University of Michigan Ann Arbor LSA vs Columbia University School of General Studies

Hi there everyone! Thanks so much for the help you’ve all given me thus far!

If any of you have read my previous post in which I deliberated between UC Santa Cruz and UMich Ann Arbor, I ended up deciding to go to UMich after talking to so many people in both CS programs. The morning after my decision, I received an email from Columbia University School of General Studies saying I’d been accepted to study CS as a transfer student.

So here I go with round 2, I would love everyone’s input again!

Cost: At this point, since I’m an OOS student at Michigan, the costs of the two universities would be near identical (~$3000/year difference over two years), so cost is not a factor I’m considering one way or the other.

Academics/Research: Currently, my field of interest is in Neuroprosthetics/Biomechatronics. I’ve already been able to find research opportunities at University of Michigan in the field, but have yet to find communities at Columbia working on research related to that (unless I’ve missed something). I’ve never done anything in this field though, so having fallback plans in case I end up not loving it as much as I thought I would, would be great. I love the fact that UMich has options for looking into other avenues of study though business or autonomous vehicles. I also feel maybe I haven’t give Columbia fair thorough review in this (mostly because I want to make a decision relatively quickly).

Social Life: I get the impression from talking to a lot of people at Columbia that there’s a stress culture associates with pride from pulling all-nighters. I’m inclined towards a balance between work and life. Though I’m not at all opposed to hard work, in fact, I expect it, I also want to make good memories socially and wonder how viable that is at Columbia. I do love the GS concept though! So cool to be surrounded by people with strange paths leading to their time there.

Weather/City: I have never been to NYC or Ann Arbor. They both sound great albeit very different. I will say I am partial towards New York if not simply because of the better weather. Gloomy days worry me, and I hear New York weather is a bit better.

Reputation/Alumni Network: I’ve heard both that both schools are comparable in terms of reputation for CS, and I’ve heard that an Ivy League opens doors like no other and I’d be crazy not to go there. Is there a difference with this, or is it mostly up to course work and research at this point? Would it affect my chances of getting into certain Ph.D. programs? They both have a big alumni network. I’ve heard General Studies is split from the rest of Columbia in terms of Legacy status and network, which worries me quite a bit. I hear that Michigan graduates have far more school pride, which makes me really happy since I want to share school pride.

I’m personally leaning towards Michigan simply because of the larger undergraduate populate and how incredibly nice they’ve been to me, but would love some outside perspectives!

The cost of living in NY is significantly higher than the cost of living in Ann Arbor. That alone should give you pause. Take a good long look at the reported Cost of Attendance at both institutions, and dig a little deeper into whatever numbers Columbia gives you for housing and other living expenses.

You are an older student with specific research objectives and career interests. That makes you more like a graduate school candidate than like a freshman applicant. If Michigan has the research projects you are looking for, then that is where you belong.