<p>As a frequent College Confidential lurker, I know that there are similar threads on this site, but I feel that my predicament is slightly different. As an resident of Florida, it is very cheap to attend University of Florida in comparison to OOS University of Michigan. In addition, I have received a Presidential Scholarship that basically makes my tuition free at UF. What I want to know is this: I have been a University Michigan fan all of my life. University of Michigan is far better in what I want to do (biomedical engineering). Should I pass up a full ride to UF for a 220k (roughly over two years) expense? Anyone have any thoughts on this? This is a really tough choice for me. Free vs. Dream School?</p>
<p>UF is an absolutely top research university. You’ll never regret attending.</p>
<p>I guess it depends whether you’d have to go deep in debt to afford UM. If your parents are helping you, I think Michigan’s national reputation makes it worth the money. But if you’ll have to struggle and work and not have time to study and graduate with tons of loans, it’s probably better to go to UF.</p>
<p>Honestly, if I were you I would make my decision based on who wins the Elite 8 game on Sunday. It is a hard decision, but since you want to do biomedical, UMich probably has a better program, but remember that it is basically at the whim of the government of Michigan. </p>
<p>Sent from my MB860 using CC</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the extremely quick responses! @GiveMeReason you don’t know how much that made me laugh. Just yesterday I had “decided” to go to UF, but then after watching the Michigan game, I got so excited and thrilled to be a Wolverine (at heart). I’m so biopolar with the decisions honestly.
I really love U Mich, being that it is my hometown heros…blah blah… my favorite teams…
But UF is free for me… completely… And its just that UF can’t even compare to Michigan in engineering or business or medicine (the three areas which i can possibly see myself going into)… So, what to do? Any of you guys think Undergrad Engineering is worth cashing out a ton for? To respond to @Proudparent2 my parents can easily support me… I just don’t wish for them to if it is not necessary.</p>
<p>If I were you I’d choose UF. Although UM is better in engineering and business, the extra 40k a year isn’t worth it in my opinion. It’s just more money for a slightly better education and the same social environment. In fact I’m in a similar situation to you. I’m deciding between UF and Lehigh. With bright futures I can go to UF for roughly 12k a year (housing, food etc) or I can go to Lehigh with little to no aid for roughly 45k a year (my family isn’t really eligible for aid…). I’m torn because Lehigh is a better school academically and has much different environment than UF but if I go to UF (still a good school) I know that my parents are willing to pay almost whatever for grad school. What do you think?</p>
<p>Is Michigan better in Engineering, Business, and Medicine? Probably, yea.
Is Michigan ~200k better? No way, not even close. </p>
<p>UF is a great university and I’m certain you will enjoy it.</p>
<p>@The1AndOnly I would recommend making a new thread. You will probably get more responses.</p>
<p>One important thing to consider is whether you intend to stay in Florida. In Florida, UF has a great alumni network which makes it probably better than even more prestigious schools. However, since UF takes few out-of-state students, it isn’t as well known in places like New York. I work with a lot of people in New York through my job, and they are definitely more familiar with UM or Lehigh.</p>
<p>Co-worker’s son graduated from UF last spring and is now fully-funded in the PhD BioMed Engineering program at Stanford. Save your money and do well at UF and you will be fine.</p>