University of Michigan vs. University of Washington

Hi, I’d really appreciate any help or insight that you could offer!
I was planning on attending University of Washington (my in-state school and a good university) in the fall. However, I was just notified by UMich that I have been accepted off the waitlist. UMich is overall a better school but I’m worried about being so far from home. This is something I could get over though. My main issue is the student body. At UW the average SAT score is about 1300 and at UMich it’s about 1450. I’m worried about being out of my depth at UMich (I scored a 1440), or not finding people that motivate me at UW. If there are any other advantages or disadvantages to either school I’d love to hear! How’s the workload at UMich? Manageable or no?

Edit: Is undergrad at Michigan worth OOS tuition? My parents are able to pay but would it be worth it?

Both outstanding. UW is loaded with gifted students like yourself. And Michigan as well. You match up well at both schools. Remember there are a lot of um instate students that are talented but not with the same credentials as the oos state crowd. Which you are a part of btw. I see no difference other than your major and fit. If it’s stem UW might be even the more selective of the two. Best of luck and enjoy your 4 years.

@op, congrats on getting into Michigan! I very much doubt Washington is more selective for stem than Michigan. Perhaps @Alexandre can comment on that.

If money isn’t a big issue, I’d head to A2 without a second thought. You’ll do well at either school though, so long as you put effort in. Best wishes and GO BLUE!

Stay with U. Washington. Seriously. This is not even a close decision. Paying OOS for essentially equal quality educations seems ludicrous. Granted, in some fields, Michigan graduate programs will be ranked slightly higher. At the undergrad level there will be virtually unnoticeable difference. Reputation wise, they are also similar (outside of CC which amplifies tiny differences into mountains).

I was going off a few areas. After checking uw scores higher only in a few categories. Stem overall is a slight nod to um.

I was supporting the choices here and think some schools excellence is overlooked.

For instance USNWR global rankings. Broad category Geosciences uw is number 5 um is number 40.

In USNWR assorted sciences it’s
um number nine. Uw number 11.

Roughly.

um is considered a “better school” FWIW but not like uw isn’t darn good too. It was more about the student feeling qualified for both. Which clearly they are.

Both schools are excellent, and have a strong reputation. I would not be worried at all regarding finding smart people at both universities. Expect to need to work hard at either school.

If there is a significant difference in price, then I would be inclined to go the less expensive route in this case given that both schools are so good. Michigan might be a bit higher ranked, but I don’t think that you can go wrong either way.

Would any loans be needed for Michigan?

Would you be in Honors at UDub? What are you hoping to major in?

UW is stronger than Michigan in CS and Informatics, but those majors are also extremely competitive to get into unless you’re admitted directly to the major. (And I’m thinking if that were the case you would have led with “I got direct entry to CS at UW” and you probably wouldn’t be considering Michigan.) In most other fields, Michigan would be considered stronger… but is it double-the-money stronger? There’s still only one of you and only 24 hours in a day, so the question is whether Michigan can really impart double the value to you in the same four years. It really depends on you and what you hope to achieve and experience. (Also on money, because being debt-free is an opportunity you shouldn’t give up.) If you do have the money available for both, it might be a good thought exercise to imagine being able to do anything you want with the additional money - like a year or more doing some enriching thing after college, or buying a condo, or whatever best manifests the maximum real-life value of that money to you - and then ask yourself, where that thing is “X”, is Michigan > UW + X?

Michigan is closer to three times as expensive. Michigan needs to add that value AND add a decent return on that money, say 6%, over 40 years, simply to break even. Do the Math and Michigan, fully costed, will be $1,500,000 more. There’s no way a Michigan is worth it purely on a financial basis. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it for other intangible reasons, but financially, it’s not wise.

I might go to Michigan if I’d gotten into Ross. Otherwise, I’d stick with UW.

“Is undergrad at Michigan worth OOS tuition? My parents are able to pay but would it be worth it?”

It really depends on how easily your parents can afford Michigan. Can they afford it with ease, or will it wipe out their savings? If your parents can easily afford Michigan, then it is worth it, but if your parents must make sacrifices to send you to Michigan, it is definitely not worth it.

It also depends on your major/career objectives. If you want a good, liberal arts education, or if your are undecided (switching majors at Michigan is easy, while several majors at UDub are impacted), Michigan is a better option than Washington. However, if you are premed or prelaw, or if you are interested in CS or Engineering (and were admitted into the program of choice), then Washington is as good as Michigan.

So the question you need to answer, with your parents, is not whether you can afford going to Michigan, but how easily can you afford it. Once you have determined that, you should evaluate whether it is even worth the investment, based on your major and career prospects.

I would be careful in framing a choice of Michigan over Washington for any major (assuming full pay, equal aid packages, and the same major at each school) as an investment.

Fully accounting for the opportunity cost it is highly unlikely that anyone will end up with career earnings with a Michigan degree $1,500,000 MORE than career earnings with a degree from UW. Over a 40 year career that would equate to the Michigan grad having to earn nearly $40,000 more per year over their entire career for that “investment” to break even. Employment surveys from both schools will reveal little if any salary differentials. There will be no ROI, thus it is a stretch to call it an investment.

What one buys by choosing Michigan is a different experience. Don’t expect it to have a financial justification though.

This. UDub is not only one of the best public universities in the US, it’s one of the best in the world.* Additionally, Seattle is a great city, and you get four seasons without dealing with the freezing Michigan winters.

The argument for Michigan OOS (or a comparably expensive private university) would be a lot stronger if OP’s choices were between, say, U North Dakota and Michigan.

*AWRU and THES have Washington at #13 and #25 in the world, respectively, for those who like rankings. Michigan is ranked #24 and #21, respectively.

No, Michigan is not worth the OOS tuition if you are admitted to UW. Ask your parents to save the OOS money for you, and when you graduate you can buy a luxury car and a condo (down payment only). Or start your own business with the seed money. Don’t worry about the low average stats of UW students. There are plenty of top students, including many valedictorians and NMFs. You will be challenged and motivated, especially if you want to get into the hot majors, such as CS, Engineering, or Business.

(Unless you want to work on Wall Street, as I heard that the banks recruit from Michigan more than from UW.)

  1. SAT scores alone aren’t a very reliable way to determine whether or not the student body at a school is better and/or whether you’d be more or less out of your depth.

  2. That said, even if they were, with a 1440 at a school where the average is a 1450, it sounds like you’d be an average student, not “out of your depth.”

  3. Both of those are moot because it’s not worth it to pay OOS tuition at Michigan when you can go to UW for in-state prices. UW is an excellent university.

Intended major, and do you have admission to major (or division) at each?

“Both of those are moot because it’s not worth it to pay OOS tuition at Michigan when you can go to UW for in-state prices. UW is an excellent university.”

I agree with the above comment. I also think that it’s not worth it to pay full price for ANY top tier school assuming you can attend a school the caliber of U-Dub.

There are some caveats. UW now allows direct to college admission, but not direct to major. Someone who wants to major in CS for example, has a more than 50% chance of not getting that major.

We don’t know what the OP wants to major in and how risky UW will be, because they’ve ghosted this thread. [OP, as a side note, you get the best benefit by being interactive in your own threads].

Unfortunately, the way to mitigate that possibility is to have affordable options where the major is guaranteed. It does not have to be a binary choice between being locked out and an option that will cost a student over a quarter of a million dollars.

Udub will do direct CS admits next year. https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/uw-will-begin-directly-admitting-computer-science-majors-as-freshmen/

UDub already had direct-admit; they are just expanding it. The article explains this.