I’ll have more information below. I’m considering Chemical Engineering, and here’s my brief pros & cons of the schools:
Villanova -
Pros:
-Student population size is exactly what I want
-Campus is beautiful
-Location is great
-Good community atmosphere
-Would fit in with the student body and enjoy the type of students there
-Cheaper by 5k per year, though both Nova and Mich are almost double my EFC
-Offers the full 4 year dorm experience
-Greek life is less prevalent (not a fan of it)
-Great school spirit
Cons:
-Very small campus
-May be a less prestigious engineering program
-Not a big football school (I love football, not too interested in basketball)
Michigan -
Pros:
-Football is huge
-Campus is huge
-Very prestigious for chemical engineering
-More alumni
-Also great school spirit
-Weather is colder (I love snow)
Cons:
-More expensive by 5k a year
-Campus is kinda ugly and I’m not a fan of the college town feeling, plus north campus (where engineers have most classes) felt pretty dead when I visited
-Not a fan of the housing situation at all, having to find housing for 3 of your 4 years there is not something I want in my college experience
-Didn’t really have that “this feels like home” gut feeling when I visited campus, which villanova did have (idk if that’s important)
-Not really a fan of the students there. At Nova everyone was generally cheerful, athletic, and friendly. UMich students seemed a bit more cold and I didn’t see a single person playing sports my entire time on campus, which is something I definitely want to do, both during intramurals and with friends in my free time.
Here’s the meat of the post: So I’m between Villanova and Michigan right now, Villanova is a bit cheaper by 5k a year but Umich is obviously more prestigious. I definitely liked most things about Villanova more but I like the football culture at Umich and the prestige/strength of chemical engineering is a big draw.
My main reasoning for making the post is this: Do you think what school I go to is important for transferring to T20s? While I like Nova and UMich a lot, Notre Dame is my absolute dream school, so much so that I’m set on applying for a transfer whenever it’s first possible. Do you think which school I choose could have a significant affect on my transfer acceptance chances? I think UMich could be better to transfer from due to the more challenging Chemical Engineering program, but I feel the Catholicism of Villanova might be a draw for Notre Dame, especially since I’m a non-Catholic student. I’m thinking maybe if I go to a Catholic college I’ll get some “catholic points” with ND, but I don’t really know if it works that way.
What do you guys think? I’d really appreciate it if you could give me two opinions, first on which school you think I should go to, second on which school would be better for transferring to Notre Dame. Thanks!