I have narrowed my top 2 schools down to UMich and Purdue, but I’m really having trouble seeing which would be more beneficial. For a long time my #1 was UMich, but now after visiting Purdue and seeing their programs in depth, I am rethinking. I’ve got Pros and Cons for both, but I’m still having trouble choosing.
UMICH
Pros:
cheaper
tons of prestige
ranked 6 for engineering
flexibility (FYE program)
Ann Arbor is great
close to home (like 1 hour)
lots of friends there
Women In Engineering learning community
lots of student groups
Cons:
lots of pressure
I would be in the bottom percentage of students
not a big fan of campus
seems less interested in individual students
people are kind of snobby
PURDUE
Pros:
love campus
EPICS program
flexibility (FYE program)
I would be able to get into the Honors College
I would be in the top group of students
huge career fair
lots of learning communities
the BOILERMAKER SPECIAL
more study abroad opportunities
lots of internship/co-op opportunities
lots of student groups
Cons:
more expensive
farther from home (almost 5 hours)
less prestige
ranked 9 for engineering
West Lafayette is in the middle of nowhere
only 1 person there that I know
too much corn
both sound really, REALLY good. if only I could attend both…
For reference:
I have an unweighted 3.87 GPA, around 4.2 weighted.
At the end of the year I have taken 7 out of the 10 AP classes my school offers.
I was moved up a year in school (I am a senior now where I would have been a junior)
I have a 1430 SAT, although I will be retaking to increase my math score
I have been captain of my robotics team for 2 years now
There is absolutely no reason to decide now. Apply to both, see where you get in, see exactly what the price differential is and understand what it means to your family, and then decide. If both schools accept you and both are affordable you can always try to re-visit during accepted student day before choosing.
Yes, apply to both and decide if you are admitted to both and can compare costs.
But note that Michigan has one significant advantage over Purdue that many high school seniors do not notice: at both schools, engineering students enter undeclared/FYE in the engineering division, but at Michigan, any engineering student who passes the prerequisites (C grades, 2.0 GPA) can choose any engineering major, while at Purdue, engineering students need to meet higher GPA thresholds, depending on the popularity of their desired majors.
I agree with happy1 to apply to both and see where you get in. HC is not a no brainer at Purdue for engineering. The average GPA for engineers last cycle was 3.9 and a 32 ACT.
Yes, you need to transition to major at Purdue and will need a 3.2 to guarantee entry into any major, but above a 2.0 will allow entry to the less competitive engineering majors.
IMO, if you get into Michigan, it’s not worth paying more to go out of state to Purdue (and I’m a parent of a Purdue HC student who loves it).
So, if you can’t tell, I’m biased to one of the two schools. That being said, I’m a firm believer that for undergraduate engineering you really can’t go wrong at any State Flagship. Both of these schools are great. UofM is probably better for the overall undergrad, but I would say PU is equal in engineering at the undergrad level. I’m not sure #6 v. #9 is really that different and those rankings are usually influenced by graduate/research and not undergraduate.
Looking at your pro/con list. UofM has an honors track as well, are you sure you won’t get in it? Your stats aren’t bad for UofM (maybe instate, but my son was accepted 2 years ago out of state with the same stats). I also think you will be hard pressed to differentiate the rest of your pro/con list between these two schools. UMIch also has plenty of student organizations and big job fairs. An hour from Indy, 2 hours from Chicago, isn’t really the middle of nowhere. Ann Arbor is an hour from Detroit and 2 hours from Chicago so maybe they are similar? (I here the rebuttal coming). PU also has a Women in Engineering program (or at least they did 25 years ago).
As far as campus feel. I attended PU, earned 2 degrees there and visited UofM with my son and did a tour. The campuses feel really different to me. At PU, everything is on campus and other then a few blocks of apartments between the residence halls and the academic buildings, it is contained. In Ann Arbor you sometimes feel like you aren’t on a campus. For me, I prefer the former, others obviously prefer that latter.
I’m a huge fan of Purdue’s President and he is one of the few people innovating in the university space (another is Zimmer at UChicago). He has held tuition flat for something like 8 years and is looking at ways to be better engaged in society. It would be cool to be on campus today, it has a lot of energy. When I was there it was pretty much a commuter campus with more parking lots then green space and a very ugly smokestack as it’s landmark.
I think at the end of the day you can make the decision based on all the information, which will include acceptance to both great Big 10 schools and most likely a price tag. It will be up to you to decide if the campus feel is worth spending a little more.
I will definitely be applying to both, don’t worry! I am more so worrying that if I am accepted to both I will have trouble deciding where to go, as I have a knack for being indecisive. Price will definitely be a huge factor in whether I go or not.’
I am using the 6/9 rankings based on UG Engineeering programs. Techincally both programs are tied with others, so UMich is realistically 5th and Purdue is 6th (according to US News).
I do not think I would make it into UMich’s engineering honors. My math SAT score is on the lower end of their average, hence why I am retaking it. WL definitely is not in the middle of nowhere, so I take that back. It is a lot smaller (or so it feels) than Ann Arbor though. I am definitely a bigger fan of Purdue’s closed campus rather than Michigan’s spread out one. Purdue does have a WIE program, but I kinda lumped that in with all the learning communities it has. That’s the only one I would really fit in at Michigan.
My only huge negative about Purdue is that I know I will cry every football season, as I am used to the wolverines being pretty good at what they do. Do the people at Purdue hate OSU as much as we do? That would be a bonus.
Ha, we don’t like OSU, but nobody hates OSU like UofM. However, that hate level will be learned to be directed at that vile pre-school in the south, IU.
I still don’t think that there is much difference between the two schools when they are both ranked in the single digits. I’d be weary of the Frosh Engineering without knowing what engineering you’ll get into after the first year. My son, who goes to UMD, is really P*SSED at them for allowing everyone into the CS program there argument. They don’t have enough teachers, labs, or other facilities to make it a comfortable environment for the students. He’d prefer that they limit the number of students in the program. If you make it into ME or EE or CSE at Purdue, you’ll at least know that the University is equipped to handle that many students.
Purdue football is on its way back too, so maybe you won’t have to cry. When I was there, they had a QB that turned out to be pretty good and my last year there he beat OSU and UofM at Purdue and that was pretty sweet.
Frosh direct admits just need to maintain a 2.0 GPA (but they will presumably be limited in number during the frosh admission process) but those who want to change into the CS major at UMD starting fall 2019 need to earn a 2.7 GPA.
This is a minor point and important only if it’s important to you. Purdue is very STEM centric and it’s engineering school is pretty much the center of campus. At U of M, engineering is one of many tremendous programs. It’s engineering college is two miles away from the main campus and accessible mainly by bus or car if you have one. For my D it was important enough that she didn’t apply to Michigan (she is a Purdue graduate). I would be hard pressed to turn down U of M in state. Finally, while Purdue has no love for the Buckeyes this weekend (they play them in W. Lafayette) there is not a rivalry. I would say the feelings run from mutual respect to ambivalence.
This was a big deal for my DD too @ivcsf. She hated the idea of having to take a bus to the engineering campus at U of M. That said, she was out of state for both. There would have been a much different conversation at our house if she was instate.
We were told freshman would have a lot of classes on main campus for the first three semesters which would require lots of bus riding. Was that not your experience @sushiritto? Our engineering tour guide told us about the bus app that makes knowing when the bus was coming easier but our dd’s interviewer said to expect riding the bus a couple times/day. My daughter, who had a 40 minute commute one way to HS, was not feeling that.
You seem to belong at Michigan…if you can get in. You like the Wolverines, dislike the Buckeyes and Michigan is cheaper to attend, unless Purdue gives you a nice scholarship.
But there are a few generalizations you make that I would challenge:
There is absolutely no difference between #6 and #9. Michigan and Purdue are peers in Engineering.
There won't be more pressure at Michigan. Purdue Engineering is just as intense. Purdue Engineers are respected all over the world for a reason...their engineering curriculum is world class.
Not all Michigan students are snobs. You obviously have some snobs, but you can avoid them if you wish. ;)
Yes, freshman will have a lot of classes on Central Campus. FY writing, math, science and other courses are mostly held on Central Campus. The variable here is where will this freshman get placed in terms of housing. The choices are Central (West, South, East, etc.), The Hill (Markley) or North Campus. If your housing is Central, then you essentially walk across the street to many of your classes. But you would have to take a bus to North Campus for Engineering courses. And vice versa, if your housing is on North Campus, then you would take a bus to Central for most of your freshman classes. If you’re on the Hill, then you walk to Central Campus and take a bus to North Campus for your Engineering courses.
After freshman year, you can live in apartments near/on North campus, if that’s what the student desires.
If anything, there will be more grade/GPA pressure at Purdue, since you need a 3.2 GPA at Purdue to be assured of your choice of engineering major (though students with lower GPAs are admitted to majors on a competitive basis), while 2.0 GPA and C grades at Michigan are sufficient.