I’m a junior in high school and I plan to major in biochemistry as an undergrad and right now Wash U and UMich are my top two choices. Can anyone offer some insight? Here are some areas of comparison that are important to me.
- undergraduate research (are there a lot of opportunities?)
-Social scene (is it open? relaxed? Stuck up? Stressful?)
- Music programs (I want to minor in music and I play flute and piano, so any advice you have especially about the ensembles would be so helpful!)
-Class size (is it going to be hard to stand out? Will I be in classes of hundreds of students?)
- Where do I fit in? I'm worried that I might go to a college where I'm below average and I want to be somewhere in the middle of the pack, so I have people to look up to and to inspire me but also not be the lowest ranked in my class. Here's my basic testing profile:
ACT Composite: 34
English: 34
Math: 32
Reading: 35
Science: 36
PSAT: 1440
SAT: (I’ve done practice tests but not an actual one- mine is scheduled for June 5. This is also the new SAT.)
Reading and Writing: 710
Math: 670
GPA (weighted): 4.18
GPA (unweighted): 3.91
AP Tests: AP Human Geography (4), AP Environmental science (4), AP US History (4), AP European history (probably a 3 or 4) AP Biology (4 or 5) AP English Language and Composition (4 or 5)
Any advice you have to offer would be excellent!
They’re both good.
Apply to both, wait for results.
If they both accept you and one has significantly lower net costs than the other, that would be a good basis to choose.
If they both accept you and costs aren’t an issue, visit both and decide which one you prefer.
Both get high marks for student quality of life and academics.
You should visit both - they are both good schools, but you get a different feel at both. M is big - Wash U is small - and I think that applies to size of class as well as size of campus.
UMich has one of the best music schools in the country that attracts top undergrad and graduate musicians nationwide. That is a good thing if you’re a music major, but if you’re not it will likely limit your options if you want to be involved in music. Since there are so many fantastic music performance majors, non music majors are likely to be shut out of top ensembles. This page indicates that the top two bands are not recommended for non-music majors due to extensive rehearsal and performance requirements, and as a science major you probably would not have the time, but there are a few bands open to all, and at such a big school the quality of those ensembles may still be quite high https://www.music.umich.edu/current_students/perf_opps/bands.htm . Another thing you should investigate is whether or not music minors take lessons with faculty or if it would be grad students. My guess is it would be grad students since big name faculty will have a studio full of music majors, but I don’t know. It may vary by instrument. Now, Michigan’s grad students are probably fantastic, but that is worth considering. Also worth noting: Michigan’s music department is on North Campus across the river, not on the main campus, and that can complicate adding musical study to other majors.
Wash U would be a very different environment, both musically and otherwise. I am a Wash U alum - it has been 25+ years since I graduated, though, so take that into account as my experience may not be at all representative of what the school is like now. I did participate in several choral music ensembles but did not major or minor in music. They were a lot of fun but at least at the time I wouldn’t have said that Wash U’s music department was anything special. Quality of student musicians varied, but there were at least a few good musicians on every instrument. It was pretty small at the time, probably one adjunct faculty member for most instruments. Probably comparable to a lot of private schools that attract top students (many of whom did music in HS) but which don’t have a big school of music. I was able to take voice lessons for free because I was in an ensemble, but I think it was with a grad student. I don’t think I knew anyone who was majoring or minoring in music at the time.
I LOVED Wash U, by the way. Friendly, supportive and interesting student body, definitely not stuck up. The pre-meds were stressed as they are most places, but most of the rest of us weren’t. I thought it was the perfect size for me - small enough to see people you know almost everywhere you go, but big enough to have a wide variety of course offerings and majors and an interesting campus. Only the popular entry level 101 classes and “rocks for jocks” type classes were quite large 100+, but most of the classes I had were small to medium sized. I interacted regularly with professors and got to know many of them well, but as a humanities major I didn’t attempt to do any research.
Consider emailing the music schools at universities that interest you if you have specific questions about music programs. Many schools of music will have academic advising sheets or handbooks online that give you a sense of the course requirements for music minors. Web sites usually say which ensembles are open to non-majors. There is also a Music Major forum here that may be helpful on the music front. Some schools webcast concerts or post them on YouTube later, you might look for that to help you assess ensembles. Good luck!