Should I attend the University of Michigan or The Ohio State University? Accepted to LSA at UM, while OSU awarded me the National Buckeye Scholarship and Trustees Scholarship for $14,000 a year, directly admitted me to the Fisher School of Business, and accepted me to the Dunn Sport and Wellness Scholars Program. I’m undecided on a career, but business is something that interests me. I would like to work on the east coast after college most likely and would have to take out $75,000 in student loans at Michigan, but roughly only $25,000 at Ohio State. What do you think? Would really appreciate an honest answer. Thanks.
With Michigan:
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you will become part of a large alumni network, albeit slightly smaller than OSU, which is probably stronger on a more national and global basis, especially in NY, LA, Chicago, Washington DC, and especially in finance;
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going to Michigan as an undergraduate will put you into a stronger undergraduate program competing against kids that are somewhat more talented than those at OSU; the further benefit is that Michigan’s graduate programs are strongly ranked on a national/global basis and an undergraduate degree will provide you with some hook into the graduate programs;
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From what I’ve seen, OSU has a fairly updated and modern campus, but Michigan has spent literally billions ($5bln over the last 10 years) updating/renovating the campus with special emphasis on the medical and life sciences courses of study; many of the buildings are new and/or state of the art;
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I can’t speak to the additional $50,000 which Michigan would cost, but you would probably recapture that delta over the first 5 years or so…consider this analysis your first business case;
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Michigan is very highly ranked for entrepreneurship at both the graduate and undergraduate level and is well represented on both coasts in both finance and in technology;
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These discussion almost always come down to cost and fit; Michigan will be more expensive, that expense will be fairly quickly recaptured, so the question is fit. Michigan retains something like 97% of its freshman, so the odds you will find a fit will be fairly high. Michigan’s current capital campaign is seeking to add $1,000,000,000 to the $1,700,000,000 which is already earmarked for tuition relief, so while the expense of going to Michigan has moved relentlessly higher over the years, that dynamic is slowing and may even reverse as funds are raised/earmarked for aid.
You won’t regret going to either school. Both schools are characterized by alums proud of their affiliation.
I am "True Blue"and an Alumni, but I have to tell you OSU has the biggest alumni in the world!!! I have a Sophomore at U of M currently. My second son most likely will attend OSU next year. He had better stats than my older son but he isn’t good enough for U of M during this admissions round. This is because the admission department (under the new administration) screwed up so bad last year!!! This year they have 1000 less students being admitted due to over crowding last year. How sad!!!
senna4ever, Michigan and OSU both have roughly 500,000 living alums.
“This is because the admission department (under the new administration) screwed up so bad last year!!!”
How is this possible? The new administration (I assume you mean Schlissel) came on board in June of 2014. This is the first admissions cycle under the Schlissel administration.
“This year they have 1000 less students being admitted due to over crowding last year. How sad!!!”
Actually, the problem has been years in the making. Michigan never over-enrolled by 1,000 in a single admissions cycle, but rather, over-enrolled 300-600 students annually for several years. This year, Michigan is not going to enroll fewer students than the usual target, it simply isn’t going to over-enroll.
To the OP, I would go with OSU considering the amount of debt you will take on if you go to Michigan. No university is worth $75k in debt. Fisher is a very good business program.
Does anyone definitely think Michigan is worth the extra $50,000 in student loans and worth the risk of applying to the Ross School of Business after my freshman year if I decide I don’t want to get an LSA degree? I hear the transfer admission rate is 30-40% to Ross.
^^^^No one can answer that for you. Who is going to “definitely” tell you to spend an additional 50K to attend any school when you obviously aren’t convinced yourself? Of course, you could transfer out of Michigan after your freshman year if you aren’t accepted into Ross.
Michigan is one of the most highly selective universities in the country, with almost 40% of its students from other states. OSU is much less selective, with a less distinguished student body (in terms of qualifications).
@gametime7 I am not understanding your numbers. How can Michigan be only $50,000 more than OSU if you need to take $25000 in loans for OSU and $75,000 in loans for Michigan. With your Buckeye and Trustee, OSU is about $25,000 per year (or $100,000 over 4 years) versus $55,000 per year for Michigan (or $220,000 over 4 years). If you only need to take $75000 in loans for Michigan, then your folks would be paying about $150,000 out-of-pocket over 4 years. If they are able to do this, then you would not need any loan for OSU. Did you receive need-based aid at Michigan? My point is that the cost difference for you between both schools may be a lot greater than you are stating. If that is the case, go with OSU.
No, that is exactly the amount of loans my parents want me to take out for U of M and OSU. I didn’t get any need base aid for either. Does that mean you think I should attend U of M?
I don’t think University of Michigan is affordable for your family. Even 25K is alot of debt, Let’s not forget, the maximum you can take out total for undergrad through federal loans is approximately 31 K. Any other loans would have to be co-signed by your parents or would take place through private loans, which I would not recommend due to their exorbitantly high interest rates.
It sounds to me like you got a great deal with OSU. If there are no other options that you have not presented to us for compassion, I would go with that.
@gametime7 Michigan is a great school, but $75,000 in loans is a lot of debt that will not easily be recouped if you do not graduate from the Ross business school. If you are interested in business and not a pre-admit into Ross you are taking a risk attending Michigan, because it is extremely competitive to get admitted into that businesss school after freshman year. I would take the sure thing with Fisher Direct admit. If you work hard and get great grades you will have a lot of great job opportunities there, and a whole lot less debt.
IMO not getting Ross preadmission should be the dealbreaker for you if you are interested in a business career. Also, if I am not mistaken, tuition at UM increases about 5k per year for junior and senior year, so factor that in.
Prospect, LSA is actually excellent for those seeking a career, likely as good as, if not better than Fisher. However, it is not $50k of debt better. If the OP could afford Michigan, I would recommend it over OSU without hesitation. But $75 of debt is just not worth it.
Also, tuition increases by $3k, not $5k between Sophomore and Junior year. 
I’ve still yet to make a final decision between U of M and OSU. Some people around me are telling me to take out the extra 50k in loans for a Michigan education as it carries much more weight than Ohio State. Like I said previously, I’m very unsure of a desired profession and all of Michigan’s schools are highly ranked. However, I might end up deciding to be a business major and I understand it’s very difficult to transfer into Ross after your freshman year. If I go to Michigan, I would start in LSA with an area of interest in Communications and in Fisher at OSU. Does anyone know anything about the kind of jobs UMich grads get with a Communications major degree? Sports broadcasting interests me. Is it a smart move to attend U of M with the extra loans and as someone who is undecided on a career path?
@gametime7 communications degree opportunities are good, but the amount of money you earn after college as a communications major may be difficult to repay the amount of debt to accure.
Go with Fisher; they have an excellent placement center headed by a very competent director, and provide a lot of support services for their undergraduate business students. Ross would be better, but an assured admissions to Fisher beats speculative admissions to Ross a year later. You can not go wrong with Fisher, given the net price difference over 4 years definitely is in favor of Fisher.
Did you go to their (Fisher’s) admitted students’ program, and tour their new facilities? If so, what were your impressions?
@Trinity7 I did attend a Fisher admitted students’ program. The Fisher School of Business was beautiful and I really liked OSU’s campus. My concern is that it will be harder to land a job on the east coast than if I go to Michigan. I like the prestigious feel of the University of Michigan and opportunity of going to one of the top public universities in the country. I don’t know what to do.
Do you have any other options of east coast based universities? If not, Fisher is a great place to be given the financial constraint. You can take many LSA courses within the first 2 years. Keep in mind that the buckeye scholarship is valid for 4 years only, which means that you will have to scramble to finish your UG degree within 4 years without incurring significant out of state tuition penalty. From day one try to seek help in securing an internship or co-op on the east coast, and if you are lucky, a job offer from the same company down the line is a distinct possibility. The only downside to Fisher is their large class of incoming freshmen. As at other business schools, high GPA, leadership activities, and relevant work related experience would be needed to stand out amongst peers for a slot on the east coast.
"Ross would be better, but an assured admissions to Fisher beats speculative admissions to Ross a year later. "
You do realize that the vast majority of Ross graduates were not preferred admits right? Can you imagine what would happen if everyone took your advice?
The question is one of probability of admission to the business school. At Ross, the probability of admission through regular admission is 36%. Don’t know how long ago you attended UM, nowadays it is fairly challenging to maintain an average GPA of 3.7 while wading through weeder classes in freshmen year at UM. BTW, I have heard from friends’ kids who are at Ross that regular admissions is getting increasingly difficult.
Also consider the OP said that s/he would incur $50,000 more in loan if s/he were to attend UM. OP has already secured admission to Fisher.
Looking through the profile of regular admission students at Ross, the net price difference between Fisher & Ross for OP, and the low probability of admissions (to Ross), one would agree that although Ross is better, an assured admissions to Fisher beats 36% probability of admissions to Ross a year later.