Hi I’m torn between Michigan and Pitt for biomedical engineering. I know Michigan is ranked higher, but it’s also much more expensive (OOS for me). Will I be lost at a school of that size? Pitt is much closer for me and I also can be part of the honors college and potentially be a scholarship candidate. Is the honors college a big plus for Pitt (plus in state tuition)? How good is Pitt’s biomedical engineering program? Thanks.
Id take Pitt BME anyday over UMich, and considering your instate for Pitt that makes the situation clearer
Are the undergrad programs ranked? If so, what are the rankings?
I doubt that the rankings matter at all.
Instate rates are a big plus.
What are your parents saying about paying $55k per year for UMich? If they won’t pay then the question is moot.
How much will they pay per year?
What are your stats?
I don’t have the rankings because they’re behind a paywall, but the medical field is a big deal at Pitt (I mean, they have a freaking hospital right in the middle of campus). I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitt is ranked higher in that specific major.
UMich is ranked #7 and Pitt #19. Pitt in-state tuition is $18K, Michigan OOS is $44K. As much as I love Michigan, it us not worth an extra $100K for an undergrad degree.
You should check the NPC because Michigan has good FA available. That may make a difference.
Have you visited both schools? Pitt is much smaller and a very compact campus. We visited both and S had UMich as his #1 for a long time (mainly due to sports and ranking), I just did not care for the vibe at Michigan but loved Pitt for it’s friendliness and school spirit which was evident during our tour.
During our research, we heard lots of good things about their honors college and housing.
There is no dismissing the fact though, that UMich is well regarded across many fields.but I feel it would be harder to distinguish oneself at UMich. You will have to decide if it is worth the considerable difference in cost. While rankings and alumni networks play a large role with employers, I don’t think it trumps the environment in which you think you can excel and avoiding large debt.
Michigan is certainly a big school where you can get swallowed up. I would say that Ann Arbor is kind of an odd college town and the university’s buildings are kind of scattered throughout instead of having its own campus. There are certainly plenty of good people there, including many friends of mine, and it’s a great school, but as I can say from personal experience and firsthand accounts, it is not for everyone. I highly recommend visiting campus before trying to select it as your choice.
If you want a more subjective opinion, there’s a popular expression around my hometown: “how do you figure out if someone went to Michigan? Wait 5 minutes, they’ll tell you.”
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UMich is ranked #7 and Pitt #19. Pitt in-state tuition is $18K, Michigan OOS is $44K. As much as I love Michigan, it us not worth an extra $100K for an undergrad degree.
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@TooOld4School Is ^^^ for undergrad or grad school?
Anyway, the difference in ranking isn’t enough to be significant. You’re right, not worth an extra $100k.
Re #7: In terms of undergraduate rankings – the only ones which should matter, as you have implied – Michigan places 10th within its category for biomedical engineering. Pitt’s ranking is not immediately accessible since it is outside of the top 14.
“There are certainly plenty of good people there, including many friends of mine, and it’s a great school, but as I can say from personal experience and firsthand accounts, it is not for everyone. I highly recommend visiting campus before trying to select it as your choice.”
DetroitLeper, while I agree that Michigan is not for everyone, and that it is indeed highly recommended to visit the campus before enrolling, can’t the same be said of every university?
According to the latest undergraduate rankings, Michigan is #6 in Engineering overall and #10 in Biomedical Engineering specifically. Pitt is #51 in Engineering overall and #21 in Biomedical Engineering specifically. The difference is not as small as posters here seem to indicate. #6 is palpably better than #51, and in a field as specialized as Biomedical, Aerospace or Nuclear Engineering, so is the difference between #10 and #21.
Without knowing Alyssa’s family’s financial situation, it is hard to say, without prejudice, that Pitt is the way to go.
Obviously, in most cases, students applying to college from from middle income families, and without any form of aid or scholarship money, Pitt makes much better sense than Michigan for PA residents. This cannot be overstated. Pitt i an excellent university and no university is worth spending an extra $100k+ over it.
But if the OP’s family is wealthy and can easily afford the difference in the CoA, and assuming that Alyssa likes the Michigan campus, I think Michigan can be a good option.
Alternatively, if Alyssa comes from a lower income family, and Michigan offers her a generous aid package (not so unusual for OOS students any longer), thereby negating the gap in the CoA, again, Michigan could make better sense than Pitt.
Finally, if Alyssa has very strong academic credentials and receives a generous merit scholarship (not likely considering the tiny number of large scholarships Michigan offers, but one never knows), again eliminating the gap in the CoA, I think Michigan makes better sense.
those rankings are silly.u of pitt has a world renown med school and cutting edge research going on.
I find rankings absurd. michigan is a great school and so is pitt!
There is no need to decide right now. They both have rolling type of admissions so you should apply to both, see where you get in, see what is affordable and then decide.
Michigan does not have rolling admissions anymore, Just Nov 1 EA and Jan1 RD. The OP should apply EA for best FA and scholarship consideration. As for size, the engineering school at Michigan is much smaller than the general university and has its own campus (mostly), I doubt that the OP will be lost because of the excellent support system. The engineering administration has open-door policy and will be happy to assist with any issues that the OP might have, or just for a chat with the dean.
I would say that it is true of all schools, yes, @Alexandre , but what I was trying to say is that the atmosphere is far different from a typical school. While many Michigan state schools appeal to the same types of people, Ann Arbor is a very unique environment.
And yes, U of M has a separate college of engineering and most of its classes are fairly clumped together onto a “campus.”
Michigan and Ann Arbor are indeed unique. That’s the mark of an elite institution. It differentiates itself and sets its own standards. Berkeley, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Penn, Rice, Stanford, Texas-Austin, Tufts, UCLA, UNC-Chapel Hill, UVa, William & Mary, Wisconsin-Madison, Yale and virtually all good LACs etc…each unique in its own way.