<p>I wonder if anyone can tell me the relative merits of the Residential College versus the Honors College. I've been told on another thread that in order to make Michigan "smaller", RC in the East Quad is the way to go. But I thought Honors in the South Quad would do the same - just with a different emphasis.</p>
<p>Hi, SBDad. I wanted to share with you some information I got at a recruiting day they had at U_M earlier this fall. I'm sure your son was invited, but you must have missed it. Anyway. they had a panel of teachers and then a panel of students talking to the parents about the U-M experience, and I was very pleasantly surprised to hear about the progress they have made in the small school within a large school area. In addition to the Honors College and the Residential College there are a bunch more "learning communities" one I recall is "health sciences" that have the learn and live together concept. They are programs that your son can match to his own interests and be a part of a smaller community of like minded kids. It sounded great to me, and actually was a kind of epiphany, because I felt pretty lost in my undergrad years at Michigan, and did not necessarily want my D to go. But I was impressed with how they have addressed this issue. I think the bottom line at Michigan is that if you want to make it a small school experience you can, taking up to half your classes in your program, but if you want or need the big resources of the large school, Ann Arbor has it.</p>
<p>Thanks fredmar. If you are talking about the Saturday "take a class" day, with the presentations in the student union, I was there. Maybe we even sat at the same table.</p>
<p>How, funny. I bet we did!</p>