UVA vs. UMICH

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

<p>Hi, I'm a freshman at UIUC, and I'm seriously thinking about transferring to either UMICH or UVA. My college and high school stats are pretty solid, so I think I have a decent shot at getting into both universities. I know that UMICH and UVA are both top notch universities. The problem is that when I compare the two universities, it seems like UMICH is generally much better known than UVA. </p>

<p>For example, UMICH is considered both a nationally and internationally well-known school. But it seems like many people in the Midwest and people I know from Taiwan and China have never even heard of UVA. I don't care that much about prestige and I know that prestige is a stupid thing, but my dad claims that doing well at a college with more name recognition would make someone a more valuable prospect in the eyes of employers or graduate schools and would also optimize one's future opportunities. Can anyone explain why UVA isn't so well known even though it's a top university?</p>

2

<p>Check out the different companies in your preferred industry that recruit on the different campuses and see which school has better ones. I checked out UVa for their finance/business program and they are more heavily recruited by the big IBs than Mich in that regard.</p>

3

<p>Well, international prestige often stems from research and the scientific breakthroughs that come with it. UVa is a relatively new player in research but is making progress (Read the "UVa Researchers Discover a New Metal" thread), and unlike many other colleges, Virginia is incorporating research w/ undergraduate education (Read the "Undergraduate Research Opportunities at UVa" thread). At UVa, undergraduate education is the cornerstone of the University.</p>

<p>Frankly, many large public schools focus more on research than undergrad education, which is evident by their mediocre graduation rates. Also, notice that the schools w/ the highest grads rates also have the most alumni giving rates. The happier you are, the more willing you are to give back to your alma mater.</p>

<p>School, Grad Rate, Alumni Giving Rate</p>

<p>University of Virginia - 92%, 27%
College of William and Mary - 91%, 26%
University of California-Los Angeles - 85%, 13%
University of California-Berkeley - 84%, 15%,
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor - 84%, 15%
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill - 80%, 20%
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign - 80%, 12%
University of Wisconsin-Madison - 77%, 14%
University of Texas-Austin - 71%, 12%</p>

<p>Before 1970, UVa only had 4,750 students. UVa was all-male and was more like an LAC. It had more in common w/ Dartmouth and William & Mary than Berkeley, Michigan and the other huge flagship public schools that became more research-centric in the 1940’s, 50’s & 60’s. Right now through its Virginia 2020 Initiative, UVa is pushing scientific research to the forefront but w/out lessening the emphasis on undergrad education. </p>

<p>Regarding UVa being "not well-known," here's what I wrote in another thread using a recent Harvard finding.</p>

<p><a href="http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/revealedprefranking.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/revealedprefranking.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>UVa is the most preferred public university in the country (see Table #3) followed by UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, UNC-Chapel Hill, UCLA, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, and William & Mary. </p>

<p>I find it interesting that people on College Confidential will say that UVa isn't that well-known outside of the East Coast, but looking at this Harvard report, Virginia is more popular in some Midwestern states than in the East Coast. In Table #6, people from Region 4 (Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska) ranked UVa #17, while people in Region 8 (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah & Wyoming) ranked UVa #18. Even in the West Coast (Region 9), when given a choice people pick UVa over Berkeley, UCLA, USC and Pomona. </p>

<p>Come to think of it, I'm not too surprised. I know that UVa has a high yield (the percentage of people who choose to attend a school out of the total number accepted). Only a handful of schools have yields above 50%. UVa is like 54%.</p>

<p>What is the most fascinating to me is Table #4, where 90% rank UVa higher than Berkeley, and 98% consider UVa better than UNC. Equally interesting is that only 40% think Duke is better than UVa. (I'm surprised by this since publications (i.e. US News) like to place Duke ahead of UVa. I guess this goes to show that US News does not have as strong a hold over what people think are the best schools.)</p>

4

<p>If you do well at Illinois you have as good a chance at any grad school as someone from Uva or UM. Illinois is stronger in science and engineering than either of the others. It may be a little weaker in liberal arts and business but not enough to transfer unless you just don't like the place for other reasons.</p>

5

<p>So here's my opinion, and although UVA is my top choice by far, and UMich is my second choice, I am trying hard not to be biased.</p>

<p>I noticed that you are asian, and so am i. the truth is, people from china and taiwan don't know jack **** about American schools. all they know are "Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Columbia". the big names. its all about the asian mentality. if they hear about schools like Emory, UNC, Hopkins, Boston College...they wont recognize them and therefore they'll think they suck. and the truth is, those are some amazing schools. i've found that asian people, those that live overseas and those that live here, are just way too concerned with prestige. two years ago, my mom never even knew anything about UMich so she claimed that it wasnt a good school. Its ridiculous. Personally, UVA and UMich are both really great schools, dont use prestige as a factor in deciding. choose the school you like best, because when you are at a school you like, you will be happy, you will want to work hard, and thus you'll graduate and be more prepared for the real world. thats how it really is. i have a friend whose dad went to a community college, and then went on to work on Wallstreet for several years. its not so much about the reputation or the prestige of the school, its about the actual quality of the school, your motivation, and what you do with your education.</p>

6

<p>I agree w/ Swooshstar9. I'm also Asian, so I understand the Asian obsession with prestige. You should visit the schools and see what they each have to offer. You'll know when you've found the right school for you.</p>

7

<p>I live in Northern California. If UVA is ranked higher than Berkeley in the revealed survey for Californians then the report is flawed.
It's Berkeley and UCLA out here. Those are the two favorite state schools out here. UVA doesn't even rate.</p>

8

<p>Well, among the people in the study who were accepted to both UVa and Berkeley or UCLA, most chose UVa. Then again, I don't know that many people from California who got into UVa.</p>

9

<p>That study is ridiculous. Last year at my kid's school, 64 students applied to Berkeley, 22 got in, 12 matriculated. 71 applied to UCLA, 19 got in, 3 matriculated.
TWO kids applied to Virginia. Nobody got in. The year before, similar numbers. Actually, 1 person applied to Virginia last year. Got in. Chose Berkeley. Virginia is not in the top ten public schools where I live. I am sure UVA is a great school, but the revealed survey has some weird data if it rates UVA number one out west.</p>

10

<p>Actually, #1 out west is Harvard, followed by Cal Tech, Yale, Stanford...yada, yada, yada...</p>

11

<p>Thanks for everyone's replies. It all really helped.</p>