<p>So I have gotten into all three of these schools. U Mich has not given me a scholarship, U Rochester gave me a $13,000 a year and Purdue gave me a $5,000 a year. I have not applied for the honors program at Michigan although I am not sure I would get into it. I like the idea of living on campus all four years because I don't want to have to worry about having an apartment and dealing with rent and such until grad school. The biggest focus is academics. I do also want to party and stuff though as well. Can anyone give me an idea of their thoughts. Also, can anyone tell me if UMich is not very top tier if you are not in the honors program?</p>
<p>I would go to UR over Michigan in a heartbeat and my family is Go Blue all the way. Unless of course you are interested in a particular program - like some kinds of engineering - at Michigan. The academic world is very different in a school of 5k students versus one of multiples of that. It really is.</p>
<p>Keep in mind I don’t know where you live and what the total costs of Purdue or Michigan are to your family. </p>
<p>Michigan’s advantage is Ann Arbor has a lot to offer for a college student. I know less about Purdue.</p>
<p>First question: are in-state or OOS for Michigan since that will make a huge difference in your final costs?</p>
<p>D2 graduated from URoch and now lives in Ann Arbor. (However, she’s not a student and her UR friends there are all grad students–very different from what a undergrad will experience.) She’s prefers AA over ROC, although housing in AA can be expensive and nice off-campus housing tough to find. She also feels there’s more to do around campus–more activities, sports, etc-- in AA. (Difference between 6K students and 48K students!) Parking in AA is awful and so is traffic, but public transit is better.</p>
<p>Academically, all three are strong schools. UM is top tier even if you’re not in the Honors program. You will still have the option of taking some of the same classes as the honors students do.</p>
<p>I’ve haven’t been to West Lafayette in more than 30 years so anything I knew is hopelessly out of date.</p>
<p>I am interested in pre-med. I would be OOS at Michigan so the cost of Rochester is about the same if not a little less after the scholarship.
What I am wondering is… at Michigan are the class sizes so big that you can’t get individual help and how much do they are about each student. I know at Rochester they invest a lot into each student and really help you but there is no college life really.</p>
<p>What does “there is no college life really mean”? Rochester is an outstanding school and while there is not big-time college football or basketball, there are huge numbers of activities, the academics and research opportunities are top-notch and offer many possibilities, plus you have nice merit money. To me, it is a no-brainer. My d never complained once in four years about not having a “college life”. She had quite a full “college life” it seems to me.</p>
<p>Ya i guess what I mean is that there aren’t a lot of sports activities to go watch and stuff like that. It is not a deal breaker but I am just looking at what each school offers.</p>
<p>I grew up going to Michigan games, etc. There won’t be 100k+ people at a football game, but neither are there athletes with privileges and special treatment that puts them apart from the school. </p>
<p>Thing that really stands out in the scale of size is the ability to be part of a lot more when you’re not one of many thousands. People at UR join things because it’s easy to do, the size isn’t intimidating and you can recognize if not know most people quickly. So you develop circles of people that overlap, like you do anywhere, but at UR and schools that size these tend to extend over more of the school. I’ve seen that at larger places circles tend to be limited because your connections with people attentuate rapidly. When the numbers are less, you find you share more and feel less isolated from the mass. I’m not saying Michigan (or Purdue) are bad places, etc. I’m trying to explain a difference. </p>
<p>UR is one of a small number of schools that are small enough and large enough. It’s a large research institution with the resources of one but it’s small enough to feel like a college and a place.</p>
<p>At UM bio & chem intro classes are going to be large lectures (300+) with small weekly recitations (<25 students) led by TAs. At UR bio & chem intro classes are going to be large lectures (200-250) with small weekly recitations (<25 students) led by TAs.</p>
<p>Upper level classes at both schools are about the same size. (Though UM offers a greater variety of upper level electives than does UR due to the fact that it’s a bigger school with a larger faculty.)</p>
<p>At both schools, you will be able to go to prof and TA office hours to get help. Both UR and UM have tutoring centers with free tutors. (In fact the former director of UR’s tutoring center now holds the same position at UM.) At both schools you will be able to find study groups and private one-on-one tutors. </p>
<p>Also, one bit advice from the mom of a current med student (MS3) and another one who is applying in the next cycle.</p>
<p>Undergraduate debt load is an important item to keep in your consideration when it comes to choosing an undergrad.</p>
<p>Medical school is expensive and there is very little grant aid available to pay for it. You will want to minimize the amount of debt you carry from undergrad because medical school will be largely financed by unsubsidized loans (currently with 7% APR). </p>
<p>Med students do not graduate from med school and immediately start pulling in “doctors’ salaries”. You will have another 3 to 10 years of training after med school before you earn a doctor’s salary. Neither medical residents nor fellows are especially well reimbursed. (Residents earn ~$50K for a 90 hour work week.) While you can defer loan repayment while in med school and during your post grad training, the interest keeps accruing. It can quite easily to double your original loan amount in under 10 years.</p>
<p>The amount of loans a new doctor carries may limit his or her choice of specialties, the ability to practice medicine in a locale of their choosing, and the ability to start or buy their own medical practice. Or buy a house.</p>
<p>Way out west mom made a lot of sense. Keep in mind you can go to a top tier school for medicine. See where you can earn a high GpA 3.8 in premed. Did you visit the schools and have a preference? Why not make a pro cons lust nd see where your instincts take you ? Good luck…</p>
<p>I know nothing about Purdue, but my son chose Rochester over Michigan even though we are a huge Michigan family. He just couldn’t get around the size of U of M, and he also wanted to get away (on our admitted student day tour, he kept running into people he knew on campus). He looked into the Residential College at U of M and was almost swayed after attending some RC classes, but in the end he felt most comfortable at Rochester. It has worked out great. I personally feel that except for being able to attend Big Ten football and basketball games, he has had lots more opportunities at Rochester to get involved in student life in a meaningful way. He has played some club sports and been involved in other activities that might have been tougher to get involved with at U of M due to the sheer numbers. That being said, I was impressed that U of M has made some strides in offering smaller classes to freshmen (the required writing class, a freshman seminar and your language would all have fewer thatn 25 kids)-however, as Way Out West Mom pointed out that wouldn’t be the case in the lectures relating to your major. Ann Arbor is a great city and the campus is more integrated with the city. My son hasn’t made it to downtown Rochester too much (hasn’t felt the need) and he doesn’t feel like he is missing anything (not because he doesn’t like the city of Rochester, he just has lots to do on campus and is busy). I don’t think you could miss with either school, but there is a big difference in the campus life.</p>