University of Michigan v. WUSTL

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I have been accepted to both schools, and it's a really tough choice between the two. I'm interested in social sciences, maybe economics, but I am feeling rather undecided. I applied to the LSA Honors program and am waiting to hear back from it (I have good stats and wrote a solid essay, but I turned it in later than I should've). </p>

<p>The question is, which school would offer an overall better experience? I know both schools are great academically, but which offers a better social scene? Which one offers more opportunities for study abroad, internships, job placement, etc.? </p>

<p>I am especially concerned about the social scene. I have the impression that Michigan overall has more going on socially, but I haven't visited either for any substantial period of time. I want to be around students who are smart and motivated, but not cutthroat competitive. </p>

<p>If I do get into the Honors program, would Michigan be the better choice? And if I don't, will WUSTL be better?</p>

2

<p>Socially michigan is much better without a doubt. There is always something going on any day. At Wash U, you’ll be lucky if you don’t have work and are able to go out more than once a work.</p>

<p>Wash U is more cutthroat and Michigan is but not at the level of wash u.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think you can go wrong either way. The biggest difference is that Michigan is larger than Wash U and Michigan has a Division 1 sports scene. Wash U is an urban campus where Michigan is in a college town. Michigan has 65% Michigan residents so Wash U will have more geographic diversity. Wash U has more glossy marketing material for high school students. Both will have a large number of students from New York.</p>

4

<p>Socially and IMO in all-around atmosphere Michigan is far and away the choice here.</p>

5

<p>Michigan is #12 in Econ, while WUSTL is #28. Therefore, academics is not a concern since the two are roughly equal. </p>

<p>I would focus more on personal fit. As some have already pointed out, Michigan has a great and very diverse social scene that has something for everyone. Surprisingly, despite its size, Michigan’s undergraduate atmosphere is incredibly intellectual and tigh-knit/welcoming. The greek scene is just right, large enough to thrive but small enough not to not overshaddow other forms of social interaction. Athletic tradition is second to none. Like Michigan, WUSTL has a reputation for having very satisfied and happy undergrads. That is the only measure of success as far as I am concerned. </p>

<p>I recommend looking at the schools carefully and decide which one fits one best. You cannot go wrong, but those two schools are sufficiently different from each other for one of them to emerge as the clear “better” choice for the individual.</p>

6

<p>WashU student here.</p>

<p>//Socially michigan is much better without a doubt. There is always something going on any day. At Wash U, you’ll be lucky if you don’t have work and are able to go out more than once a work.//</p>

<p>There’s always stuff going on here too, even relative to our much smaller size. We’ve hosted speaker to packed audiences, like Gary Kasparov, Joseph-Gordon-Levitt, and Amy Chua this year, plenty of student and community events, concerts (on-campus WILD, WUStock, and many in surrounding St. Louis), student performances (dance, ethnic, and about a dozen a cappella groups that are quite good), and a Greek scene that is quite vibrant and which I would also characterize as “just right”. For a school that is much smaller than Michigan (which I admit I know nothing about their student culture), we have a lot going on, and a lot of money goes to student groups and events. Except big sports, we probably care way more about our volleyball and track than our football.</p>

<p>Most WashU students tend to be quite busy, but that’s because most are very involved in a lot of things outside of the classroom because they want to be. Even then, we can definitely find time to go out more than once a week.</p>

<p>//Wash U is more cutthroat and Michigan is but not at the level of wash u.//</p>

<p>Compared to our peer schools, WashU has a reputation of being very collaborative and not cutthroat academically, particularly for a school with a lot of pre-meds and STEM majors. We quite like that.</p>

<p>My opinion is that we have very strong social sciences (my experience mainly regarding anthropology). Also, we’re actually situated in what I would consider the suburban outskirts of the city, and the campus itself is pretty isolated from its surroundings, but certainly close enough to everything that goes on in the city.</p>