Thoughts on the U of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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Currently building my college list. I’ve already got a few of the “just apply and pray” schools (Ivies, etc) on the list, and am looking to expand it with schools that have a sane admissions process. I’m looking for

Already on the list:

-Boston University
-Tufts

Some background with regards to schools and areas of interest:

IB predicted grades (final grades come out after uni decisions). 40/42 overall, with 4 HL courses and 2 SLs instead of the standard 3/3 split.

2330 SAT (took only once-730 in writing, 800 in the rest)

Extracurriculars: Strong, but not exceptional. Leadership and/or awards in several activities including student government (president), debate, MUN, and national history bee.

Interests: Politics, economics, public policy-especially the latter of the 3. Dream career would be as an urban planner or a politician in an executive position (as opposed to legislative work like the tragedies that were most recent US Congresses).

Wondering if the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor would be a good fit. I know that it’s highly regarded for its political science program, but I’d also like a more nuanced perspective than what the usual publications have to say. Admissions counselor likes the school, but isn’t an expert.

With regards to things like size, facilities, etc. I’m willing to go with what most unis have. Basically, all I am looking for in a school is:

-Good academics
-Reasonable proximity to a major city (Detroit may not count in some people’s books, but as someone interested in urban planning I think it would be a fascinating case study).
-No FSU-like demigod status for the school’s football team.

I was wondering if anyone might know more about the school than its good reputation, or even if there might be some alumni browsing these pages. If so, do you think Ann Arbor would be a good fit for me? Any input is appreciated.

Also, if anyone can suggest other schools in the same tier, that would help.

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Michigan is an extraordinary school is an extraordinary town. If you are out of state it can be hard to gain acceptance but you have a good chance. You should not be complacent though because in some majors it is as hard as any school in the country, including the Ivy League.

Sports are of course a big part of the experience, as is the case across the Big Ten.

Apart from studying urban planning, you won’t need a city for entertainment. Ann Arbor is more than most need in a college town, much more.

Michigan and Ann Arbor have a big personality and an enormous amount of school spirit. I have been there for a Notre Dame game and it is electric.

You should be prepared for some big time college fun. It would not be anything like BU or Tufts.

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@BatesParent2019 -Thanks for the feedback.

Not against sports-I’m all for them, as long as they aren’t prioritized over academics and the letter of the law, which is unfortunately the case at some schools.

I do like to have a city nearby simply because it makes travel easier (I’m almost certain to accumulate a lot of air and rail miles over the course of my 4 years).

BU and Tufts are just a couple of schools on my list-there are some there, albeit in another category (i.e. the schools I almost certainly won’t get into, like most applicants), which are very different. I think I can handle some college fun.

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@NotVerySmart Detroit is close enough to ease any travel burdens but you won’t need a city for fun with Ann Arbor.

Case Western is in Cleveland and that is similar to Michigan academically with the sports dialed down. Same with University of Rochester.

Michigan is such an experience on all levels the only peers really are Notre Dame and Stanford.

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Now that simply isn’t true. Any school in Boston is a great experience. You could argue the same for NYC.

UM is a great school and a good environment for sure, but let’s not get carried away.

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I don’t agree that Case Western is similar to Case Western at all academically,

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sorry meant Michigan!

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"Michigan is such an experience on all levels the only peers really are Notre Dame and Stanford

Now that simply isn’t true. Any school in Boston is a great experience. You could argue the same for NYC.

UM is a great school and a good environment for sure, but let’s not get carried away."

Please tell the readers the names of all of the schools in Boston and New York that offer major Division 1 intercollegiate sports. The only school that is even close is BC.

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Pengsphil, Batesparent was alluding to the rare combination of academic excellence, athletic tradition and campus life that exists at Michigan. Schools like Columbia, NYU, Harvard, MIT, BU, NEU, etc…are excellent, but they do not possess the unique mix that exists at Michigan, or Duke, or Notre Dame or Wisconsin or UNC or Stanford or UT-Austin and a handful other universities around the country. In Boston, the only University that comes close is BC.

That being said, schools in Boston and NYC come with their own unique mix, which comes with big city life. Some people like the college town experience while others prefer big city life. To each his own.

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“Case Western is in Cleveland and that is similar to Michigan academically with the sports dialed down. Same with University of Rochester.”

With respect: both schools are significantly smaller and more bounded not just as to population, but as to academic offerings. In aggregate, grad + undergrad, neither is close to Michigan, excepting selected departments. Certainly, at the graduate level, Michigan has a far stronger reputation (101 departments in the top 10 nationally).

“Michigan is such an experience on all levels the only peers really are Notre Dame and Stanford.”

Again, with respect: Notre Dame isn’t in the same class as either Michigan or Stanford as to total mass/spread/diversity of academic offerings; Notre Dame research is a rounding error in Michigan’s research budget. In comparison to Michigan, Notre Dame is a boutique…strong but much more limited than Michigan. The generally accepted aggregate graduate ranking: Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford and then Michigan. At the undergraduate level, Michigan’s top quartile (maybe top half) is as qualified as Stanford (in size, the top quartile is as large as Stanford is in aggregate at the undergraduate level), but Michigan’s much larger size means that the bottom of the class is not as strong.

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“No FSU-like demigod status for the school’s football team.”

Unfortunately for you, football is VERY big at Michigan.

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yikesyikesyikes, the OP does not mind if football is “VERY big” at Michigan, as long as it is not prioritized over academics. It is safe to say that at Michigan, football takes a back seat to academics.

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As a person who live 30 minutes away from Notre Dame and with family that went to MSU, I’d say boo! :stuck_out_tongue:

But really, While I haven’t been there or put much research into it, I hear its a very good school. Good luck in the college process!

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Given how much UM paid Mike Harbaugh to be its football coach this year, I would quibble that football takes a backseat to academics.

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NoVaDad, what does a coach’s salary have to do with the intellectual vibe of a university? Duke’s basketball coach earns more than Michigan’s football coach. Would you say that academics take a backseat to basketball at Duke?

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“Given how much UM paid Mike Harbaugh to be its football coach this year, I would quibble that football takes a backseat to academics.”

Jim Harbaugh’s comp is around $5,000,000/year and helps to put enough seats into the seats in order to generate football revenues sufficient to pay out $20,000,000/year in scholarships…so his salary effectively funds student tuition which is 400% of that salary and also generates enough revenue to help pay for a lot of other kids to play sports.

You can also do the math on $5,000,000/$6,600,000,000 where the denominator is the total institutional budget…clearly it is a fraction of 1%…or maybe $5,000,000/$1,300,000,000 where the denominator is the annual research budget.

While there are order of 43,000 students on campus, they have trouble getting 12,000 kids to fill the student section…that ratio also speaks to the place occupied by football on campus.

With over 101 graduate programs in the top ten in the nation (a graduate profile in the top 4 in the country) and with the overall institution ranked solidly in the top 25 GLOBALLY by the 3 major global surveys, whatever role is played by football on campus, it doesn’t detract from the academics.

In conclusion, those with an ignorance of Michigan who know about the institution from the outside and only through the lens of football, football may bulk large, but the reality is far far different. Watch the Tony awards tonight and you’ll see 4 Michigan students in action, but hear no mention of football.

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In 2013, 105 of 127 division 1 athletic programs lost money and therefore received money from their general funds. Not Michigan athletics, which gave $2M back through scholarships (as Blue85 referred).

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What does any of this have to do with the OP’s criteria:

“No FSU-like demigod status for the school’s football team.”

Let’s be honest that UM regards its football program every bit as highly as the other Div 1 powerhouses, especially when the comparison is made to OSU. If it wasn’t a demigod status program, I doubt they would have fired Brady Hoke.

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Let’s be honest, is Michigan going to offer tenure to a failed professor? Michigan will not accept sub par performance over an extended period of time. That’s what excellence is all about.

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“which gave $2M back through scholarships (as Blue85 referred).”

Correction, that should be $20MM/year…