<p>I've heard that both UChicago and UMich are more theory-based schools, but I don't know exactly what that means. I know that Chicago doesn't offer pre-professonal programs like journalism, pre-law, etc. and UMich students have told me that many departments (journalism, even NURSING) aren't practical but instead all theory...I am interested in journalism but also english, polysci, etc. and don't know if I should bother applying to these schools b/c of this...could someone explain more about what theory-based means and if I should avoid it since I need to narrow down my college list...</p>
<p>There is no journalism department/school at Michigan.</p>
<p>i meant communications...but that it is theory based so the school doent offer any training in journalism or whatnot...thats what the website says...so should I avoid places like this or what? I'm so confused about what to do...</p>
<p>bump......</p>
<p>If you can get into Chicago, I would suggest that you go there. It's a much better school overall and a lot more academically serious. It's pretty dead socially, but the difference between Chicago and Michigan academically is too vast for you to justify going to Michigan just because it's more "fun".</p>
<p>If I were you, I would apply to some other top schools like Vanderbilt so you don't have to sacrifice a social life. The humanities departments at all top schools are top-notch so I wouldn't worry about specific department rankings too much.</p>
<p>ring<em>of</em>fire. The only schools in this country that can EVEN be considered "much better overall than Michigan" are HYPSM. You're putting words into someone's mouth by stating that he/she wanted to go to Michigan because it's "more fun." I believe you are totally clueless about Michigan and I hope the originator of this thread ignores your biased and uninformed comments.</p>
<p>Uh, what about Penn, Duke, Dartmouth, Northwestern, etc.? Michigan would be lucky to be considered a top 25 school. It's a solid school but there are clearly much better private options that are also more financially feasible.</p>
<p>Check out the PA of Michigan on USNWR against those other schools you mentioned. UMich is right there with all of them.</p>
<p>What's the "PA"? More importantly, Michigan has a far weaker student body, far less resources per capita and far larger classes than any of those private schools. With a struggling football team and a dying local economy, UMich is quickly fading as a top school.</p>
<p>Sure ring<em>of</em>fire. You don't even know what PA is and you're an expert on the university with the 7th largest endowment in the U.S. I suggest you stick to touting Chicago as the fifth best city in the world and leave your ignorant and biased opinions to yourself. 18 year olds don't need to be taking advise from people who have made a whopping total of 7 posts on CC and who really don't know what they're talking about. Also, the title of this thread has not been addressed by either you or myself. I'm not pretending that I know much about the so called "theory based" teaching methods at either Chicago or Michigan. I suggest that CoffeeAddict9716 take his questions directly to the "CC top universities" board, where you would be shocked to see both Michigan and Chicago listed.</p>
<p>I'm not 18 buddy and I don't see why you're defending Michigan so vehemently. If you divide that large Michigan endowment by student body size, then you will see that the top privates have exponentially more fiscal resources than UMich. UMich is a great institution and definitely a top 5 state school. It's not a heavy-hitter like Chicago however.</p>
<p>You aren't the one who started this thread. It was started by an impressionable high school student who I ventured to guess was eighteen years old. That is to whom my comment was directed, not yourself. By the way, top privates do not receive millions of dollars each year from their host states either. This ends our discussion.</p>
<p>It depends on what you want: during your years of college, do you want to learn how to think or learn how to do something? One is not better than the other.</p>
<p>Regarding Michigan and how far the "theory-based" term goes... Nursing has a lot of clinical content, so I'm not sure that statement would hold. And Education has students doing 3 semesters of student teaching.</p>
<p>But as for journalism/communications, you are absolutely correct. In fact there is some tension about it, as some students want communications to be their training ground for media careers, whereas U-M has a pretty firm commitment to teaching communication theory.</p>
<p>That's not say that students here can't get good preparation for journalism careers, but those who are aiming that direction may be smart to supplement their studies with activities like working on the Michigan Daily (student-published newspaper) or other types of experiences.</p>
<p>I can't speak for Chicago directly, but as a world-class research university I expect its focus would be much the same.</p>
<p>My<em>Watch</em>Sick pretty much described what's important to remember.</p>
<p>"Theory based" is not only Michigan and Chicago, but ANY school that offers a liberal arts program. English is a liberal arts major, because you are studying literature and other things that are not "useful," while a communications, public relations, or journalism major would be "useful." A liberal arts degree helps you cultivate tools that apply to a career field indirectly; a pre-professional degree trains you. I think the liberal arts path is a lot more fun :-)</p>
<p>Chicago teaches only liberal arts (no communications, no business, no journalism, no education, no nursing) and is pretty darn obsessed with theory. The economics program is heavily math-based, even in comparison to the economics programs at other schools, so students are not only thinking about the whats, but the whys and the hows. The core curriculum is all theory-- Marx, Smith, Freud, and friends.</p>
<p>To think about attending Chicago, you have to find this sort of stuff fun and exciting rather than challenging or frustrating. It sounds like at this point you may or may not want pre-professional programs, and it's probably best for you to choose a school that is more flexible in that regard than Chicago.</p>
<p>While Northwestern offers pre-professional programs, it also has a solid liberal arts base. I loved how I could choose professional and liberal arts courses in my class schedule. I think a mixture of both is good, particularly if you know what to do after college.</p>