<p>I've lived in Ann Arbor (unwillingly, I wanted to move to Bloomfield Hills, but my parents insisted on Ann Arbor in some sort of attempt to relive their college days) for six years and there's really not that much to do. It's just a small town that happens to have a large college in it. I can't really even think of 10 things to do off the top of my head.</p>
<p>Drew, it is never easy for 17 year olds because of all the restrictions, financial, legal, parental etc... You would have the same problem no matter where you live.</p>
<p>What exactly is there to do in Ann Arbor that I cannot? (aside from bars) And that is not true, when I go into Detroit there is a lot more to do.</p>
<p>Many bookstores (including Border's flagship branch), dozens of quaint cafes, excellent international restaurants, significant art and music festivals and exhibits, excellent sporting events, movie theaters that show both maintream movies and independent movies etc... </p>
<p>And that's just downtown Ann Arbor. If one has access to a car, one only needs to drive 30-45 minutes or so to have access to all the amenities of a huge city like Detroit, including world class restaurants, the country's fifth largest art collection, big time music entertainment (every major concert tour passes trhough Detroit), good professional Hockey and Basketball teams etc...</p>
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Many bookstores (including Border's flagship branch), dozens of quaint cafes, excellent international restaurants, significant art and music festivals and exhibits, excellent sporting events, movie theaters that show both maintream movies and independent movies etc...
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</p>
<p>yes, I can (and have) done all of those things.</p>
<p>What else do you want Drew? If being able to move freely in a pleasant, clean and safe city with good friends and a multitude of venues is not enough, I am affraid nothing will be.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is small, Sure the resturaunts are cool, but there are not many stores. The whether is bad, I'm not talking about how cold it gets, I like winter. I'm talking about the grey jan-march days.</p>
<p>I would have preffered to stay in Portland, but because of my dad's job we had to move to michigan.</p>
<p>I live 20 minutes from Ann Arbor. It's big by college-town standards, and I've never even heard of anybody getting bored there.</p>
<p>Some people will never get out of the LA-is-where-it's-at paradigm. And for them, USC is nirvana. But there are millions of other people who find LA to be one gigantic monument to superficiality, and for them Ann Arbor would be preferable. People tend to think that USC and Michigan are somehow similar because both have great football traditions. But in reality Michigan is far more similar to Berkeley than it is to USC. And I think we all know how USC and UCB are polar opposites in almost every way. </p>
<p>I can't think of a decision that would be easier to make than USC vs. Michigan. If you're into the whole LA thing, USC. If you're not into the whole LA thing, Michigan. The differences in their locations are gigantic compared to the differences in academics, so give up on quoting minor differences in rankings.</p>
<p>P.S. I think Michigan has about 38k students total vs. USC's 32K, so the UofM-is-way-too-big argument doesn't seem to apply in this comparison.</p>
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Rockola, I take it you are somehow affiliated with USC?
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I'm going to Notre Dame next fall. But USC was a school I heavily researched into, and was a college I really found I liked. SC has always been in the first tier category for usnews, and is now one of the top 30 universities in the nation. Where do you find the basis to call it second-tier?</p>
<p>For me, Michigan wins in the location department though. I hate LA, and from what I hear, Ann Arbor is the perfect college town. But, I'd choose SC over Michigan still, if I had the option(I did-I got into UMich and SC).</p>
<p>Ace, honestly, while USC is a good school, it is barely one of the top 20 private colleges in the US (while Michigan is one of the top 2 or 3 public schools.) I don't think it's in the top 25 overall. That to me puts it just outside the top tier.</p>
<p>Different strokes I guess, I would definitely have picked Michigan over Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Drew: I bet you looooove "The Big Chill". ;)</p>
<p>Imo, you have a pretty warped sense of what top tier university is. There are thousands of colleges in the nation, and a top 30 university isn't considered top tier?</p>
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Different strokes I guess, I would definitely have picked Michigan over Notre Dame.
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I respect that. Notre Dame attracts a very certain type of person, but the people it does attract- most wouldn't want to go anywhere else. i.e. I would've chosen Notre Dame over any ivy league or other usnews top 25 school, outside of Dartmouth.</p>
<p>MICHIGAN....obviously.</p>
<p>like i said earlier in the thread...i am extremely wary of statistics (honestly, it bugs me when people are really concerned about them...but it is just nice to know that a school has at least the recognition to be listed):</p>
<p>USNEWS 2007 Engineernig Schools.
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Stanford University (CA)
3. University of CaliforniaBerkeley
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
5. University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign
6. Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette (IN)
6. University of MichiganAnn Arbor
8. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
9. University of Southern California (Viterbi)
10. California Institute of Technology
11. Cornell University (NY)
11. University of CaliforniaSan Diego (Jacobs)
13. University of TexasAustin
14. Texas A&M UniversityCollege Station (Look)
15. University of CaliforniaLos Angeles (Samueli)
15. University of MarylandCollege Park (Clark)
15. University of WisconsinMadison
18. Princeton University (NJ)
19. Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park
20. Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)</p>
<p>granted, USC is 2 spots lower. but because all lists are subjective, the two spot difference is negligible, at least in terms of choosing one college over another.</p>
<p>USNEWS: 2006: Best Undergraduate Business Rankings:
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
2 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (Sloan)
3 University of CaliforniaBerkeley (Haas)
** University of MichiganAnn Arbor
5 Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
** New York University (Stern)
** U. of North CarolinaChapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)
** University of TexasAustin (McCombs)
9 Univ. of Southern California (Marshall)
** University of Virginia (McIntire)
11 Indiana UniversityBloomington (Kelley)
12 Cornell University (NY)
** Purdue Univ.West Lafayette (Krannert) (IN)
** U. of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign
** Univ. of MinnesotaTwin Cities (Carlson)
** Univ. of WisconsinMadison
** Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)
18 Emory University (Goizueta) (GA)
** Ohio State UniversityColumbus (Fisher)
** Pennsylvania State U.University Park (Smeal)
** University of Arizona (Eller) </p>
<p>again, Michigan is higher, not by much...i wouldn't decide between the two because of their rankings. i say choose the school you think is a better fit for your personality and interests. i'm sure you can get a great education at a school with reputation regardless of where you go.</p>
<p>my other point here is how can someone possibly say USC is a "second tier school" if apparently it's good enough to be among the best schools in the nation? and especially in California alone (but i would bet elsewhere) the name USC carries a great reputation.</p>
<p>before you say i'm being biased against public schools, up until the last week of college selection, UCSD was my top choice because of the balance between cost and programs. but USC's location close to LA was attractive to me versus the dead social scene in La Jolla.</p>
<p>Phobos, although I agree that the quality difference between Michigan and USC isn't that great, the rankings you provide must be read in the proper context.</p>
<p>1) The Engineering rankings you provide are for Engineering Graduate schools. USC does indeed have great research and that explains why it is so highly ranked at the graduate level. However, at the undergraduate level, USC drops significantly in most rankings, including the USNWR, which ranks USC #22 in the nation, compared to Michigan's #6 ranking. That isn't a big difference, but some people take those rankings to heart.</p>
<p>2) The Business rankings you provide are accurate, but since roughly half of the best Business schools do not have undergraduate programs, the gap between #3 and #9 is larger than one would think. Thatis not to say that Ross is much better than Marshall, but it is generally considered better.</p>
<p>But I agree that the key when deciding between those two universities (or between any two universities ranked among the top 30 nationally) is fit.</p>
<p>yeah, i wasnt 100% sure about the engineering rankings as either graduate or indergrad, but it still has something to show for the school that the rankings can be up there with the "top tier" :rolleyes:. and also, some of the benefits of being at a school with a great graduate engineering program must have at least some trickle-down effect. (and i emphasize engineering so much because...that's what i'm studying there heh)</p>
<p>phobos,
If you must quote US News ranking, at least quote the right one.</p>
<p>Your first list is actually the GRADUATE engineering ranking.</p>
<p>The USNEWS 2006 Best UNDERgraduate Engineering Programs has Michigan ranked #6 (peers score 4.4) and USC #31 (peers score 3.5).</p>
<p>But you are right that we shouldn't choose a school based on ranking alone.</p>
<p><em>already addressed</em></p>
<p>by another person, and no less, by me...</p>
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Michigan has always been top tier, but perhaps it's not perceived as such at some prep schools like yours where there is a strong preference for private schools.
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I don't think that is it; Berkeley and UVa are pretty high up on a lot of students' lists who have them. Those schools being public doesn't really deter students from being attracted to them here.</p>
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P.S. I think Michigan has about 38k students total vs. USC's 32K, so the UofM-is-way-too-big argument doesn't seem to apply in this comparison.
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</p>
<p>Is that including grad students for both schools?</p>
<p>For undergrad, Michigan has around 25k. Not sure about SC.</p>
<p>For undergrad population, Michigan has around 24,828 compared to USC at 16,474.</p>