UW-Madison v. USC v. UMich

College Search & Selection
1

I need to decide between UW-Madison, USC, and UMich. I am grateful that money is not a concern. I am from 45 minutes outside of Madison,WI.

At each of these schools I was accepted for communications UW-Madison (College of Letters and Sciences), USC (Annenberg), UMich (College of LSA). However, I am planning on applying to transfer into the business school at the school I attend because I am really passionate about business.

UW-Madison

Pro:
Can be near top of class in academics (top 25%)
Great business school
Could really excel academically and in extracurriculars
Closer to home
In-state tutition
Clubs are not as selective
Business school is not as selective (Can likely get in as an internal transfer)
Love the campus

Cons:
Not as prestigious as other schools
Not as good connections
More familiar (more friends going here) (this could be a pro as well)

UMichigan

Pro:
Great academics
Great connections
Family went there
Close to family
If I get into business school, has best connections and academics
Love the campus
Limit class size for freshman spanish and math at 18 students

Cons:
Hardest business school to get into
Most competitive B-School
The back up major (if I don’t get into the business school) has an acceptance rate of 25%
Much harder to be part of top 25% of class

USC

Pro:
Can use Annenberg for connections/internships until getting in business school
Easier to get into business school than UMich
Great location for internships
Great weather
Smaller classes (sort of)
Amazing opportunities
Great connections with alumni and companies

Cons:
Very far away
Very expensive
20% of student body is in business school (more competition)
Much harder to be part of top 25% of class
Have never visited the campus
More superficial and wealth-flaunting students than other two schools

What are you thoughts/advice?

2

@adamb02, those are three great choices. Disclaimer: I’m a Michigan grad, whose daughter was accepted at Michigan and Wisconsin, and I live in LA.

Is money an issue here, because there is a big difference price wise between in state at Wisconsin, OOS at Michigan, and full price at USC?

Stop thinking about “connections”. I mentioned this the other day to my friend who went to Harvard, and he said the word “connections” speaks of manipulation, and he’s right. It’s more about shared experiences, and friendships you develop, as well as who you surround yourself with. On that note, I have a couple of friends from Michigan’s B school who I talk to a lot, including my former roommate. Neither of them use their friendships in business to leverage anything. Friendships can blossom at any school. You may never use your “connections” or friendships for anything other than socially. I know I never did, and I turned out OK.

As for the three schools, they are all somewhat different. Wisconsin, as you know, has a lot of students from Milwaukee and small town Wisconsin, but also a big contingent from the Twin Cities and Chicago, and NY, NJ, and DC. Michigan is a pretty Eastern school, with a large percentage of students from NY, NJ, Boston, DC and Florida. Of course, I knew a ton of people from Detroit and Chicago, but also LA, and even Tennessee and Alabama. USC has people from all over, and of course a lot from LA.

Socioeconomically, I believe USC has people from wealthy backgrounds, but also a lot of people from not as wealthy places. Anyone in LA whose parent works at USC can go there tuition free, so it’s not just the wealthy, and the school gives lot of financial aid. May be more diverse than you realize. There are parts of LA where it is superficial, but I can tell you from living all over (I’m from the Midwest originally), that I have met some of the most genuine people anywhere living in LA. There are people from all over here. I have zero tolerance for superficiality.

I would bet Michigan has as many kids from wealthy backgrounds as USC. They give nearly no financial aid to OOS students, and 50% come from OOS. I do pretty well, but we are upper middle class. I can’t afford to send my daughter there. And Wisconsin was a stretch too.

Wisconsin in my view probably has the edge with social life. And it’s a really good school academically. But if you want a complete change of scenery, then pick USC, or Michigan.

Now about the B School. It’s pretty cutthroat to get in to the B School at Michigan. I believe you may have to sacrifice a bit of your social life to get the grades needed to be accepted to Ross. But you may not as much at Wisconsin or USC. Do you want to make the effort, when you would probably get as good a job coming out of the other schools?

Bottom line: go where you feel is the best fit. Throw rankings out the window, and if Wisconsin is a good fit, and money matters, go there. If you want out, then pick one of the other schools. Feel free to hit me up for other questions. Good luck deciding.

3

There’s really not that huge a difference in the economic distribution between UMich and USC. USC has a higher percentage of students from the bottom 20% in terms of family income than UMich has. Michigan is majority OOS, and only low-income OOS students get need-based aid, so there are a lot of full-pay students there, and plenty of Canada Goose jackets keeping the Michigan cold at bay.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/university-of-michigan-ann-arbor
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/university-of-southern-california

IMHO, full-paying OOS for Michigan, when you know you want flexibility to change programs, and both of your desired majors are difficult to switch into… this scenario would not be a win for me. It’s a great school, but why set yourself up for stress and not-unlikely disappointment with regard to changing majors? I’d eliminate UMich and weigh Wisconsin vs. USC.

4

Is it that easy to transfer in to Marshall if you didn’t start there? If you’re not guaranteed a b-school transfer and that is what you want, I’d save the money for grad school.

5

I have various family members who attended USC. Yes, there are lots of wealthier students, but the image of the school has changed compared to around 20-30 years ago when it truly was the university of spoiled children. I can’t speak much about the other two schools, but I will say USC alumni have very strong school spirit and pride. Even after graduating many years ago, my relatives have found that there are really strong connections between current student and alumni, especially for business. Also, I hope difficulty isn’t the only reason you decide to turn down a school (though I will admit there is some competition at USC).

6

@adamb02 Great options, congrats. I answered a USC vs. Michigan post earlier. I am an ND student and with these great options, I would say USC because of weather (midwest winters = ughh) but if you want a more “classic” college experience Wisconsin or Michigan. UW and UM would offer similar experiences and UW is instate so I would say there or USC but only USC if you can afford and want that sort of experience. Have friends at USC and mixed bag, but one thing they all say is that it isn’t a classic college experience. Some people love that and others prefer state flagship vibe. Up to you, good luck!