<p>I've never thought of University of Michigan as a top school and after being accepted i am wondering if the school has an intelligent student body comparable to schools like Cornell, Colgate, and other top schools in the Northeast. I have heard good things about Michigan but a 40% acceptance rate leads me to believe its more of a school with a slightly mixed student body. Thanks for any help, and i'm sorry about my ignorance towards the school!</p>
<p>What’s your planned major?</p>
<p>My understanding is it will be more like a 35% acceptance rate this year, which makes it highly selective by most standards. And let me also remind you that post college, whether you like it or not, you will be working and living around people of all ranges of intelligence… college is a great place to learn to deal with everyone and not just the ones you deem to be elite.</p>
<p>I’m planning on majoring in Economics</p>
<p>Michigan’s acceptance rate was 36% last year and should dip to ~33% this year. Keep in mind that Michigan is a large university and will therefore need to accept a larger number of students. In terms of student quality, Michigan is not much different than Cornell. The two universities have a similar percentage of students who graduated in the top 10% of their high school class. the mid 50% SAT range at Michigan is 1250-1450 while at Cornell, it is 1300-1500. The mid 50% ACT range at Michigan is 28-32 while at Cornell, it is 29-33. Colgate’s top 10% figure is also similar to Cornell and Michigan, and its mid 50% SAT is 1270-1440 and mid 50% ACT is 29-32. The three have roughly equal quality student bodies.</p>
<p>Then I can’t help you. If you do come in here with an attitude like you are better than everyone though that won’t help you. Maybe at an Ivy League or something where everyone thinks they are the greatest thing ever that might fly. There will be a range of smarts and you’ll find your group most likely.</p>
<p>“I’ve never thought of University of Michigan as a top school and after being accepted i am wondering if the school has an intelligent student body…”</p>
<p>Why did you apply to Michigan in the first place justin789 if you felt this way?</p>
<p>“If you do come in here with an attitude like you are better than everyone though that won’t help you.”</p>
<p>College is often a very humbling experience ThisIsMichigan. I am sure that the OP would be more than challenged if he attended U-M. Every top school has brilliant students in abundance.</p>
<p>Michigan has their fair share of IS LSA “I’m here to party” “Go Greek” students too though lol</p>
<p>It might also be important to consider that Michigan has what US News ranks as the 12th best graduate Economics program in the US. It could be argued that the quality of the graduate programs has a direct impact on the quality of the undergraduate program as well. The OP will note that Cornell is ranked lower in economics than Michigan.</p>
<p>Thanks guys this has been a lot of help. I’m sorry if I sounded elitist but it really was my own ignorance to the school. After further research I’ve definitely warmed up to Michigan and it’s now definitely a front runner for next year. I’ll be visiting the campus soon and I think that will help a lot with the decision making.</p>
<p>Google’s founder Larry Page and president Gerald Ford are both Michigan Men, and I’m pretty sure they qualify as being intelligent. :)</p>
<p>My wife chose Michigan over Dartmouth. There are students who pass on Ivys to attend UofM. A close family friend’s oldest daughter chose Michigan over Yale.</p>
<p>Given the huge body of the school, you’ll definitely see a wide range of people, also ranging in intelligence levels as well. Like pretty much any school, you’ll see your share of arrogant kids, dub ones, and of course, bright, wonderful people. Especially with economics, you’ll definitely find more than a good amount of people. (If you go into Ross, you definitely won’t have a problem there) Even if the body is “mixed” as you say, you won’t come across the majority of them anyway, so it’s better to just worry about you and not be fooled by the acceptance rate or rankings, or any of that stuff. Glad to hear you “warmed up to Michigan,” since it’s pretty much the only warm in MI. :D</p>
<p>As a recent alumni, I promise that you will find more than enough elitist intellectual students at Michigan. Most students that apply to UofM were the biggest fish in their little pond in high school. The University of Michigan is a very big pond. Every potential student thinks that they will rule the academic roost. A few even go so far as to jump on college boards and make themselves look silly by asking whether anyone else will be able to measure up to their naive standards. </p>
<p>If you are accepted to the University of Michigan and decide to attend, then in a year you will wonder why in the world you spent so much time browsing forums in high school when you could have been preparing for Orgo II.</p>