<p>Hi there, I'm an international student who's been lucky enough to be accepted to both and don't know where to go. On one hand Michigan is in Ann Arbor (which is meant to be very nice) but RPI has the better CS program and is smaller overall.</p>
<p>As an international student they're both equally expensive, so no help there :(. Any comments?</p>
<p>Both of these schools have top level academics. RPI’s smaller size is one of the reasons I chose it over the good publics schools. Sounds like you have a similar preference so I vote for RPI.</p>
<p>Michigan claims to have the biggest alumni network of any college and is certainly much better known in the US amongst the general population. RPI is very well known in the northeastern US and highly respected among techie types (e. g., employers). Also, the cost of attendance is similar but not the same: RPI $56k; U of M $49k. My son is a student at RPI and is very happy there, but I’d think pretty hard about going there over U of M. That said, there is no bad choice between the two.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is a nicer place to live than Troy- as long as more snow/winter does not bother you. Troy has a fair amount of snow as it is in the Northeastern US, but this part of the Hudson River Valley is usally less snowy than Michigan.</p>
<p>@Schmoomcgoo- U. of Michigan has a huge alumni network because the school itself has SO many more kids, that’s the only reason why!!</p>