Hey guys, I was accepted into both schools, UMD Honors College for CS and UMich-LSA with the intention of majoring in CS. Now for the past couple of months I’ve been waiting to hear back about UMD’s full ride scholarship so I’ve been really excited for that, but I didn’t get it. I did get their next highest scholarship but I feel like now I do need to take a closer look at all of my options since before I was laser focused on UMD.
UMich - Pros
• OOS but my net price is $15.6k/yr due to generous aid
•One of the best schools for CS out there, “public ivy”
•Great college town
•Very social atmosphere and great sports
Cons -
•Weather, the cold isn’t my favorite thing but I’ll survive
•Lack of diversity, there’s a 5 percent black student population though and coming from a school that’s 25% Asian, White, Black, etc I’m worried about running into problems because of my race. Although that could be said for any PWI
UMD - Pros
•Close go home, in-state. Cost may be around $13-16k/yr
•Near DC and the campus is beautiful
•I feel like home there (but I’ve also visited a bunch of times)
•Great CS program and new CS building
•Good social atmosphere
•Pretty diverse
Cons-
•Dorms for honors are really crappy
•CS program is a bit overcrowded (same may be true for UMich)
Now I feel like the reason why I’m in love with UMD so much is because I’ve been there a lot. I plan to visit UMich on April 2nd but I’m getting cold feet on spending $600 on a trip when I have UMD right here. I never allowed myself to get overly hyped with UMich because I thought I wouldn’t get in or it would be too expensive as an OOS student. Thoughts? Which is the better school?
If the price is the same, I will pick UMich. You are indeed very fortunate to receive great financial aid from an OOS flagship. UMich has most of their dorms renovated in recent years. Ann Arbor has been ranked among the best college town. Believe it or not, we have less snow than MD in recent years. AA is liberal and diverse. The city is very international friendly and there are a lot of international students too. There should Not be any racial problem. Indeed, that’s why we choose to live here.
@billcsho Thank you for your reply! You’ve definitely helped calm down my fears a bit. I feel like I would be passing up a tad bit more prestige and the alumni connection if I didn’t choose UMich.
A few questions:
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Look at the long-term goal. Yes, you may spend $600 for a trip to MI and then decide it’s not for you, but if you don’t, will you say “What if?” later?
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You list UMD being close to home as a pro. Is that important to you? and how much? Many students can’t wait to get out of state. If you go to MI, are you okay with having to fly home less often than driving home more often?
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Ann Arbor, although it contains all the basics, is still a small college town. UMD is next to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the USA. Does that matter to you?
I have actually lived in both Potomac, MD (a DC suburb for those of you reading this who aren’t familiar with that area) and Ann Arbor during my husband’s military career. We finally moved back to the midwest (not Michigan) three years ago permanently. My son, who is half Asian and half white, was apprehensive about moving from an area that had a high Asian population (Potomac) to one that certainly wasn’t (in his private high school of about 1000 students there are about 10 that identify as Asian). You are correct, the midwest is certainly not as diverse as the DC area, but neither is the majority of the rest of the USA (west coast is an exception, too). As far as I know, he has not had any issues and has a great group of friends.
However, UM does have a slightly higher percentage of international students than UMD. And given that half of UM’s students are from out of state, compared to only 25% of UMD, you are certainly going to see some cultural diversity (after all we are a BIG country and UM attracts students from all over), even though it may not reflected in the racial data. Ann Arbor is a very liberal area, full of arts and intellectuals, what I like to term “highbrow.” I can certainly understand how UM got the nickname “Public Ivy” (and yes, I know that some folks don’t like that term).
I’m not familiar with UMD Honors so I can’t compare the actual academic experience you will have in your major.
And as you already seem to understand, the weather should not be a big deal. Unless you have a medical condition that is affected by cold winters, it should be a very minor factor in your decision.
I’m curious where you are going to high school. If you don’t want to post here, send me a PM.
Ann Arbor, although it contains all the basics, is still a small college town. UMD is next to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the USA. Does that matter to you?"
Ann Arbor is not a “small college town.” Michigan is located in a city with over 100,000 people in it! Furthermore A2 is fairly close to the Detroit area, so it’s not like it’s in the middle of nowhere. Also, I personally don’t care for the overwhelming usage of Georgian architecture on the Maryland campus, but that’s just me.
I guess Choski94 is a hit outdated with Ann Arbor info. Using a different town in mid west as an example to compare the Asian population is also laughable. I am sure there are a lot more Asian in Chicago area than the school in his/her area with 1% Asian. At UMich and Ann Arbor, there are around 15% Asian.
As a midwest native who grew up in an rural area not even populated enough to have a stoplight, AA probably would have seemed big to me as a child. However, for someone that grew up in a DC suburb, it will seem very small (although I grant you the OP didn’t actually say she grew up that close to UMD and DC). As an adult, when I lived there, I actually thought the size was ideal if I wanted to live in a non-rural area - no big traffic issues, a decent mall, enough excellent restaurants to provide variety, good schools, etc. And I could argue that Detroit is not “close” from a college student standpoint, especially one that probably won’t have a car the first year. There’s no subway and the connector bus takes 90 minutes one way. I was trying to make my points based on the OP’s perspective. But you are correct that AA is technically not a small town. It’s more of a small city. It is, however, highly dependent on UM from an economic standpoint, so it’s a college city.
Highly but not solely depend on the university. Too bad that Pfizer has left Ann Arbor a decade ago, but many small and medium size business’s have been found since then. A lot of people live at Ann Arbor actually work in the automobile industry. I know many more people not working in the University than with the University throughout my 20 years at Ann Arbor.
I hear Google is growing there . . . just moved into a new complex, right?
@Choski94
- That is true, luckily I had some tax return money and after looking more into the school, I’m quite excited to visit.
- My family and I aren’t that close so I guess moving out of state won’t be horrible. I kind of expected to move OOS a little I suppose because UMD was the only in-state school I applied to.
- The area I live in is actually pretty suburban and tiny. I’ve actually only been to DC a couple of times in my life so I’m not that acquainted for. I think Ann Arbor will fit what I’m looking for and it’s great that everything is in a walkable distance.
I actually got my financial aid notice from UMD and they gave me nothing but loans and work study so it would actually cost me 2k MORE per year to attend UMD than to attend UMich. There’s a good chance if I’ll be attending UMich in the fall, just waiting to see how a couple other colleges pan out. Thanks everyone for your input and you have anymore thoughts feel free to share 
According to the 2010 census, Kansas City is 2.5% Asian, Chicago 5% Asian and Columbus 4%. @billcsho is correct that AA is much higher at 14% but the OP stated that her school is 25% Asian (at least that’s what I interpreted her statement to mean).
If you want even more Asian on campus, try UCLA. You See Lots of Asian.
I’m black lol. The Hispanic and black population combined doesn’t even add up to the Asian population
When I took my son last year to Washington University St. Louis we were there for a full 8 hour day and he swears we saw a total of 8 black students but a decent amount of Asian. His high school was very highly Asian with Hispanic, black and then whites…we are white but both my kids want racial diversity.
At Michigan I don’t get that sense at all. I see kids of color and ethnic persuasion all over the place. It seems like a normal mix of cultural blend. I live in Chicago so I see this daily.
There are also many types of groups to make the university seem smaller and I didn’t look but I guarantee there are many groups /clubs with ethnic /cultural themes if needed /wanted.
The number of African Americans on campus has been slashed by half since the ban of affirmative act in admission… Before that it was at the level of Asian. Now, it pretty much matches the demographic distribution of the population in Ann Arbor. If you look at the population of the whole Washtenaw county, the Asian and African American percentages just got flipped.
Choski, Ann Arbor is ideally situated; close enough to Detroit for students to benefit from the amenities of a world class city, but far enough for it to have its own distinct character and culture. The DTW, one of the nation’s largest and most well-connected airports, is only 20 miles (25 minute drive) from campus. Shopping malls, sporting venues, exhibit halls, art museums, major concerts etc…are all within 40-50 minutes drive from campus. Students can very easily benefit from all those amenities on occasional basis. But Ann Arbor has its own offerings, which includes a large number of restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores etc… Students only leave Ann Arbor on occasional basis, and Detroit’s suburbs, like Troy, Royal Oak etc…are close enough for such occasions.
Michigan, since it’s cheaper, is a terrific deal. I would only turn it down for a more expensive UMD if you went and found UMixhigzn unbearzble. Enjoy the trip and Come back to the thread to tell us about the visit.
@MYOS1634 I’m sitting in the airport right now going home haha. I actually ended up committing a couple days before campus day. I have no regrets because I absolutely fell in love with the school. Especially since I visited on the day of the NCAA championship and the day was kinda sunny, everyone was walking around in their Michigan and it made me excited to be one of them. Also the presentations were very well done and informative. I loved the campus tour as well, and was able to tour the building of the MLC I wanted to join which was also very nice.
@Daisy50… Congratulations on a great choice and have a safe flight home…
@Daisy50… Congratulations on a great choice and have a safe flight home…