<p>Cornell University
Northwestern University
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Texas-Austin
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>
<p>in what regards?</p>
<p>In the fact that they are all extremely well rounded. Good in Engineering, good in the humanities and sciences, nice campuses, good schools spirit, good location and good athletics.</p>
<p>What about UNC-Chapel Hill?</p>
<p>Yep, UNC is up there too...as is UVA. But those two do not have great Engineering departments.</p>
<p>The biggest difference between UMich and UVa is the size. UMich is nearly twice the size of UVa. My good friend Elise from NJ transferred from UMich to UVa (and she was in UMich's Honors Program) because of this reason. She felt Michigan was too huge. UVa's more intimate.</p>
<p>UMd should be added to the list.</p>
<p>Taxguy, in many ways, UMd is certainly very well rounded. But it does not yet have the reputation that the other schools on the list above have and College Park, at least when I last saw it about 10 years ago, was not quite as charming as the rest of the college towns above.</p>
<p>Globalist, UVA and Michigan and indeed very different. But I am surprised to hear of Elise's reasons. Most people who have been to both Michigan and UVA found Michigan to be functionally just as intimate. Same size classes (very small by large school standards), proportionately spread out campus etc...</p>
<p>hehe I'm applying to 4 of those colleges and I didn't even use Alexandre's list as a reference before making the list :-P</p>
<p>Alexandre, recheck the U Md. It has changed a lot since I taught there 15 years ago. Average SATs are around 1300, and average weighted GPA is around 4.0. In addition, at least for graduate school, U Md was in the top 20 nationwide by US News and World Report on some aspects of Engineering. </p>
<p>Is it as highly rated as UVA or Michigan yet? NO! However, it is getting there and is definitely on the rise. Moreover, Maryland is very reasonable about what they charge out of state students.</p>
<p>Bottom Line: As a safety for very good students, I certainly wouldn't cross it off the list.</p>
<p>I totally agree with you Taxguy. Maryland is a great university. I never questioned the selectivity of the school. Maryland has indeed bdcome very selective. It has a top 20 Business school and a top 20 Engineering program. </p>
<p>I guess the problem with any list is that many other scools can deservingly claim a spot. Schools like Maryland, UCSD, Duke, Illinois, UNC, UVA, Penn, University of Washington, Washington University etc... I would add all the following schools to my list. </p>
<p>Cornell University
Duke University
Indiana University-Bloomington
Northwestern University
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-San Diego
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
University of Maryland-College Park
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas-Austin
University of Virginia
University of Washington-Seattle
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Washington University-Saint Louis</p>
<p>I am sure I left out many.</p>
<p>Elise felt overall there were too many people at UMich. Her older sister was also at Michigan, and she never really saw her. While the Law School & the Darden Business School are in North Grounds, UVa undergrads are concentrated in Central Grounds, so you're always bumping into your friends. Plus, it helped that UVa has a better financial aid program. She graduated from UVa with no loans at all.</p>
<p>Yeah, but College Park is such a dump compared to Ann Arbor!</p>
<p>Man! You guys are comparing all these schools to U of M, so you really think michigan state is that different. Okay, so what if the schools hate eachother, but at least they're both in Michigan. Most kids who get kicked out of U of M just head to State, y'know? State has good science programs, cultural programs, journalism programs, writing stuff. Don't hate the green and white!</p>
<p>I have to agree with the College Park statements</p>
<p>U-T is a fine school, but has extremely limited out-of-state enrollment. I think that's something that really sets U-M apart. I'm not sure about the other state flagships listed.</p>
<p>yeah i definitely think University of illinois at Urbana champaign resembles u of mich in many aspects. They have an excellent enginnering program(ranked #4 in the new us news list), great campus(well rounded), great atmosphere, great students...etc.I definitely think it should be up there. btw UofI and UofM would definitely be my top 2 choices. =)</p>
<p>yeah i agree with dank, UIUC and UMich are both excellent and are my top 2 choices as well. hopefully since i already got into UIUC for engineering ill get into UMich</p>
<p>Let me be another deciding between UIUC and Mich. Leaning towards UIUC because of the in-state price.</p>
<p>I would also include Notre Dame. Even though it is right wing, primarily undergrad, catholic, and not strong in engineering, it has the same philosophy of excellence both in academics and athletics. Both schools are some form of blue and yellowish (Navy blue/gold vs. BLUE/MAIZE). The two football programs are the winningest in college, and have perenially been feared by other teams (notwithstanding ND's recent downfall during the davie era and controversy amidst the willingham era). Also, I don't think IU-bloomington resembles michigan at all. Michigan is significantly stronger athletically and academically. I am from Indiana and am an Indiana basketball fan, and I have been to the bloomington campus many times. It is a nice campus, but it isn't close to Ann Arbor's level. Even in their strong areas-i.e. business, Michigan is stronger. Although IU has 5 basketball titles, making it a dominant team (and it will return to such eventually), Michigan has a National title as well as 2 NIT titles, 12 big ten titles and multiple final-four trips not to mention the other final four trips, big ten titles, and other accomplishments that were relinquished because of the fab 5 and other scandals, and Michigan has rarely been known to produce phenomenal basketball teams-at least compared to their football program.</p>