Maybe this should be in the College Search forum, but there seems to be more activity here…
Someone suggested WMU to D and said K’zoo is a “nice college town” and D might like it there. I’ve suggested Kalamazoo College, in the same town, to D anyway, so, after looking at WMU’s website, I think it could be a good safety school for her - has everything she is interested in studying, professors have degrees from impressive institutions, school is big but not ginormous like MSU or UIUC, is very affordable for us, and she could easily get into the Honors college.
Yet, there is a dearth of information about this school on CC, and what little I can find on the Web is often negative. My initial take is this school suffers from being in U of Michigan’s shadow, and many kids reviewing it on the student review sites seem to have an inferiority complex about being there. A few people love it, but more don’t.
I saw that WMU has a lower graduation rate, and I wonder if that is because students go to this school and transfer to more prestigious places like U of Mich and elsewhere? I’m just guessing.
I’m taking these reviews with a grain of salt. But how much truth is there to this?
If anyone has any info at all about Western Michigan, I’d love to hear it. Thanks!
I know lots of current students and lots of grads. They were all happy there. I don’t think the graduation rate is a concern - there are so many reasons for it, and I don’t think a good student needs to be concerned.
I happen to know the financial aid director there, as well as a number of finaid staff members. They are very involved in the state association. They love the school and enjoy their jobs. That is always a good thing, IMO.
If your D likes the school and a particular program there, then there is no reason she shouldn’t look more closely at WMU.
People only THINK everyone who doesn’t go to UM wants to go there. It’s a myth.
Thank you for the info, kelsmom. Glad to hear that.
I hope to swing by Kalamazoo later this summer, after we go into Ohio and Indiana to look at a few schools there. I think Kalamazoo sounds great, and the school does, too - until I read those student reviews. I really need to stop reading those…
Thanks again for your insights!
D just finished up her freshman year at WMU and she loved it. She has a great job that she got because she happened to mention that she needed one to a professor. The professor took time to give her name to someone who was hiring. She has gone on two externships this summer to Fortune 500 companies to explore different majors/careers. I think she has had great opportunities since she has arrived. She got involved in sorority and has met alot of new friends and her friends are all coming back for their sophmore year so not everyone leaves and goes to other schools. As she is my youngest, I am used to hearing from her older sisters how bad school X is on occasion. Each school has there problems for sure. We like the area and enjoy visiting.
@spring162 , thank you - and congrats to your daughter on her new job! I’m relieved to hear accounts of students doing well there and enjoying the school, just in case D applies, is accepted and decides she wants to attend. I want her to be at a place with positive school spirit - that’s important, I think.
OP, I don’t know what your daughter plans to study; but if you are in the area, Hope College in Holland, MI has a pretty good reputation as well. It might be worth a look, and is not too far from Kalamazoo.
Western is often referred to as CU (Cement University). Our lower achieving students from our high school seem to end up there when they don’t make it into MSU. Lower graduation rate comes from the type of students Western tends to attract. Not all that hard to do well at Western so if she wants a challenge pick elsewhere IMO. Kalamazoo college would be a good pick but is pricey if finances are a concern. Hope is another good school as the above poster stated.
Western and U of M attract totally different types of students. It would be highly unlikely that a student is debating between going to Western vs U of M. Debating between going to MSU and U of M is common.
I would not take the student reviews with a grain of salt. I consider Western, Eastern and Ferris to be mediocre schools and would want my child to pick elsewhere. Yes, they each have certain programs they are known for but unless that is your reason for going there you might be happier elsewhere.
Grand Valley State is one you might want to take look at. It attracts a more serious student than Western and they are close to MSU in their stats.
On another note, a review was done on the price of tuition at all of Michigan’s universities and Western topped them all. They nickel and dime the kids with fees so that the tuition ends up the highest in the state -above U of M and MSU!!! I’ll post the link if I can find it.
If U of M was out of the picture, I would also consider MSU, Grand Valley State, and Oakland University ahead of Western Michigan.
Western Michigan is fine for certain programs, but does tend to attract a significant number of students who are no overly motivated, in my experience, as does Central Michigan.
I actually have a small issue with the already posted tuition at 25k +/- . It seems kind of high for a regional public; but U of Mich is too expensive, too, imo.
I keep reading that GVS is a commuter/suitcase school and that would not be good for D who is OOS.
I have looked into it briefly.
Fwiw, WMU would be one of her safeties. She has a few others lined up.
My feeling is, if she is in the Honors College, studying what she wants to study, and is attending at a discount because of scholarship money, she’ll be fine there, or the other public regionals.
My concern is her being at a school where the students’ attitude is pervasively negative and comparing themselves to the “better” flagship and others.
My D already feels bad that her GPA is no longer perfect and she’s not in the running for more prestigious schools. She’s not come out and said it but I suspect it. The last thing she needs is to be at a school where many others suffer from the same regrets. I want her to be at a school where she is around other students that are happy to be there and she can be, too.
Grand Valley probably has some that go home to Grand Rapids on the weekends but I would not consider it a suitcase university anymore. Kids that attend there seem to be quite happy with their choice. Another nickname for Western around here is “Wastern”. My old neighbor went there and said she felt surrounded by thugs and heavy partiers who didn’t care about their schooling.
Instate tuition is higher at Western with its fees than U of M. That would not be the case for OOS, but expect to pay more money on top of what they are claiming tuition to be with all their fees according to the study done that was posted in the Press.
I hope you are not thinking Western is ok because of some of the rankings that are online. I just looked at one and it was a total joke. It ranked Western above privates such as Kzoo College, Hope, Calvin, Hillsdale and Alma. Total joke as those schools take schooling seriously and a lot of Western’s kids wouldn’t last a semester at any of them. Those privates are top notch so those rankings are entirely meaningless. Unfortunately education has become big business and is being dumbed down for the masses.
I get why kids from Michigan end up there, but to go there from OOS almost seems crazy. GV makes way more sense to me. I’m sure there are some who like it there but too many don’t if you look at the student reviews.
Actually, I’m not a fan of GVSU (especially for out-of-staters) and certainly don’t place it ahead of Western.
Look, we’re all just reflecting our impressions and opinions based on the experiences of friends and/or classmates. The kids I know who chose Western are a mixed bag - a few partiers but also some good students, a current nursing major who loves it there, and a former aviation student who loves the school (and has a great job now). As in many things, their actions and experiences at Western are more a reflection of the person/student and not the school itself. None of the kids whom I know well thought said they were surrounded by “thugs and heavy partiers.”
Is it a step below U of M and MSU? Yes. Is it worth a look as a safety? Sure, as long as you go into your visit with your eyes wide open. Kalamazoo is a great town.
I agree with scout59. WMU does not hold itself up to be any more or less than a state school. I have found that same crazy perceptions about the state schools in my home state. Eastern is for drug addicts, youll get murdered at Northern, Western is a dump, Southern? where is that and the state school is stupidly known as I screwed up", These stereotypes are just that. There is good and bad in all schools you just have to decide which you are willing to deal with. I suggest you go visit and decide for yourself. It seems like your kid is a high achiever so I am sure the honors college is the way to go. Personally, we follow the free money if the school is acceptable for the child. My kid is OOS and is staying this summer to gain residency as are a lot of other OOS kids. They make it fairly easy. WMU is becoming a school that many kids from our area are going to as an out of state option as Iowa has become crazy expensive OOS. Kalamazoo college was beutiful when we looked at it years ago for my oldest but they have their problems too. At the time, classes were difficult to get, often slowing progression to graduation and once my D heard that almost the entire Junior class goes abroad, she was done. Once again, no college is perfect that is why there are so many to choose from!
Yes, I know what you mean. @scout59 . I went to IU in Bloomington and never attended a single basketball game, never attended the Little 500, etc. I was not in a sorority, I never went to the infamous party bars… I did none of the stuff people associate with IU. When I hear some people talk about my alma mater, I even wonder if we went to the same school.
I never took a bus across campus - I spent my years there in the LLC language houses, and my senior year in the graduate dorm, so I could buckle down and finish. Both were close to classroom buildings on campus. My friends and I frequented the two coffeehouses in town, went to small house parties, room parties, free film nights, art exhibit openings… . Yes, I noticed there were often stumbling-drunk kids on weekends, across campus, and in town, and sometimes in our own dorm… But, it was a big enough campus, and there was enough space to find my own little niche and easily ignore the things I did not like, or didn’t interest me.
The same would probably go for WMU or any other big public campus, I’d think.
But, I asked my original question because it seems that WMU, especially, gets negative reviews, and combined with the lack of positive info here and elsewhere, it gave me some pause…
@spring162 , I take it you are in the Chicago area? We are, too.
Yes, she is a bright student with a B+ avg. - I think she could get into UMich, but there is no way we are paying their OOS tuition - especially when she can get a substantial scholarship at other schools and be admitted into Honors (which she would likely not qualify for at UMich because she’d be more toward the middle of the pack).
U of Iowa is too much, as well. We sent my stepdaughter there, over a decade ago, and it was 18k/yr for tuition - we thought it was pricey then! And we’re aware of the paltry scholarships given at Iowa. We are looking at Iowa State for D, instead.
Ideally, I think she should opt for a small LAC that gives merit, hence K’zoo - but D can’t seem to get past the smallness of the campuses and student body, she thinks it would be stifling and limiting… I disagree, but it’s her decision, not mine, so that’s that. Our only restrictions are the financial parameters we’ve set, and she needs to be able to get home by herself via plane or train, if need be.
I said she’ll likely end up at one of her safeties, because she seems satisfied with them, on paper, at least, and says she really doesn’t care where she attends as long as they have her potential majors and it’s not too rural, and not too small.
We are planning a midwest road trip this summer to see some campuses, so she can narrow down her choices.
She is not a picky kid, never had a “dream” school (except for maybe U of MN in Duluth, just because I have a friend in Duluth and she loves the town, but she hasn’t been there in a few years… But not so much a dream school, as “I can see myself going to Duluth.”) and I think she will be happy, make friends, and apply herself to her education, no matter where she ends up.
@BeeDare “My concern is her being at a school where the students’ attitude is pervasively negative and comparing themselves to the “better” flagship and others.”
If you are talking about MSU, you will not find that. Students and alums have a huge amount of pride in their school. You are not going to find a bunch of students who wish they were at UofM or feel second rate in any way. That is just a cc perspective on it.
Coming from high schools in Michigan, getting accepted to MSU is a significant achievement. The average ACT score of a student in Michigan is a 19 or 20 on each section. The MSU average ACT at 26. That means that compared to their high school peers, these students have had to work hard and feel like they have accomplished something significant. I think that MSU students have the most school spirit of all of the Universities in Michigan, although our friends in Ann Arbor will dispute that. lol
" I take it you are in the Chicago area? We are, too. Yes, she is a bright student with a B+ avg."
@BeeDAre, have you looked at Indiana State in Terre Haute? She’d likely be an Honors candidate, and up for merit scholarships on top of the automatic discount for Illinois residents. I like Kalamazoo better as a location, but ISU is worth a look for budget-minded students who want an honors opportunity.
@BeeDAre Yes, we are in the Chicago area. If you are like me, you are greatly puzzled by the recent trend for most all HS kids to want to go to OOS colleges. I really cant figure this trend out except that it must seem more glamorus to say they are going OOS? I cant figure out why the kids are drawn to other states compass schools when we have the same caliber schools in state and they would save a bucket load of money. We tried to force our last one to go in state as she as she wasnt going to get any sizable scholorships but to no avail. She wanted the OOS experience of her sisters. Now that it is summer she may be regretting it somewhat as part of our agreeing to pay one year OOS tuition was the stipulation she had to get residency for years 2-4. She has to live there this summer and work. It wasnt an issue when she agreed but now that it is a reality, she is somewhat less than thrilled especially when the BF is at home. Isnt it funny that we think we know where they should go and they have totally different ideas? My kids had a stipulation that the college had to be bigger than their HS or they were not going.
@Hanna we have looked into ISU in Terre Haute. She wants the option to major in Anthropology, and ISU only offers it as a minor. That is one requirement for her.
It is also is not very convenient to transit for her to get home by herself, if we needed her to.
@Much2learn , we have a friend, who is my H’s co-worker, who went to MSU and LOVES the school. He goes to most of the home games year-round, has donated a huge amount of money to the school, just loves it and goes on about it. It does check all the boxes for D, but she is put off by the huge population - I think it might be worth a look, though.
