<p>So I got into Vanderbilt off the waitlist, so now I have less than a week to decide between there and U of M, where I payed my enrollement deposit. The only negative aspects of U of M for me are that its only 40 minutes from my house and pretty much half of my high school class is going there. If price was no object I'd definitely go with Vandy cause I'd get to actually meet some new people and the weathers way better! Sadly U of M is about 20k per year and Vandy is over 50k...my parents would definitely pony up the 50k but does anyone think its worth it?? Also I'm accepted into college of arts and sciences for both..does anyone know which has a better reputation academically?</p>
<p>It is definitely NOT worth it.</p>
<p>If your parents are OK with it, go to Vandy. It will be a great experience for you and you will love Nashville.</p>
<p>Not worth it. Michigan is a much better value. Its academic offerings are world class across the board. Also, Michigan is sufficiently large and geographically diverse that the OP needn’t worry about being surrounded by high school classmates. Even if finances were equal, a strong case could be made for choosing Michigan.</p>
<p>I think it’s good to experience something different, which Vanderbilt would be. The OP won’t want to return to Michigan! Weather alone will clinch it.</p>
<p>Michigan has a better reputation academically, but only marginally so. However, regardless of how many students from your high school attend Michigan, I am sure you will seldom see them (should you so choose). Statistically speaking, the most represented high schools at the University makes up roughly 1% of the entire undergraduate student body. I had friends from Pioneer (the most represented high school at the University) and they seldom saw former classmates.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild, although Vanderbilt would offer a “different” experience, so would the University of Michigan. Ann Arbor is very different from the rest of the state and the student body has so many students from other parts of the country and the World that the OP should have a significantly different experience from the one he had growining up in suburban Detroit. </p>
<p>Bottom line, I do not think it is wise to spend an additional 100K on a product of equal quality.</p>
<p>
Well, I don’t and probably never will; actually I am far from liking it. I don’t see how you can be so sure the OP will love it. It’s great that you absolutely love it, esp if you live there now. But there is a reason why it’s cheap there.</p>
<p>What do you want to study? If its engineering or business, then its Michigan hands down. If you want to study the liberal arts and either go to graduate school, law school or medical school, then go to Vandy if you can afford it. I know from having several Vandy friends and hundreds of Michigan friends that the student-faculty interaction at Vandy will be greater and the quality of the undergraduate education is slightly better as well. The student body at Vanderbilt will be slightly stronger as well.</p>
<p>I would choose Vandy for undergrad and go to Michigan for graduate school!!</p>
<p>LDB, the OP did not ask about whatever myths are floating about, he asked about academic reputation. Michigan has the edge in this domain. And Michigan places students into top graduate schools at a higher rate than Vanderbilt, including top Law schools, in spite of having a significantly lower percentage of pre-law and pre-med students.</p>
<p>Stick with UMich – it’s the better school academically, and I bet, also socially, as it is larger and often most activities there are run by the students. There is also no way in hell that a Vandy education should be worth 30k more per year over a UMich education. If anything, it is the reverse.</p>
<p>I would go to Vanderbilt only if you really want to be there and really don’t want to go to Michigan. There’s no logical explanation to pay the extra $$$ but there could be an issue of fit.</p>
<p>Is it worth 30k a year to get away from your high school classmates? Maybe it is, or maybe you can manage to do that at UMich as well. Many kids from my high school head to our state flagship (UNC) too, and those who are looking to get away from the high school scene manage to do so. </p>
<p>But I also know a few kids who think a different experience is worth the price of a private (Duke, Occidental, Notre Dame, etc) and are very happy with their decision. Your call.</p>
<p>I say that if money is a concern, go for UMich.</p>
<p>Well in case anybody was wondering I decided to go to UMich, mostly cause I didn’t think Vandy was worth the extra 100K, and I’m not as sick of my friends as I thought…haha</p>