University of Michigan at Ann Arbor v.s. University of Texas at Austin

College Search & Selection
1

Hi guys or yall’s

Can you guys give me the pros and cons of going to either Michigan or Texas (for Engineering).
I’m an OSS Student?

Which one is cheaper to go to, and which one will give more aid (Because both are expensive)

I’am a Brown Indian male (Born here in the US) and raised mainly in conservative environment with liberal essence. I do like to party, and social life does matter to me. But, academia matters the most.

I was wondering

  • (Brutally :) ) how are the ladies at UT and Umich. I heard UT is hotter, but Umich is growing?
  • (Diverse Friendly) How are the people at both places. From what i have been hearing, UT has some hate groups targeting minorities, and Umich is pretty chill (don't be upset at me as I could be wrong, but in my experience UT students can be arrogant, and Michigan guys are like "wassup my dude :)" )
  • Academics Obliviously Michigan it better than UT (not in everything of course) but in the major ares Engineering, Dance, Law, Business, Medicine. But Is Texas making a comeback?

Austin is huge in population like over 900000+ and Umich pop is like 120000.
Austin is getting high in crime, and I heard that the rape statistics in Austin Is high (I heard of West campus)
Michigan Gets extremely cold in the winter, but is it warmer from April to September?
Austin is really hot, does it even get cold sometimes?
Which one is cheaper to live in?

You guys might be thinking I’m beating up on Austin, but I’m just point out the facts or what I heard from previous UT Students, I have also talk to Michigan Student before and they said their cons about Ann Arbor.

I’m Mainly trying to ask
how are each places like?

For those who lived both places
how are they compared or both?

2

-UMich is known to have an overall attractive student body, I think UT Austin is also well-known in this regard.

-UMich is probably better with diversity stuff, but still has challenges of its own (but is putting a lot of effort and $$$ into addressing these problems, and compared with its peer institutions, it is probably a frontrunner). Remember, Michigan spent time, money, and effort in defending its use of Affirmative Action all the way to the SCOTUS back in the day.

-Social scenes are probably roughly equal.

-Ann Arbor is consistently ranked as the top or one of the top college towns, but Austin is a phenomenal city as well. Social scenes at both schools will likely be vibrant.

-Engineering is probably regarded about the same between the schools. Michigan gets somewhat of an edge here overall, however.

-Michigan is a top-ranked school in virtually all-programs across the board, so that makes for a rich student experience, and is a significant advantage over UT Austin, IMO.

-As for cost, Michigan is very good with OOS financial aid if your family income is less than 90,000 USD or so with some level of assets (I forget). Otherwise, the financial aid is probably very bad absent scholarships. The sticker price for UT Austin is significantly cheaper, but I do not think they are big on need-based financial aid for OOS at all. If you are coming from an upper-middle class or upper class income level, UT will likely be significantly cheaper.

Fair disclosure: I am a Michigan student, but have friends who recently graduated from UT Austin.

3

Michigan: 15% Pell, 61% white, 14% Asian, 5% Latino, 4% black
Texas: 24% Pell, 42% white, 23% Latino, 21% Asian, 4% black

https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=170976
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=228778

4

“Which one is cheaper to go to, and which one will give more aid (Because both are expensive)”

Michigan is more expensive, but not by much. If you come from a lower income family bracket, Michigan is more likely to give you financial aid. If you come from a middle income family bracket, do not count on getting much, if any, aid from either university.

“- (Brutally ) how are the ladies at UT and Umich. I heard UT is hotter, but Umich is growing?”

I don’t see why this would be a concern. Both schools have over 14,000 smart and independent undergraduate women.

"-(Diverse Friendly) How are the people at both places. From what i have been hearing, UT has some hate groups targeting minorities, and Umich is pretty chill (don’t be upset at me as I could be wrong, but in my experience UT students can be arrogant, and Michigan guys are like “wassup my dude " )”

That does not sound likely. Austin, and the University of Texas are very welcoming communities. I would not worry about it. I know quite a few international students, mostly Asian and Middle Eastern, at UT currently, and they are loving it.

“- Academics Obliviously Michigan it better than UT (not in everything of course) but in the major ares Engineering, Dance, Law, Business, Medicine. But Is Texas making a comeback?”

"For Engineering, they are peers. Law and Medical Schools will not differentiate between applicants with degrees from either university. Both are considered excellent universities.

“Austin is huge in population like over 900000+ and Umich pop is like 120000.”

Yes, Austin is a large city while Ann Arbor is a small city. That comes with advantages and disadvantages. There is a lot more to do in Austin, but Ann Arbor also has much to offer.

“Austin is getting high in crime, and I heard that the rape statistics in Austin Is high (I heard of West campus)”

I am not qualified to respond to this comment, but as far as I know, both Ann Arbor and Austin are relatively safe, so long as you keep yourself out of trouble and exercise common sense.

“Michigan Gets extremely cold in the winter, but is it warmer from April to September?”

Michigan is cold most of the time that you will be there. September and parts of October are pleasant, same with parts of April. November-March are cold. Unless you plan on taking summer classes, Michigan classes start in early September and end in late April, so you will not be in Ann Arbor when it is warm. If cold weather does not sit well with you, I would definitely check out UT.

“Austin is really hot, does it even get cold sometimes?”

Austin is "really hot in late August and parts of September, but the rest of the year, when classes are in session (late August until early May), the weather ranges from warm to cool. It can get cold sometimes, but your typical winter low hovers in the low 40s.

“Which one is cheaper to live in?”

Depends on where you live. Both will have upscale apartment/housing units, and more reasonably priced ones. Food will be reasonOverall, Austin and Ann Arbor have roughly similar costs of living.

To me, as an aspiring Engineer, the main deciding factor between those two schools would be cost of attendance. Without aid, Michigan is roughly $10k/year more expensive that Texas. If cost is not a concern, then go for fit.

5

@ucbalumnus

I stand corrected for diversity quantitative factors.

6

Some of the higher risk situations in college occur when one is drinking alcohol, particularly in an environment where others are also drinking alcohol (being underage does not deter many students who do so, although the risk of arrest is far from the only risk in that kind of situation). If you choose not to drink alcohol and stay away from heavy drinking environments, that is probably a major reduction in the risk of crime for you.

7

ucbalumnus, socioeconomically and racially, Texas is more diverse than Michigan. Geographically, Michigan (40% OOS, 7% international) is more diverse than Texas (5% OOS, 5% international).

8

@Alexandre
@ucbalumnus
@yikesyikesyikes

I love yall’s

Mainly thank you so much for the thought. I’m actually here to say that I probably have a better chance of getting into Umich than Texas. My dad makes below 90,000 a year after tax and retirement funds. Mom is currently way below that as well. Do you guys think that I will still get aid or scholarship (if even possible) from Michigan?

His total yearly salary is about 80,000 straight to his pocket, and I have a brother so total 4 people.

9

@Alexandre

The ladies question is not really a concern. I was basically asking if the girls looked good at UT or U Mich for curiosity?

10

@yikesyikesyikes

Oh yes, I heard Michigan got rid of affirmative action, but now brought it to light. Whats that all about, and what is the story behind it?

11

@ucbalumnus

oh yes, what does Pell mean?

12

For some odd reason, I fell U Mich is easier to get in than UT for engineering. What do you all’s think?

13

posted a lot, sorry about that

14

“For some odd reason, I fell U Mich is easier to get in than UT for engineering. What do you all’s think?”

Does it matter to you? Overall, Michigan is more selective than Texas. However, given the tiny number of OOS applicants that are admitted into Texas, it may well be harder for OOS applicants to get into Texas than into Michigan.

15

<<<<<<
My dad makes below 90,000 a year after tax and retirement funds. Mom is currently way below that as well.


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Schools don’t look at “after tax” or after “retirement fund” contributions.

How much does your dad earn? What is his gross salary?

How much does your mom earn?

How much is your parents’ combined earnings …before tax and before retirement contributions.

<<<
I was basically asking if the girls looked good


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Do you look good?

16

<<<

  • 3.2 GPA (have a chance to increase it to a 3.5 (maybe 3.6) the least 3.4) (this is what I have now)
  • 34 Composite ACT
    <<,<

Your GPA will not go up much by the time decisions are made.

Your GPA is too low for either school.

17

Michigan engineering average HS GPA is 3.9 for accepted students, using the Michigan weighing system (all A=4, all B=3 etc.)

18

A simple observation. Girls always look better in the South because they aren’t walking around around in parkas and knit caps.

Diversity: Austin
Girls: Austin
Food: Austin
Town: Austin
Weather: Austin
Cost: Austin
Crowded: Austin
Activities: Austin
Housing: Austin
Campus layout: Austin (walkable)
Life: Austin
Economy: Austin
Start-ups: Austin
Homeless: Austin
Sports: coin flip
Academics: Michigan
Safety: probably Michigan
Campus beauty: Michigan
OOS acceptance rate: Michigan

UT and Michigan are both flagship state universities with their states “topish” students. Freshmen year will feel like grade 13.5. UT is 90% Texans, Michigan is 60% Michiganders. Michigan has a smaller student body therefore more selective overall raising the academic level.

19

Greymeer, I am not sure I agree that Austin is a better college town than Ann Arbor. When it comes to “town, cost, housing and life”, Ann Arbor is hard to beat. Austin is too mind you, but they are very different. It really depends on personal preference.

When it comes to geographic diversity, Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan are significantly more diverse than Austin and the University of Texas.

I am also not sure what you mean by “crowded”.

The rest is fairly accurate.

20

This may be more helpful than the speculations of anyone here:
https://finaid.umich.edu/estimate-college-costs-with-u-m-net-price-calculator/

Of course, that is conditional on admission.

Students with Pell grants, typically from the bottom 40-50% income families.