<p>Right now im trying to decide between IU and Mich. I'm going to major in history. An underlying concern that has been brought to my attention by my guidence counselor is the "intellectuality" of the students at both universities. I myself love to have a good time, party, etc. Clearly this is possible at nearly every school nevermind IU and Mich . My concern comes down to the type of student. 90% of Mich's student body comes from the top 10% of their highschool class, while at IU a relatively small 25%. I'm worried that at IU I'll find too many kids who don't want to go to class, act very immature, or are simply stupid. Now, not that these kinds of students don't exsist at Mich, but I tend to believe there may be more at IU given the prior statistic. Anyone have any advice?
Thanks</p>
<p>I understand your concern. It is a valid one. The bottom half of the student body at IU did not miss the turn for Harvard. This was a problem many years ago when I attended IU and is still a problem. You are going to have the same issue at Michigan, but to a much lesser extent (maybe bottom 20%).
I came from a top suburban east coast high school and was pretty horrified by the level of intellect in my freshman classes. It does all sort itself out, though. A lot of kids simply don't make it past freshman year and once you get into your major, you will find plenty of peers who will challenge you. This is a problem with a lot of state schools. That said, the IU kids were about the nicest people I ever met, and the social life was great.</p>
<p>I think this is a legitimate way to choose between UM and IU. In fact, I don't think it's a close contest if you want to study history. Is there a financial reason IU is still in the running?</p>
<p>thanks guys. Mich will be ~45 while IU will be ~ 30-35. I'm also considering Pitt, which seems somewhere between Mich and IU. Pitt will cost about the same as IU. I plan to attend graduate school and depending on how things go maybe pursue a JD. Should this influence my decision in terms of finance? What about prestige for being admitted to a graduate school? Would Pitt be a good comprimise?</p>
<p>MOWC is correct for the most part. There are more than the fair share of slackers at IU who don't care much for the academic rigor of the curriculum and are there because it's one of the only schools they got into. Some get weeded out of the school (12%) and some go to other majors.</p>
<p>Especially my freshman year, I was upset with the quality of the student body (I don't think I'll ever forget the kid who thought Chicago was a state) and I submitted a transfer application to Michigan. Even in upper level classes, I found the same problem, although that may be only towards my major. I got in to Michigan and didn't go (thank goodness), but the student body quality is a problem. </p>
<p>I have friends at Michigan who say the same thing, that there are students there who don't care about anything but partying and getting the degree, no matter what their GPA is or how long it takes. You'll get that at any large state school. I think the problem is less existent at Michigan (only in 25% of the kids compared to around 75% at IU) but it is still there nonetheless. When I talked to people at Michigan about my reason for sending out the transfer application, they laughed and asked "you think Michigan is going to be any better!?"</p>
<p>Oh and by the way MomofWildChild, I am in the same exact situation as you were. I'm 10% from one of the top 100 public schools in the nation, also located on the east coast.</p>
<p>Thanks A2Wolves6. Yea you're right, im sure thatll happen at any large university. I'm going to have a problem articulating this but....What about interests/types of people? For example, one minute detail that made Dartmouth(which i didn't get into) my top choice were comments like "It is not uncommon at Dartmouth to be playing beer pong and arguing Plato simultaneously." Are there going to be enough people at either of these schools that will want to have a great time while still being intellectually engaged outside of coursework?</p>
<p>recap5 -- you can find those pong/Plato types everywhere. However, at IU you'll have to look for them harder than at UofM... just as at UofM you have to look for them harder than at, say, Dartmouth...</p>
<p>I would say that both schools are very balanced between quality academics and partying, with Indiana being more leaned towards the partying side and Michigan being more leaned towards the academics side.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. What about Pitt? Any comment on that school? Im thinking its a good middleground between mich and IU.</p>
<p>I didn't get much Plato at IU, but I was in the Kelley School, which is really good. WildChild would not seriously consider IU or UTenn for the very reason you are saying- not enough intellectually-minded peers. He even found that lacking at his Ivy freshman year, though. He DID find plenty of partying, though!<br>
A state school is a state school and it is going to have a mushy bottom. My younger stepbrother reported the same thing at Iowa State.
There IS a top 10% there- you just have to work at finding it. I am happy with my degree and with my IU experience. (and GO COACH CREAN!)</p>
<p>"It's Indiana, you can't turn that down."
-Crean</p>
<p>He knows the deal</p>
<p>I have a lukewarm feeling about Pitt. It sort of feels like "half" a great state university to me. If you can suck it up and accept that you might have to look for the intellectual challenge, I would pick IU. You will still have to look for it at Michigan, but maybe not as hard. Pitt just doesn't seem to have as much going for it in my opinion. I hear it has a really nice campus, though.</p>
<p>Yea im actually driving from NYC to Pitt tomorrow.</p>
<p>48% of students at Pitt were in top 10% of their class in high school.</p>
<p>I am also interested in hearing what any other people have to say about the Pitt student body on this subject. While the school itself looks great, I never really got a glimpse of what the student body was really like.</p>
<p>I live in PGH and have a few friends that go to Pitt. It has a nice mix of intellects and average students. The honors program is great, and there are a lot of brilliant students. Pitt has its fair share of partying, a great b ball team and a soon to be great football team. The students are quite diverse- pretty much every different social group is represented. I think it is less "intellectual" than UM, but def more challenging than IU. It's a perfect compromise academically- not a tone of slackers, good party scene, well ranked and oppurtunities to be challenged.</p>
<p>I contest the statement that Pitt is "def more challenging than IU".</p>
<p>I've found this to be the case at all lower-level classes I've sat in on: community college, flagship public, top 100 private. Hardly saw a difference. Only at the 300-level do students seem to buckle down, but then they also tend not to participate as much either.</p>
<p>In terms of those who wish to be challenged, the honors college is very good and rigorous. Certain programs at Pitt are def. harder and better than IUm better law program, better pre med, nursing, pol science etc;Know people from both schools.</p>