the Midwest. But it is also highly respected nationally. Of course, to people in the Northeast, Michigan will not match the Ivies or Georgetown or MIT. And top people in the West Coast, Michigan will not match Cal, Stanford or UCLA. But in the West Coast, Michigan is usually as respected as Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn etc.... In the Northeast, Michigan is as respected as Cal and UCLA etc... </p>
<p>Finally, Michigan has a very strong international reputation. In Western Europe, Michigan is generally regarded as one of the top 10 universities in the US. In Asia, Michigan is also highly regarded.</p>
<p>I think that if people are sophisticated enough, they will treat Umich as ivy league quality. Michigan is quite prestigious, and it is especially prestigious to those who actually know colleges and have knowledge beyond ivy league. As Alexandre will tell you, Umich job placement, if that's important to you, is great from Umich, probably as good as the ivies even if you're trying to work in the Northeast. That is one form of prestige. I think I might be choosing Umich over "prestigious" NYU Stern, but I don'tthink I'll have any regrets because to me and many others, Umich is a great, well-rounded school.</p>
<p>It's funny, before I came to Michigan I wasn't aware of its reputation. I had done a pretty narrow college search (laden with ignorance, I might add) as an undergrad, and then when I worked in admissions for my alma mater I didn't recruit with the Midwestern crowd. It was just, to me, another state school, which I was only considering because it happened to have the top grad program in the country for my field of study.</p>
<p>Yes, I'm embarrassed at my ignorance.</p>
<p>It wasn't until I was already here for grad school that I realized its reputation. It hit home for me when my parents were clamoring for the Michigan gear for Christmas and my mom told me how much my Dad loved telling people I was at Michigan. In his world (he's a college professor) it really means something.</p>
<p>May I point out that Michigans admission criteria are rather questionable, even after the abolishment of the points system?</p>
<p>Oh? How so?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Of course, to people in the Northeast, Michigan will not match the Ivies or Georgetown or MIT.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm trying to decide between UMich (it's absolutely free) and Georgetown (20K/yr) for a political science major. This quote only intensifies my worries...</p>
<p>Mich is a poli sci heavyweight. Take it from someone who's kind of on the "inside track," UMich is a great school. They have a superb methodology program, in fact.</p>
<p>Assume you want to go to law school or become a pollster or professor? Pick Michigan. "Free" will save you $$ for grad school. If you're assertive in getting to know your professors and work your way into upper level classes quickly, you'll get a fine education at Michigan. Georgetown does have the D.C. advantage for poly sci. But Michigan has the Institute for Social Research.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, I hate to be a jerk, but...</p>
<p>There is no such study as "poly sci." It is not the study of many sciences. It is the study of politics, and therefore is called "poli sci."</p>
<p>Rant over.</p>