<p>For those of you who have been accepted and are still deciding, or those of you still waiting on your acceptance and want something to read other than everyone saying their WA still hasn't changed, thought I would give you a little perspective from our visit to UM this week... preface, S is an OOS student from Texas who applied EA to the COE. He has not received any merit money from UM, nor will we receive any aide with the exception of the obvious Stafford or PLUS loans if we decided to apply for them.</p>
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<li><p>Ann Arbor is undoubtedly a cool little town... did not have a bad meal the entire trip (including the one at the UM campus cafeteria) and I have the extra pounds to prove it. ;) Also, we stayed at the new Hilton Garden Inn and it was FABULOUS and so reasonably priced... highly recommend to any of you visiting AA. It's only about 10 minutes from campus and extremely well appointed.</p></li>
<li><p>Did not find the students particularly friendly... which I attribute to the fact that it was COLD and they all appeared to be scurrying, heads down, to their destinations as quickly as possible. However, being from the south, we are kind of used to folks walking with their head up and at least throwing an occasional smile your way. And S was looking for kids "hanging out" between classes as he saw at other schools... not much of that going on in the frozen tundra.</p></li>
<li><p>Neither S or I were digging the North/Main campus thing... they try to tell you it's no big deal, but talked to some students and alums (who were not admissions employees so not paid to say otherwise) who hate it. As an engineering major, you have classes on both campuses and having to go back and forth on those buses (one of which we saw break down, unload the students and they had to walk the rest of the way) would get old FAST. </p></li>
<li><p>The squirrels in Ann Arbor are the size of small dogs... WOW. Nothing like the anemic squirrels we see in our home state. :)</p></li>
<li><p>School spirit and pride are awesome... except that the only answer we seemed to get for WHY we should pay 52K for UM vs. less at other schools is because IT IS MICHIGAN. Not really enough of a reason for people who have not worshiped UM our entire lives. Would have liked to have heard a little more about why the education at UM is so much better that it warrants that price tag. </p></li>
<li><p>And on that note... the Financial Aide/Scholarship breakout session is a joke. If you go, do not waste your time. The guy stood up and said, "we are one of the most expensive state schools in the nation, we have very little money to give, we have basically given it all out already and so if you didn't get any yet you won't, so go home and see if you can apply for some on FastWeb or get something local"... well, alrighty then. That was helpful...not. However, they did say there is an abundance of jobs for students on campus that do not require you to qualify for work study... so it seemed like if you need/want to work while you are there, it's easy to do. </p></li>
<li><p>However... the Housing guy was AMAZING. Dude totally missed his calling as a stand-up comedian and if he had run the entire program I probably would have written a deposit check to the school on the spot. He should be promoted to President of the University... totally GREAT and HYSTERICALLY funny.</p></li>
<li><p>Student tour guides were nice, but they passed us off too many times and we were walking in circles, two guides took us to the same places and it was TOO COLD for that kind of craziness. </p></li>
<li><p>Visit with S's specific department major was GREAT and highlight of the day besides the housing guy. </p></li>
<li><p>As many of you already may know, they said it was THE toughest year yet for admissions. Somewhere around 55,000 applications and the highest caliber candidates ever... and apparently they gave a bulk of admissions offers during EA.</p></li>
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<p>So, bottom line is S decided after our visit that although it is a GREAT school and AA is a really cool (COLD in my opinion, but I'm a weather wimp) town, it is not SO GREAT that he wants to go into debt, or have us go into debt, in order to attend. UM has been crossed off the list unless some money magically drops from the sky...</p>
<p>Yeah unless you are a millionaire, I would advise against spending 200k+ on undergraduate education, with the possible exception of HYPSM. If I was in your sons situation I would choose UT hands down, easy decision.</p>
<p>Oh how I wish @gobrue! I am a UT alum and that was always the plan… UNTIL he chose a major (and a very good one that I’m happy with) that UT does not offer. So, he will be OOS regardless, but with merit money at another university.</p>
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<li><p>We aren’t there to be bothered by tour groups of high school students, in addition to the other reasons. They are just in the way. Their parents being there doesn’t encourage communication either. As far as outdoors, the diag is far more active in the fall. </p></li>
<li><p>Engineers don’t always have classes at central campus and may take the bus only for football games. The buses are awful though yeah.</p></li>
<li><p>There’s actually a squirrel feeding club.</p></li>
<li><p>Come or don’t, makes no difference to us. That may explain the generic answers, or it could be that those with $200k to blow have no concept of money. They come because why not?</p></li>
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<p>thanks OP. my son also applied to UM at the very last second. since he has been accepted to WashU, UCSD (still waiting for others: Berkeley, Ivies…), we will probably cross off UM from the list as well. thanks for the confirmation though.</p>
<p>About #4, seriously, we have great squirrels in Michigan! Besides the very healthy brown squirrels, we have beautiful grey squirrels with big fluffy tails, and areas with lots of black squirrels which are so cute and really active. I couldn’t believe the scrawny little squirrels when I visited Florida or California.</p>
<p>Ok, back to U of M. Which, by the way, no one refers to as “UM” here!</p>
<p>@maizeandblue21… ha, for me, YES. The cold did not bother S, which is a good thing because most of his other choices also get pretty dang cold although probably not for as extended a period of time. Don’t get me wrong, we both thought U of M (sorry for the UM, my bad) was GREAT for many reasons, just not enough to pay that money. I’m not sure there are many schools (if any) I think warrant $52k a year. With his major he WILL get a good job with a degree from any of the schools that have admitted him, and probably making the exact same starting salary. It’s just a logical decision…</p>
<p>I live in (well, near) Ann Arbor and refer to the school as UM and think it’s too damn cold around here.</p>
<p>As a friendly local (most folks are NOT like Steellord, thank goodness), I’d like to thank you for coming to visit and am delighted that you mostly enjoyed your stay. Please believe me, most students warm up when the weather does. I can’t claim that we’re as outgoing and friendly as southerners… that’s your specialty! But it’s so much easier to smile when your face isn’t frozen.</p>
<p>I am extremely sorry about the high cost to OOS candidates. I agree that it’s not wise to go into major debt for a degree unless you can be sure that your investment will pay off in spades.</p>
<p>But as wonderful as UM is… and I cried all day on Friday when my son got accepted… there are other fantastic universities around the country and I’m sure that your son will receive a top notch education. I wish you all the best for a fun and fulfilling college experience. I hope that you will keep a soft spot in your heart for the blue and maize and remember your visit fondly.</p>
<p>@VillageMom CONGRATS to your son! I told mine that if we were in-state, UM (HA!) would be a no-brainer. We will definitely happily cheer for the Blue, anytime they are not playing UT (my alma mater) or whatever school S decides on… And I do hope to visit AA someday, as it was a delightful town with much more (food for sure) I would like to explore.</p>
<p>A lot of focus here (not just this thread and I did appreciate the visit description and glad VillageMom came through with some midwestern hospitality) on cost for OOS students. I understand and that could be a reason my D doesn’t attend if she is fortunate enough to be admitted. And certainly it is frustrating to see what a bargain places like Wisconsin are in comparison. That said, if I am going to have to spend 60K+ for a comparable private anyway, then I don’t see cost as a reason to reject UMich. Unfortunately a lot of us are in that category where we’re not going to qualify for much if any FA but the cost is still going to hurt like heck. Even 10-15K in merit can take some of the sting out.</p>
<p>“A lot of focus here (not just this thread and I did appreciate the visit description and glad VillageMom came through with some midwestern hospitality) on cost for OOS students.”</p>
<p>Midwesterners are, on the whole, friendly. You have to remember than at least 40% of the students at Michigan are from OOS, with many of those coming from the coasts. :-)</p>
<p>Exactly @finalchild, and if he had even that much in merit, it would still probably be on the list. We were told there are about 700 merit awards given in total, and that is to a class of about 6500? But, there are plenty of people willing to pay the full price, so they don’t have any reason to offer more… I get that. Just a bummer if you REALLY want Michigan. IF my S had gone and it absolutely jumped out at him as being the ONLY place he could see himself, we would have figured out a way to make it work. Didn’t help that we came home to a $23,000 renewable merit award from another school with a similar sticker price to Michigan in our mailbox…</p>
<p>thanks gainipc for the trip report, we’re headed from NY to UM aka U of M soon. We’ll try the hilton garden based on your recommendation. Where did you eat (outside of the UM cafeteria) that you liked? </p>
<p>we too are struggling to put the financial aspects in perspective. It goes against the grain when we have less expensive options available but I think in the end we’ll just ignore cost as we’re in a good financial position.</p>
<p>with a little (ok, maybe a lot) luck we’ll be visiting texas soon for a college visit. It will be interesting to compare campuses.</p>
<p>@quietdesperation… try Mani on E.Liberty and/or Sava. Zingerman’s Deli, of course… also for a beer and quick (yummy) bite of bar food we liked Red Hawk. LOTS of great places, would take awhile to eat all the great food. And if/when you want some suggestions for Austin, send me a pm!</p>
<p>thanks granipc but it’s houston, not austin. I am dieing to eat at aaron franklin’s bbq place. I’ve been to smittys, kreutz, luling but i hear franklin’s brisket might be the best. How lucky you are!</p>
<p>@Quietdesperation… Rice? My son swims down there… LOVES the campus so much. He didn’t apply, much to my hubs dismay, because they don’t have his major. I don’t eat BBQ, but I can tell you plenty of other great places to try in Houston. :)</p>
And I do hope to visit AA someday, as it was a delightful town with much more (food for sure) I would like to explore.</p>