<p>At Stanford my overall cost of attendance would be 54k a year. At Michigan I receive full tuition + Room and Board. At both schools I have about 20k in outside scholarships to be used on anything academic related. </p>
<p>I visited Michigan and LOVED it, but my concerns surround advising, intellectualism in the student body, and other problems stemming from a large university. I could see myself going there for four years.</p>
<p>Stanford has been my dream school. But I will not be visiting until admit weekend so I guess I don't really know for sure. Stanford is slightly stronger in the fields I want to study. The people seem to carry a lot of what I liked about the student body at Michigan, but are more intellectually curious and passionate. But they aren't offering much of anything. </p>
<p>I'm definitely going to grad/prof school afterwards. I don't have any friends going to either school but am from the midwest and plan on living in NYC or Chicago post-grad. </p>
<p>I COULD afford to go to Stanford if I REALLY wanted to, but I would put a strain of my family and myself. Additionally, I wouldn't have much extra money to study abroad or spring break or buy a car or an apartment. </p>
<p>The prospect of going to a school I like a lot like U of M for free is incredibly attractive. I wouldn't have to worry about money at and after school and would be able to take advantage of all of the things there. </p>
<p>What would you do? What should I do? Why? Is there a clear answer in this situation?</p>
<p>If it were me I would take the full ride. This seems like an obvious decision to me. Paying that kind of money for an undergrad education is a big waste. Michigan is an incedible school and theres nothing Stanford has that you cant get there. Plus…its FREE for you. I think u should take the full ride, it wouldnt make sense not to.</p>
<p>I agree with supereagle. Go to Michigan for undergrad and do really well there. Then, apply to Stanford for your masters or PhD coming out of school. The money you saved for by going to Michigan will be well used in getting your graduate degree/s.</p>
<p>In all likelihood, I’ll be going to Michigan (Stanford reject here) and then apply to Stanford for my masters, we’re in the same boat. haha</p>
<p>@Tyler09, I was trying to push you to Yale, on my last thought, since you wanted to go easy on math. What about Harvard and Yale? Michigan is no HYPS (sorry to say this). You should not be too worried about money if you can afford it. At this point, I am pushing you to Stanford if you are not leaning towards Yale and Harvard.</p>
<p>How much of a strain would it be on your family? I didn’t get the impression that it would be a large one, because you mentioned you’d be giving up a car, spring break, travel abroad, and an apartement. These are all luxury comforts (except the travel abroad I guess) that aren’t that important in the grand scheme. </p>
<p>If going to Stanford is that big of a strain, go to UMich. It’s a great school, and a Ross degree is very sought after. </p>
<p>These types of decisions are common, and it’s never really clear. It really depends on what you can afford and what schools you are deciding between. Although your decision should be a bit easier than others, as long as you remember that you won’t go wrong either way.</p>
<p>ehwo, what do you mean Michigan is no HYPS? All that means is that it doesnt have the same level of prestige. If he cared about prestige he wouldnt be considering this at all.</p>
<p>^ehwo, Do you have any idea that UMich already carries a great deal of international prestige? </p>
<p>Anyways, I’ll say take the Michigan full-ride. You can save money for later, when you apply to Stanford for grad school. (Grad school > undergrad)</p>
<p>@ab2013, sorry for my strong words on Michigan. I know that I would make some people not happy by saying that. Sorry, it was not meant to let you read it. I am fully aware of Michigan, my schoolmate is teaching there, I had been there many times before, I was an international student many years ago.</p>
<p>Michigan is an excellent school, and Stanford is an institution.</p>
<p>@supereagle10, I don’t mind that you kept saying undergrad education is not important, and I don’t know how many will agree with you on this. My view is actually the opposite. First of all, not everyone gets a chance to go to grad school, so people talk about education, they talk about undergrad education. Second, to get into a school for undergrad education, you actually compare yourself with your class, while to get into grad school, you compete with different levels (or classes or grades) of people. Again, by saying these I may make some people uncomfortable again. Sorry for this.</p>
<p>Congratulations for the acceptances. Although I respect the many “obviously take the money and go to Michigan” comments, let me offer a different perspective.</p>
<p>College will be among the best 4 years of your life. You’ll grow into an adult, learn amazing things, meet lifelong friends, perhaps meet the person you’ll end up marrying, significantly affect the future course of your life, etc. From that viewpoint, the argument that “the experiences at Stanford and Michigan will be indistinguishable” is far too simplistic. There are tremendous qualitative differences between the schools, the Big-10 vs. Stanford atmospheres, the students at those schools, etc – not to say that either is inherently “better” than the other.</p>
<p>Disclosure: I attended Stanford fairly recently, and honestly wouldn’t have traded my experiences there for <em>any</em> amount of money in the world. I also know UM quite well, and am sure you’d find alums there who felt the same way. Finally, IMO the statement that you can simply save Stanford for grad school doesn’t mean much – very few people can count on that type of opportunity.</p>
<p>I agree. why does everyone assume they can pass up a top school for under grad and just go for grad school? How do you know you will get in? I see that all the time on CC.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters who commented how you can’t count on Stanford for grad school. The acceptance rates at Stanford’s various grad schools hover around 3-4%. Make your college choice with the thought that this is your one and only chance of attending Stanford.</p>
<p>Are you on crack? You’re in at Ross. Stanford may be “better”, but it won’t matter after you kick a** at Michigan. Michigan is definitely a target, good students there will be getting the same interviews as HYPSM. Besides state school parties vs. nerd parties. Believe me, you will thank yourself every weekend.</p>
<p>Maybe post this question in the Michigan thread. I’m sure they’ll have a lot more specifics about Ross that would be more helpful, rather than people here just saying “Ross is great” (which it is) without much other input.</p>
<p>Stanford…obviously. Michigan is too big, even if you’re Ross, you’ll be surrounded with students of a higher caliber if you go to Stanford and the grad school placement is probably way better at Stanford (e.g. if you go to Stanford for undergrad, getting into graduate program at Stanford is much easier–they have BA/MA 5 year programs for many disciplines)</p>
<p>I’ve visited both schools. I love Michigan and Ann Arbor and the Big Ten, and feel that I have plenty of “fit” there. But I LOVE Stanford and feel like of all the schools I visited it fit the most.</p>
<p>However, I’m not sure the difference in fit is worth 200k, not too mention the fact that I question my own ability to discriminate between two schools that I know I “fit” at.</p>
<p>So, deposit due May 1st. Please weigh in, it could be a vote, a comment, an anecdote. a question, anything!</p>
<p>Envision yourself 10 years from now. Sometimes you can not see the truth simply because you are either too close or too far away. At the right distance, you may see God.</p>