I was recently admitted to Amherst from the waitlist. I am in-state at UMich’s engineering school. I don’t plan on becoming an engineer, but I applied to the engineering school just to keep my options open since it’s more difficult to transfer into it than out of it. I’m unsure what I want to major in, but am thinking of doing something related to business after I graduate.
I would love to attend Amherst because I think it’s a much better fit and I think I would enjoy college much more at a smaller school, but my parents are stereotypical first-generation Asian-American parents and don’t consider any liberal arts colleges to be worthwhile. Cost is a factor, but it is not above our means to pay for tuition Amherst. My parents, however, are willing to pay full tuition at comparable national universities in terms of prestige and academics such as UChicago or Dartmouth. I’m trying to convince them of the value of an education at Amherst and don’t know how to go about it. Does anyone have any suggestions?
If your parents can’t recognize an elite college like Amherst I don’t know that there is any persuading. It is really that they want you to major in engineering? You have to realize that many parents don’t find it worth the money to pay more than instate UMich when you have that option, and that is likely sound. It is a luxury to pay up for a private and some don’t see why. But if you are willing to pay for Dartmouth then I don’t know why there should be a distinction vs Amherst myself.
Here is a list of notable Amherst alum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amherst_College_people
p.s. looking at this list, you can maybe make the case that a college like Amherst is producing leaders in every field
I think you have two issues here (three if you count the money): First the name recognition of UMich vs Amherst and second the prospect of going to engineering school when you apparently have no desire to become an engineer.
Are your parents aware that your plan is to transfer out of engineering as soon as is practical? Are they concerned about your attending a liberal arts college instead of a professional school like engineering?
It’s not just Asian-Americans in the midwest who have limited awareness about Amherst or other academically excellent schools in the same cohort. These schools just don’t have a high level of name recognition among the general population, in America or worldwide; however they are well known and respected by top graduate schools, government agencies and business recruiters.
My advice would be to try to communicate that you do not want to be an engineer, and that among your non-engineering choices, Amherst is the best choice academically and career wise. Amherst grads are well represented in prestigious graduate programs, in education and government, on Wall Street and in the business world at large. If you have a supportive teacher or counselor at your high school who is familiar with Amherst, perhaps s/he could talk to your parents about the opportunities that you’d have at a school like Amherst.
If it’s at all possible, try to visit Amherst with your parents. They couldn’t help but be impressed by the facilities and academic excellence. Most likely Amherst would give you a decision extension if a visit were feasible.
I am actually a UMich grad. I got a wonderful education that helped me throughout my career, but UMich wasn’t a good fit for me at that time in my life. My son went to Williams and his experience was exceptionally positive. Everything we expected from a top small liberal arts college – small classes, personal attention, close relationships with professors, alumni/ae connections, graduate school admissions – proved to be accurate, and then some.
We are not ethnic Asians but we have lived in Asia for many years. Whenever we’d talk to Asian friends about our respective colleges, UMich would get overwhelming approval and Williams blank stares, meaning “too bad you couldn’t get into a good college”. 
Luckily he redeemed himself by going to an Ivy League graduate school.
That isn’t at all logical, but it sounds like it is going to be a tough sell. Unfortunately, you’re correct OP, in that this is a predominantly culturally-based stigma. I have lived in Asia, and have good friends whose parents had similar expectations. However, they were well-versed in American academia itself, as well as a more Asian-based perception of the American system. So one friend, for example, went to Wellesley (considered one of the “seven sisters,” each a counterpart to an ivy in the days before women were admitted to the traditional ivy league institutions), and on to an ivy for graduate school. But the family already knew how prestigious that was for undergrad, and what it would bode for graduate and beyond.
This history is important to understand, because it provides a loose network of both prestige and access to some of the higher echelons of the academy and society. Of course Michigan has its rightful place as well, but if Amherst appeals to you, it is a very different kind of atmosphere and education, and worth appealing for.
What you might try is to educate your parents (gently) about the history and interrelationship of the “little ivies,” and particularly the three that were considered so from the beginning: Amherst, Williams and Wesleyan. And also stress that these schools have outstanding academics and reputations, and also serve as exceptional feeders into elite graduate research universities: ivies and equivalents. If there is a representative of Amherst who could speak to your parents, that could help, but again, you’d have to tread carefully.
The problem may arise from a misundersanding of liberal arts. The term refers to colleges that instruct in the sciences, math, humanities and fine arts, and the social sciences. Your parents’ categorical separation of Michigan and Amherst may be the confounding – and inappropriate – factor within your family’s deliberations.
What is the net cost to your parents for both Amherst and UMich? Do you have any younger siblings that will be going off to College in the next 1-3 years?
Looking at the Cost of attendance:
Amherst Cost Of Attendance = $65,682 - $68,132
University of Michigan Cost Of Attendance =$26,834
A difference of over $41.3K per year or $165K over 4-years.
So, Amherst is approximately 2.5 times as expensive than UofM! There Engineering Program and the Business School is highly ranked nationally. Amherst doesn’t have an Engineering Program per se and Michigan’s Ross Business School (if that is an option if you transfer out of Engineering) is a highly sought-after business program.
Why would any parent select Amherst over UofM, given the attributes cited above? Yes, it is a much larger University population-wise, but after your Freshman/Sophomore year, you will be pretty much grouped with a much smaller population in either the Engineering School (North Campus) or the Business School (Central Campus). I don’t think this has anything to do with being “Asian-American parents” as it is using basic common sense. Why would someone pay $160K more just for “fit” (whatever that is)?
Not sure why they would pay for Dartmouth but not Amherst (yes, Dartmouth has engineering, but it is a >4 year program at Dartmouth for the ABET accredited majors, so it is not a good choice if you actually do want to do engineering), but the cost of either over in-state Michigan does mean that either of them needs to be worth at least $160,000 more.
How come we never see threads with titles such as: UMich vs Amherst - Swedish American Parents? 
@plokijnm321 When you say “cost is a factor”, what do you mean? Of course cost is a factor, but how much of a factor based on your family’s financial picture? $150K+ is a lot of money. How would you finance the extra cost for Amherst? Savings? Co-signed loans? Can your family absorb the extra cost fairly easily, with income?
This might not have anything to do with ethnic bias. The $150K+ might be a bigger burden to your family than they are letting on, so maybe they’re only willing to take on that financial burden in exchange for a degree from a broadly recognizable top national university. If that’s the case, as far as I’m concerned, that’s your parents’ decision to make, bias or not.
If your family can absorb the $150K+ fairly easily, then you’re in a better position to bargain and expose any bias that might exist.
I have many Asian friends, Indian included. This starts well before college. If the kids dont get into the specialty high schools it is a huge disapointment bordering on embarrassing the family.
When it comes to college time it is all about name recognition and implied prestige. The children are very open minded but the parents and grandparents want nothing to do with schools that aren’t well known to there similarly closed- minded friends.
Generally the parents’ expectations are not in sync with the child’s prospects.
Use this: the selectivity ranking based purely on objective factors is basically twice higher at Amherst than at UMich.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1770201-selectivity-ranking-national-us-lacs-combined.html
Using the “Little Ivies” history is also a good selling point (try telling it like this: “Big” Ivies have many students, “Little Ivies” have fewer students, but all will attend the same top graduate schools. Those are just different environments).
If it’s about prestige: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges
vs
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities
If it’s about money, that’s a different discussion altogether.
If it’s about engineering vs science/math/CS/other liberal art…that discussion should probably happen NOW.
Print this PDF out and show it to them. Amherst is one of the top ten schools for feeding into the elite law, business and medical schools in the country, ahead of Columbia, Chicago, Brown, Cornell and many others. Prestige obsessed parents should be impressed by this.
http://inpathways.net/ipcnlibrary/ViewBiblio.aspx?aid=1577
https://www.lsa.umich.edu/rc/aboutus
You may want to consider the Residential College at Michigan (see attached). It is one way of many that can make Michigan “smaller”. You may need to look at that or other ways of feeling somewhat more comfortable at Michigan, with the costs so much less.
Any of the programs you may switch into at Michigan are top tier/highly ranked. Its a great University to go to when you are uncertain what you want to concentrate in. And you are correct, that it is very easy to transfer from COE to say LSA.
If you are not sure what you want to study, UMich will provide much more options. I agree with the above suggestion if that option is still open. Also, despite the ‘rankings’ UMich has very good world-wide recognition.
@momrath Not sure he redeemed himself by going to an Ivy grad school as much as he did impress his family. He got a good education at Williams no doubt, maybe way more personalized and focused on the individual than if he attended an Ivy undergrad.
Sorry if this sounds hostile I in no way intend it to be! UMich is a good school no doubt, but it is huge and for some students that might be a turnoff.
@shavree287, That comment was meant humorously! (Note the smiley face.)
I think you need to look at this from a very analytical perspective regardless of who is paying. If you had $260K, would you spend it all on Amherst or go to UMich and have $165K left? Wouldn’t that money be better spent on graduate school? That will buy you an MBA, a law degree or 3/4 of an MD. Would you take on $165K of debt for a Liberal arts degree? I wouldn’t. Could you negotiate with your parents to set aside the savings for graduate school?
I also think you are confusing selectivity with quality. The relationship is not direct. UMich CoE is one of the 10 top engineering schools in the world. Ross is in the top 5 for undergrad business. Either of those degrees are marketable and worth real money. Both are much harder to get into then normal UMich. You also have the good fortune to be in-state and pay incredibly cheap tuition for the quality of education you will get. Median ACT for UMich CoE is 33. For Amherst it is 32.
If you were purely interested in Liberal Arts, compare the UM Residential College with Amherst. The RC gives you the best of both worlds. You could also do one or more - LA/Bus Eng/Bus etc which would likely take an additional year. Both CoE and Ross are small enough that you won’t get lost. Also look at the honors college for LSA and engineering. Did you apply to be admitted as a Freshman into Ross?
Another, albeit somewhat quirky ranking, this one from Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/
LACs do well in Forbes’ opinion.
Lots of useful responses on this thread, and nothing of substance to add, but I’m intrigued by how different groups of people view different colleges regionally, culturally, etc. All schools under discussion are terrific schools, but in the environment I grew up in, Amherst would have been the no-brainer and UMich the tough sell. This is why I find CC so useful, because it can open one’s eyes to possibilities one had never considered before. (Some of the schools we’re considering for our kid have already required some explaining to family members.)