<p>I'm in a good place put having to make tough decisions. I've been accepted to these three schools (U of I, Ann Arbor, and Madison) and having a difficult time deciding. I'm going to major in a liberal field and possibly move on to law school in the future. I live in Illinois so that puts a financial play into this. I've been blessed to not be too concerned with finances but obviously they can't be ignored. There is not really a ranking for pre law programs or liberal art programs so any input would be very appreciated!</p>
<p>Well Michigan easily bests both Wisconsin and Illinois in nearly all fields, including liberal arts and pre-law. If you truly don’t have to worry about finances, go to Michigan. But if it would make it a lot easier on you family to pay less, especially if they are going to have to help with law school, then go to Michigan. I always say this about Michigan in comparison to other schools: it may be better, but if you’re planning on going to graduate school anyways, the superiority of Michigan isn’t worth anywhere near $20,000-$30,000 each year.</p>
<p>If you’re planning on going to grad school then I’d say UIUC. Unless your parents are millionaires of course.</p>
<p>My daughter is considering the same three schools as you. Michigan ranks higher in all areas. However, Illinois and Wisconsin are not far behind. I also have a son studying Engineering at U of I. He loves it there as most kids do. If money is not an issue and you won’t be taking loans, you can’t go wrong with Michigan. Can you go visit each school again?</p>
<p>All of the schools are good so it comes down primarily to fit and cost. Probably UMich > UW = UIUC for academics; UW = Umich >>>> UIUC for campus. UIUC is 90%+ Illinois residents so the only geographic diversity is Downers Grove vs Carbondale. There are a lot of Illinois residents at Michigan and Wisconsin and virtually no Michigan residents at UIUC.</p>
<p>If money is no concern then i say Michigan hands down. What about Champaign? It would be my first choice for being in-state (terrific school in all areas). Not part of my input but an added benefit is that the weather in Champaign is better than Madison during the school year.</p>
<p>Michigan is generally considered slightly better than UIUC and Wisconsin. Additionally, given the fact that Michigan is the only one of the three to have its own T14 Law school, one can even argue that it enhances one’s chances of admission into at least one elite law program. Indeed, Michigan Law School exempts applicants from the University of Michigan with 3.8+ GPAs from taking the LSAT and gives preference to its own students. </p>
<p>This said, financial consideration is of paramount importance. Three years of Law school costs as much as four years of college. If this were the 90s, or even the early 00s, when Law degrees were considered recesion proof and careers in the legal profession were considered very lucrative, I would have said go to Michigan, even if you had to incur some debt. However, I hear the legal profession is no longer as lucrative. As such, I recommend taking the most financially viable path, unless the OP’s family is very well off and spending additional money does not have to great a negative impact. Otherwise, I say UIUC all the way!</p>
<p>If you’re planning on going to law school, save your money and go to UIUC which is one of the top 10 public schools in the country unless your parents are wealthy. School prestige doesn’t matter in law school admissions and it all comes down to LSAT/GPAs. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the input all. My only issue with UIUC is that its liberal art prorams are not of the same standard of Ann Arbors, and I feel that the University may be much more focused on engineering and computer sciences.</p>
<p>I think you have been called out on this topic before but of course the prestige of your undergrad school counts in law school applications. Are you saying that a 3.95 from Bismarck State College or Amridge University is the same as a 3.95 from Duke, and would be treated the same by a law school admissions committee? Or even a 3.95 at Ole Miss or University of Arkansas as opposed to Duke? (No disrespect meant to any of those schools, just the fact that Duke is higher ranked). That being said, UIUC is a good school and if one does well there they would get a good look from a law school-but I think a Michigan grad with all the same numbers would get a better look.</p>
<p>“Are you saying that a 3.95 from Bismarck State College or Amridge University is the same as a 3.95 from Duke, and would be treated the same by a law school admissions committee?”</p>
<p>Yes he is. I agree with him too. :-)</p>
<p>I tend to agree with shs1975. I also tend to agree that the strength of Michigan’s liberal arts programs in the social sciences is at or near the top. I would suggest that the OP take visits to the three schools (if he or she hasn’t done so already) and try to get a sense if one of the schools is a much better fit than the others and if UIUC is not the best fit to come up with a compelling reason why the additional cost of one of the others is justified. He or she should then talk to his or her parents and figure out how the financial play comes into it. A Michigan resident in the OP’s position chooses to go Michigan most of the time because the additional cost cannot be justified - a UW study showed that this to be the case.</p>
<p>Jibrb1, most universities’ liberal arts programs are not of the same standard as those at the University of Michigan. This said, UIUC is is definitely solid in the liberal arts, with most of its social science and humanities departments ranked in the top 25 in the nation,. </p>
<p>A quick look at UIUC’s representation at some top Law schools suggests that UIUC places its alums well at top Law schools, particularly Chicago, Michigan and Northwestern.</p>
<p>
With a GPA that high, both the Bismarck State College and the Duke grad would get into a top law school as long as their LSAT score is at the median or higher for that particular law school. There’s a slight possibility at the margin that the Duke student with the same GPA or with a slightly lower GPA (0.1 but maybe 0.2 max) would be viewed in the same light or favored over the Bismarck State College student but this is an unlikely scenario to occur.</p>
<p>At any rate, the difference between the two schools you listed academically is a lot larger than the disparity which exists between UIUC and Michigan.</p>
<p>
Only to Michigan Law…the other law schools simply won’t care because one student’s at a top 5 public school and the other’s at a top 10 public school. There are more Michigan alums at top law schools than UIUC alums since more students from the former apply to law school in the first place and there are more super-smart kids at Michigan admittedly.</p>
<p>The simple fact is that there are almost zero students at Tier 2 and Tier 3 universities who are academically capable of getting a high enough LSAT score to get into a T14 Law School. The smartest students in the country are disproportionately found in the top 20-30 universities in the U.S. which have the highest SAT/ACT averages.</p>
<p>do you live in Novi, Michigan, I do too. and my husband has interviewed on behalf of U of M law occasionally, and I hate to tell you but you are wrong. And, I have personal experience with law firm hiring (one of the largest firms in Michigan/Midwest), and in this economic environment, even undergrad matters unless you are the cream of the law school crop. But, as I said before, UICU is a good school, and if my child was in state I would probably encourage him to attend in state, get the tuition break, do well and go to a great grad school.</p>
<p>^^^^shs1975. My comments were made in jest. Sarcasm is not always easily caught online.</p>
<p>Wisconsin is far stronger in the life sciences compared to either Michigan or Illinois. Illinois is a top five engineering school and significantly stronger than either of the other two in those majors. Computer Science: Illinois. Economics: Michigan. Mathematics: Wisconsin. And so on. It depends on your major. Michigan is a traditional liberal arts/social sciences-oriented public university, similar to North Carolina. Yeah, yeah, they offer a fine education and prestige in everything else, blah, blah, blah. </p>
<p>Michigan is a fine place to attend college but don’t kid yourself, its not a meal ticket or instant-gratification when applying to law school either. You will have to knock the lights out in the standardized testing because no admissions department is going to waste their time attempting to differentiate between a 3.8 at Wisconsin, Illinois or Michigan. You’ve got three schools to choose from - consider the cost of attending, then make sure you hit the books and ace your LSATs, or GREs or whatever standardized test you are planning to take. But if you are just dying to pay $47+ out-of-state to attend Michigan, its your money. Just don’t kid yourself, your GPA from Michigan doesn’t mean anything more than it does from Wisconsin, Illinois, Cal, Georgia Tech, Texas, North Carolina, Washington or any of the other top twenty public universities. What’s important is that you excel wherever you go.</p>
<p>“Wisconsin is far stronger in the life sciences compared to either Michigan or Illinois.”</p>
<p>Slightly stronger than Michigan. Hyperbole</p>
<p>“Economics: Michigan”</p>
<p>Wisconsin is Michigan’s equal in economics. </p>
<p>“Illinois is a top five engineering school and significantly stronger than either of the other two in those majors.”</p>
<p>Slightly stronger than Michigan. Hyperbole</p>
<p>“Michigan is a traditional liberal arts/social sciences-oriented public university, similar to North Carolina.”</p>
<p>Michigan is slightly stronger than UNC in liberal arts/social sciences. Michigan is significantly stronger than UNC in the hard sciences. Michigan has an engineering program, UNC none to speak off.</p>
<p>If you’re going to stir the pot, at least make sure your ingredients are accurate. Btw, I agree with your second paragraph.</p>
<p>Actually rjk, I disagree with bohligtomack74. If the OP has a 3.8 GPA at Michigan, he does not even need to submit his LSAT to Michigan Law school. Also, law schools give priority to undergrads from their own institution, and Michigan Law is significantly stronger than Wisconsin or UIUC law. Obviously, maintaining a 3.8 GPA at Michigan is not easy, but those that manage it have a clear advantage over prelaw students at UIUC or Wisconsin; a great chance of admission into a T14 Law school without having to submit the LSAT. The question for the OP to answer is simple; is that edge worth spending $100,000 over UIUC? If the OP comes from a well off-family that can easily cover the difference, then I say yes. If the OP comes from a middle income family and would need to take out loans and graduate with debt, then I say no.</p>
<p>I also do not understand why bohligtomack74 brings up Mathematics, Biology and Engineering when the OP is prelaw and clearly communicates that he wishes to major in the humanities and social sciences. But even in his attempt to balance things out, he makes several mistakes. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Wisconsin is not stronger than Michigan or UIUC in Mathematics. According to the to the latest USNWR rankings, Michigan is #8 in Mathematics, while Wisconsin is #16 and UIUC is #20. Edge, Michigan by a hair.</p></li>
<li><p>UIUC is not better than Michigan in Engineering. According to the latest undergraduate USNWR rankings, Michigan and UIUC are both ranked #6 in the country. Graduate rankings usually place UIUC 3-4 spots higher than Michigan, but that is a function of size and research, not quality or reputation. Heck, Wisconsin is insignificantly lower at #13 in undergraduate Engineering. Michigan = UIUC, but Wisconsin is not slouch.</p></li>
<li><p>Wisconsin is barely better than Michigan or UIUC in Biology. According to the latest USNWR, Wisconsin is ranked #15 in Biology, Michigan #20 and UIUC #30. The difference between Wisconsin and Michigan is negligible. For premeds, I would actually give Michigan the edge over Wisconsin or UIUC thanks to its top rated medical school and hospital. This gives Michigan undergrads more options for relevent undergraduate research work and again, priority admissions into a top 10 Medical school. </p></li>
<li><p>As you already pointed out, Michigan is not better than Wisconsin in Economics. According to the latest USNWR rankings, Michigan is ranked #12 in Econ while Wisconsin is ranked #14. UIUC is ranked #31, which is lower, but not significantly so.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Bottom line depends on cost. Can the OP afford Michigan without going into debt? If yes, I think Michigan is worth it. If not, UIUC is the clear choice.</p>
<p>i stand corrected. I wonder if bohligtomack74 will admit as much.</p>