<p>Hi there, I was admitted by Vandy and Umich as a sophomore transfer student majoring in physics and I am having a hard time making the decision, could you help me out?</p>
<p>These two guys, both are top schools, both have high reputation and both can get me an amazing undergraduate experience. As for the physics program, Umich seems has a better ranking, but ranking can't show the whole picture, because Umich is just too big and has too many students, which worries me that I can't get enough resources and opportunities of doing research.</p>
<p>I am a fan of Vandy because its fantastic setting of small classes is too attractive to turn down, but I have no idea how good its physics program for undergraduates is, how good the professors are or how many research opportunities I can get as an undergraduate, perhaps the research opportunity matters most as I plan to pursue a PhD after graduation and that will helps a lot.</p>
<p>So, if you were me, which one would you choose? :D</p>
<p>Vanderbilt and Michigan are very different. I will not speak for Vanderbilt, but Michigan, although large, has the resources to provide undergrads with any opportunity they may seek. Besides, like most departments at Michigan, Physics is tiny. Just because Michigan is a large university, it does not mean that departments attract a large number of students. Majors like Classics, Mathematics, Philosophy and Physics, among others, attract only dozens of undergrads at any time, and therefore classes in those majors, particularly once you get passed Freshmen level courses, tend to be small. </p>
<p>While I generally do not place much faith in rankings, as colleges who have similar rankings (such as #1-#15) do not have a considerable difference in quality. However, there seems to be a substantial difference in ranking in this case. With UofM being 11th in the nation for physics, and Vandy falling all the way down the list at 50. That’s a huge difference. There has to be a considerable difference in terms of quality and reputation for that large of a discrepancy to occur. </p>
<p>Additional, I would not worry too much about research opportunities. You would most likely have plenty of opportunities at Michigan. UofM spends the second most on research in the nation, spending over $1 billion dollars each year. In 2010, Michigan was ranked #2 for research Vandy lagged behind at #35. </p>