<p>I am VP of College Prep Club at my HS. I'd like to give my members a presentation on our home state's best schools.</p>
<p>Please Rank the following schools based on 1). Academic Reputation, 2). Academic Diversity & 3). Location.</p>
<p>UM Ann Arbor
UM Dearborn
UM Flint
Michigan State
Wayne State
Grand Valley State
Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan
Central Michigan
Kalamazoo College
Hope College
Calvin College
Albion College
Michigan Tech
U of Detroit Mercy</p>
<p>UM Ann Arbor
MSU
Kalamazoo</p>
<p>You need to add Oakland University to your list. </p>
<p>yes add Oakland I live in MI and I know so many people who turned down msu for Oakland because of their full ride for a 31 on the act however msu is still better as Oakland is seen as more of a local commuter college here but obviously u of m is on the top of the list the bottom would be eastern and detroit mercy because of their location. I’m sure they’re okay schools but I would never leave suburbia in metro detroit for school in detroit </p>
<p>@reb1rr I too live in MI and I don’t think Oakland makes the list. I know they’re trying to improve so maybe in a few years. I think being in Detroit is a plus because there are things to do.</p>
<p>If you are going to include Eastern and Central, you need to include Oakland as well.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.4icu.org/us/Michigan.htm”>http://www.4icu.org/us/Michigan.htm</a></p>
<p>I live near MI and these schools are the ones most recognized with distinction:
U of M AA
Kzoo
Albion
Hope</p>
<p>U Mich
MSU
Kalamazoo
Albion
Michigan Tech </p>
<p>Academic reputation: there are the usual published ranking lists that correlate with reputation.</p>
<p>Academic diversity: generally, larger schools will have more academic majors and a larger course catalog.</p>
<p>Location: They are all in Michigan, right? So what part of Michigan do you like?</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus I mean if they’re in major cities.</p>
<p>The only major city in Michigan is Detroit, and it only has a couple of universities. Alma, Albion, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Michigan State etc…are all located in college towns. </p>
<p>@Alexandre I disagree. Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids are all large socioeconomic areas with a defined “culture”. That is what I meant. Ann Arbor has lots of stuff to do in comparison to Albion. </p>
<p>I agree alsa (well, not so much about Kalamazoo, but with the other cities you mention), that some of those cities are large socioeconomic areas with defined culture, but I would not describe Ann Arbor as a “major city”. To me, a major city would have a population of at least half a million. </p>
<p>@Alexandre It also depends on relative location. A.e. Lincoln, NE is a midsized town but in Nebraska it’s a major city. I’d say the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti metro area is a major city in Southeast MI. </p>
<p>U of Mich - AA
Michigan State
Kalamazoo
Michigan Tech
maybe Albion… then “the rest”</p>
<p>There is also Spring Arbor University in Jackson… also part of “the rest”.</p>
<p>“Lincoln, NE is a midsized town but in Nebraska it’s a major city”</p>
<p>Lincoln, NE has almost 270,000 people living in its city limits. It is much larger than a, “midsized town.”</p>
<p>@rjkofnovi Wow, it’s grown. Anyway, same thing holds. Smack Lincoln in, say Cox County, and it’s irrelevant but in the Heartland it becomes a big deal.</p>
<p>While it is interesting to see what perception people have of our fine schools in Michigan please make sure your presentation talks about finding the right fit, both academically and financially. It can be so easy at the high school level to judge quickly and inaccurately. And perception is just… perception. Actual stats would be very useful for the student on the bubble.</p>
<p>Also, as we know cost/money can be a very important thing to discuss regarding the schools. Which schools on your list offer merit aid.</p>
<p>For example, I’ve noticed no one has Grand Valley in their top 5 list of schools. Did you know that Grand Valley (3.51) has a higher average GPA in their admitted students than Michigan State (3.31)? And Grand Valley has automatic Merit Aid starting at a 29 ACT score vs Michigan State which has a competition. State has twice as many students and a rich history and big 10 football team. Now I am not saying State or GV is better or worse but you can see how it would be a totally different fit cost wise and atmosphere wise. </p>
<p>Good luck with your presentation!</p>
<p>@girlsmom14and16 I know GVSU is an up and coming U but at least among my friends it’s still in the safety-zone. In fact, I know only one person who’s top pic is GVSU and that’s because her brother goes there (she’s applying to MSU as well.) While it’s bound to change, at the moment GVSU lacks the same strong reputation that draws students to U of M, MSU, and Wayne.</p>
<p>I did some research on the US News rankings and have put together the Top 10MI colleges by there rankings. National U’s and LAC’s get equal weight while Regional U’s get less.</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Michigan (#28 in National U’s)</li>
<li>Kalamazoo College (#61 in LAC’s)</li>
<li>Michigan State (#73 in National U’s)</li>
<li>Hope College (#100 in LACs)</li>
<li>Albion College (#100 in LACs)</li>
<li>Calvin College (#100 in LACs)</li>
<li>Michigan Tech (#117 in National U’s)</li>
<li>Alma College (#126 in LACs)</li>
<li>Western Michigan (#181 in National U’s)</li>
<li>Andrews University (#181 in National U’s)</li>
</ol>