<p>I have been accepted at the University of Wisonsin (Madison), Minnesota, and Michigan (Ann Arbor). Obviously I get good tuition fees at UMN, and at UW because of resiprosity; but Michigan is just ridiculous. I tend to believe it would not be worth the extra money to attend UMich, and instead have opted to attend UW. Would anyone disagree? I'm planning on majoring in the life sciences (ecology, etc.) with possible medical aspirations.</p>
<p>if money is tight, I would suggest going to Wisconsin over Michigan.</p>
<p>I don't think it's worth the extra money to attend UMich. It's a public school at private school cost (although it's arguably better than most private schools).</p>
<p>IMO, Madison is definitely your wisest option, especially considering your medical aspirations.</p>
<p>Madison in-state is a no-brainer. Congrats!</p>
<p>In Biosciences UW>UM without even the $$$ considerations.</p>
<p>K, cool, thanks all. Go Badgers!</p>
<p>If you think it's ridiculous, then it's not the school for you. You don't want to enroll somewhere that will have you constantly questioning its value.</p>
<p>Lots of students measure the value of Michigan for the price quite favorably, which is why it can charge such tuition and still enroll numerous nonresidents. But not everyone agrees. If you're on the other side of it then I think it's better to enroll somewhere else.</p>
<p>All is relative. In order to avoid the inevitable debate, I will say that Michigan is a top 25 university. Some private universities not even ranked in the top 100 charge over $40,000/year. So clearly, Michigan is not out of line. All top 25 universities cost at least as much as Michigan. Again, if that's the case, Michigan's tuition cannot be singled out as being "ridiculous". However, for a middle income family to pay $37,000/year for their child to attend any university, no matter how highly ranked, when a school like Wisconsin-Madison is accessible for under $15,000/year seems irrational to me.</p>
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Some private universities not even ranked in the top 100 charge over $40,000/year
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True, but that is their published fee for all applicants. The main issue here is that being a State School, UM does have a huge differential between what it charges OOS versus in-state students. Not unlike UVA and Berkeley. And many OOS students who get into these top publics are very likely to also be accepted to other fine private schools, and prefer to pay $37,000 there.</p>
<p>Chocoholic, all I am saying is that Michigan's cost is justified.</p>
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but that is their published fee for all applicants
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Let's see if I understand you correctly. You are saying that if you are choosing between a private school and Michigan, you will prefer the private because it charges everybody the SAME high price?</p>
<p>I'm not specifically responding to any one poster, but my two cents: For a public, out of state school, compared to peer institutions, Michigan charges a lot. It is the most expensive state school for out of state students, and I'm sure you all know that. That is why I picked Wisconsin (saving 40K) over Michigan. I am majoring in the social sciences.</p>
<p>I've said it before, I'll say it again. What matters is not the sticker price, but the FINAL price you pay, after financial aid is factored in. And the fact is, public schools tend not to be particularly aggressive in offering good aid packages to OOS students. The top private schools, on the other hand, tend to be quite aggressive. For example, Harvard guarantees a full ride (as in 100% full grants - no loans, no workstudy, no nothing, just grants) to anybody whose family makes less than 40k. Yale does the same thing for those making less than 45k. I know of no public school that is willing to do this. </p>
<p>Hence, many people will find that going to a top private school will actually be CHEAPER than going to a public school from OOS, once financial aid is factored in.</p>
<p>Sakky, after scholarships are given out, Michigan still costs as much (not more) as any university in the top 25.</p>
<p>I am not sure how Mich or Wisconsin-Maddison work, but are the students they accept from out of state generally of the same quality as in state generally? I ask because a friend of mine got into Mich from California, but had no reasonable chance at UCLA, UCB, UCSD, or USC (where he really wanted to go and where his dad went), and Mddison is a popular destination for kids from a different friend's school who are fairly mediocre students. Not that any of these students are terrible, or the universities are. It would make sense to use oos students as a source of income and a way to broaden where people come from. I think UCB and UCLA should do it a bit more.</p>
<p>"Hence, many people will find that going to a top private school will actually be CHEAPER than going to a public school from OOS, once financial aid is factored in." Some find this, some do not. Got any stats? I know there are some extreme anecdotal stories, and I believe you that this is sometimes the case, but how often?</p>
<p>I doubt that's the case DRab. The instate average GPA, SAT and class rank are similar at UCB and UCLA as they are at Michigan. However, the acceptance rate is obviously different. I'd say Cal and UCLA accept only 25% of their in-state applicants...compared to Michigan, which accepts 40%-50% of their out of state applicants.</p>
<p>Perhaps you're right, but I still feel unsure about it.</p>
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Sakky, after scholarships are given out, Michigan still costs as much (not more) as any university in the top 25.
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</p>
<p>I highly doubt that. From what I have seen, private schools tend to be far more aggressive in handing out aid than the public schools are.</p>
<p>Sakky, Michigan meets 90% of demonstrated need and it costs, on average, $4,000 less than its private peers. Mathematically speaking, even if its private peers meet 100% of demonstrated need, they will not be cheaper than Michigan.</p>
<p>i am sorry, i dont care how good michigan, to be paying 40,000 to be subsidizing the 8,000 for in-staters is just ridiculous. Usually, the difference between a michigan kid and lets just say a northwestern kid, would be the kid that had a 90 average and a 1300 on their sat and the northwestern kid would prob have a 93 and 1400.</p>