<p>Impartial observer here.</p>
<p>Both will provide a fantastic engineering education. If costs are significantly lower for one, go there. If costs are similar, I would visit both and then decide. (I need to try out this UMich bus system to engineering classes… 
)</p>
<p>I’ve just found out that UMich too has a flying club in Ann Arbor([University</a> of Michigan Flyers](<a href=“http://www.uofmflyers.org%5DUniversity”>http://www.uofmflyers.org)). This will surely affect my final decision.</p>
<p>UCBChemEGrad, as I mentioned earlier, I am from Brazil and it’s impossible for me (due to financial matters) to visit both universities at the time. I here look for strong opinions to take a rational decision based on my tastes and needs.</p>
<p>I am satisfied to know from the many comments above that all the universities that I mentioned are good, which only leaves the final challenge of picking one of them to be my home for the next 4 years.</p>
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He didn’t say that. All the engineering schools are on north campus within easy walking distances.</p>
<p>What he said was “you could spend a lot of time on buses getting from one campus to the other”. That is certainly true if you take one class on north campus, followed by another on central, then another on north, and so on and so forth. Not sure why you would want to do that but it is a feasible scenario if you enjoy riding on buses.</p>
<p>Unlike campuses that are contiguous but spread out, Michigan’s central campus is nice and small. You can walk from one end (Hill Area) to the other (State Street) in 15 min or less, and downtown Ann Arbor is only 4-5 blocks away with all the nice restaurants and shops.</p>
<p>In my experience, Michiganders are myopic about U of M. They frequently act as if there are no other institutions of higher learning, and are unreasonably touchy about other places being mentioned in the same breath as their beloved Michigan. Michigan is a GREAT school. It’s not a pi**ing match to see who is better when someone states that Purdue is, too. If what someone is worried about is that all important “prestige” factor, I think they will be disappointed in most any school that is not HYPS. What a prospective student should be worried about is quality of education, price, and atmosphere. Different people want different college experiences. Most smart, motivated students will do just fine at either place.</p>
<p>Finally, I want to reiterate that I never said AA is not safe. It is SAFE. But it is not truthful to deny that it has the kind of crime that a medium size city full of young people, near a major metro area, is going to have. Nothing irritates me more than some pi**ant from California in a tizzy about the crime in AA, as if it sits in the middle of the ghetto. They don’t deserve the time of day, if they’re that stupid. Purdue sits in the middle of a freaking cornfield–there’s less crime there simply because of its location. The nearest city, Indianapolis, is small and over an hour away.</p>
<p>Guys, take a look at this ranking: Top 25 schools whose graduates were the top-rated by recruiters [Best</a> Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ.com](<a href=“Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ”>Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ)</p>
<p>I found to be quite odd that top universities such as MIT and Cornell are ranked so low. Also, both Purdue and Illinois rank better than UMich there. Do you have any insight into this fact?</p>
<p>Sandro,</p>
<p>I will tell you the reason that elite universities are often ranked lower: companies have no expectation that those grads will stick around. They have had years of experience showing them that grads who consider themselves “elite” will jump ship at the first possible chance. My husband’s company (a very large one) does not bother recruiting at any of the elites, because those grads have shown themselves to be more trouble than they are worth.</p>
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Ok, didn’t catch that.</p>
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Do you really have a choice? For example, as a sophomore, you probably have a physics, chemistry, math, and intro engineering course. Could be some back and forth on buses. Wouldn’t really want to wait at a bus stop in sub zero degree wind chill.</p>
<p>That’s why I’d wanna check this out for myself. Am I being a California wimp? Probably.</p>
<p>Yes. There are a bunch of cold weather wimps here.</p>
<p>I can speak a bit to the feel of the 3 different schools you are considering. I’m originally from Illinois and seriously considered attending U of I and Purdue for engineering. I spent time at both schools in pre-college programs that included some aerospace courses. My daughter is now a junior at U Mich (not engineering). We live in FL now, and travel internationally, so I can also speak to the rep of U Michigan outside the Midwest. Anywhere in the world we go, if she wears something Michigan, people come up to us carrying on about how smart she must be and what a great school it is. You will find Michigan alumni just about everywhere you go, so you would always have a nice support system if you wanted it.</p>
<p>You’ll get a great education at all three schools, so it really comes down to fit. Since it’s difficult for you to visit before deciding which one to choose, I’ll share my personal impressions to give you another point of view.</p>
<p>As far as quality of life goes, it’s hard to top U Michigan. It is truly the quintessential college town, providing a safe and fun environment for students. You can easily walk or take the bus anywhere you need to go, there are plenty of things to do and, as another said…there is easy access to an international airport for direct flights home. The campus has an interesting variety of environments (North campus is newer and more high tech and Central campus is a more traditional college atmosphere). There is also a wonderful large outdoor area called the Arb. But probably the thing that has always impressed me most about being on the U Michigan campus is how friendly the people are. If you look lost, it doesn’t take long for a professor or student to ask if you need help. It also always amazes me that even though this is such a large university, whenever I walk with my daughter across campus she always runs into at least 3 or 4 people she knows. Sometimes people mistake the pride Michigan students have for their school as arrogance, but I’ve never witnessed such an attitude on campus. You will see an unusually large number of students wearing Michigan shirts, etc…year-round, not just during football season.</p>
<p>At Purdue, you will find the population is more geared toward engineering students. That can be a good thing for some students, not for others. I definitely felt I could embrace my inner geek there and it was cool. The campus is large and has an open feeling.</p>
<p>U of I is a good school, but I never liked the campus. It’s large and feels large. I always found Champaign-Urbana to be a bit dull, but there are those that really like it. It’s a good 2+ hours to Chicago by car or around 4 on the bus. Keep that in mind if you like to get off campus from time to time.</p>
<p>You’ll find small airports near all 3 you can use if you are a pilot. One thing you may find interesting is that Michigan recently launched a satellite: [Radio</a> Aurora Explorer | The University of Michigan’s first student-built satellite.](<a href=“http://rax.engin.umich.edu/]Radio”>http://rax.engin.umich.edu/)</p>
<p>Hope this helps. It must be hard to decide without the opportunity to visit the schools! By the way, I don’t think an honors program means as much for an engineering program, since the academic reputation of all 3 schools is excellent. I know at least in LSA (not sure for engineering, perhaps someone who knows can help), you don’t need to be in the honors program to graduate with honors or take honors courses. To graduate with honors, you must write a thesis for your major.</p>
<p>2forcollege, thank you so much for sharing your valuable real experience with the 3 universities. Adding the other comments, I believe I have enough information now to make a wise decision (maybe I already did :)). Once again, thank you.</p>
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<p>This is true, but it’s just because we’re in love with the U of M 
But 2forcollege is right, the people out here are so unbelievably nice, it’s ridiculous. Coming from LA (as I did) you notice it right away. Everyone says please/thank you for everything, holds the door for you, if you drop something they’ll help you pick it up, they’ll move over for you to try and squeeze that extra person on the bus, they’ll invite you over if you’ve just struck up a casual conversation, they’ll start talking to you randomly because they’re friendly, and in general, people are just personable. There are exceptions, yeah, but for the most part, midwesterners are just nice people. My friend visited from New York this weekend, and one of the first things he remarked on, without me even saying it, is that the people are so nice. It really makes you feel welcome.</p>
<p>I’ll agree that a lot of people here hold Michigan in really high regard, and it sometimes comes off as arrogance which paints us in a bad light occassionally, but it’s almost impossible to not feel devotion to a university with as much school spirit as Michigan (or other Big 10 and SEC schools). We just love the maize and blue, and love it here. 4 years isn’t enough :/</p>
<p>They hold it to a high regard but I do not know if IS kids realize how lucky they are to be going here. I think when you are paying 50k a year and had to beat out kids form across the country to get in you appreciate it more.</p>
<p>But that’s just my opinion</p>
<p>haha I completely agree with you. Though I do have a few IS friends who only applied to UM and MSU who were certainly smart enough to go to some of the Ivies/other comparable schools to Michigan. And when I ask them why they only applied to two schools, their response is almost always ‘Why go somewhere else when I have a school as amazing as UofM in my state?’</p>
<p>For now I’m just waiting to have the rest of my decisions answered to finally consumate my blue spirit with safety.</p>