<p>I have been accepted both places, and I plan to major in English or Political Science. I liked Ann Arbor more, because it felt more like home. My parents on the other hand are both UIUC Alums and have an obvious bias for me to go there. They will pay for the equivalent of UIUC in state tuition anywhere I want to go, but they obviously hate Michigan. This would leave Michigan at about $20,000 a year, and UIUC about free. I like them both, but I just like Michigan a little more due to sports culture, rankings, etc. If I do choose Michigan, how do I explain it to them that I want to go there, because I don't really have any hard facts, it just feels better to me. Thank you for any help.</p>
<p>man i was in a similar situation. i think you just have to tell the michigan feels better. I visited UofI like three times and gave it a ton of chances to impress me, but at the end of the day something about Michigan just clicked better. If you visited both I think you just have to tell them one feels more like home than the other.</p>
<p>I don’t know if they’ll accept that, though. They probably want tangible evidence.</p>
<p>There are many people in Illinois that like Michigan and Wisconsin better because of the campus and overall feeling of the community. Let’s be honest, UC is dull and situated in the middle of flat boring cornfields. Still, to go into debt for 80,000.00 dollars over the course of four years is not really worth it unless you despise the school entirely. I always felt kind of badly for students from the Chicagoland area. The public flagship is so different in feel to many from from that area.</p>
<p>I think you should mention to your parents that you should enjoy where you’re going to spend your next 4 years. </p>
<p>However, if you could attend U of I for free and UMich for 20,000 a year… that might be a deciding factor that you should really consider. You have to keep in mind that if you’re planning to go to graduate school, undergrad doesn’t really matter when you look for a job. Although you may like UMich better, saving the money may also be a better decision.</p>
<p>I understand that, but UMich has a better reputation, no? and I agree. It should be easy for me to give up the idea of Michigan, but I just liked it so much.</p>
<p>There must be a reason that your parents and almost every Illinois alum I know hate Michigan. It is probably related to the reasons that you want to go to Michigan. Michigan offers a unique experience that you will not experience in Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois faithful resent it. I’ve never witnessed such hatred in the absence of intense sports rivalry. There must be a reason that thousands of students from the Chicagoland area spend the extra money to go to U-M OOS but very virtually no one from Michigan pays the additional cost to go to OOS to UIUC. UIUC is over 90% Illinois residents so it offers good adacemics but little geographical or intellecutal diversity when compared to Michigan, Wisconsin or Indiana.</p>
<p>If you want to get your parents upset, ask them who Gary Moeller and Sean Higgins are.</p>
<p>I don’t know how you convince your parents of this. I wish you luck.</p>
<p>No one should ever pay $20,000/yr extra for Michigan over UIUC to major in English or Political Science. I really don’t know what the above people are advising Michigan culture my butt.</p>
<p>Zobasity didn’t want to go to UIUC either. Chose Rochester even though cost was about the same. He/she posted this about UIUC: “Also I know of many real weak applicants who got into good majors like business, It just made me loose [sic] interest in the school.” I’m not advising anything but I have found it interesting why people are reluctant to pay OOS tuition to attend UIUC and why Chicagoland students seem to flock to other schools.</p>
<p>I did choose Rochester over UIUC but it was mainly because Rochester was cheaper for me than UIUC. UIUC wanted me to pay 3 times what Rochester was expecting me to pay. Just like I am advising the OP, this degree is only an undergrad and it makes no sense what’s so ever to be in debt when you can choose a cheaper comparable school.</p>
<p>Michigan is not worth $80,000 over UIUC. Just like UIUC was not worth 3 times as much as Rochester.</p>
<p>I also chose Rochester because it was smaller and more of a premed school. But overall it was all about cost.</p>
<p>UIUC is the clear choice here over UMich with the $80,000 cost differential.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s unreasonable for your parents to pay $20K more for you to attend UMich if they can afford it. It IS unreasonable for you to pay that yourself. You have a long life ahead and you’d be digging yourself a big hole that will severely limit your post-graduation options with that kind of crushing debt. </p>
<p>If they can’t afford it, just go to Illinois and thank your parents for supporting you. </p>
<p>If you really think they just have a visceral hatred of Michigan but would have paid for you to go to another more expensive school, and that’s a significant factor, you could try having a serious talk with them. Tell them that you feel like they are putting their biases on you and that you will go to Illinois because of the money, but you feel like your hand is being forced for reasons other than money, which you would understand. I don’t know if this discussion would be productive. </p>
<p>My only consolation is that you will have a great time at college no matter where you go. It’s really hard to be 18, in college, and not have a good time with your peers if you’re open to it.</p>
<p>"My only consolation is that you will have a great time at college no matter where you go. It’s really hard to be 18, in college, and not have a good time with your peers if you’re open to it. "</p>
<p>Ditto squared. It’s college. UIUC is a big very good college which can mean big fun and challenges. Relax and get the most out of it.</p>
<p>80K is not worth the extra cost as great as Michigan is. Harvard isn’t worth 80K more than UIUC.</p>
<p>^^^I would agree in most cases, UNLESS the the college is a bad fit for the applicant.</p>