<p>I've always loved the U Mich campus and the vibe of downtown Ann Arbor (politically, culturally, the college town-ness in general. I would consider applying to U of M, but I live in a small town that's only about ten minutes away from Ann Arbor, so I end up spending a lot of time there already, and I'm not interested in going to a college so close to home. So I was wondering what other schools had similar campuses or towns. I'm currently considering:</p>
<ul>
<li>American U</li>
<li>Brown</li>
<li>William and Mary</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>George Washington</li>
<li>Georgetown (School of Foreign Service)</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins</li>
<li>Macalester</li>
<li>Middlebury</li>
<li>Skidmore</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Tufts</li>
<li>U Calif Berkeley</li>
<li>U Chicago</li>
<li>U of Mary Washington</li>
<li>U Virginia</li>
<li>Vassar</li>
</ul>
<p>but any other suggestions would be good too. Thanks.</p>
<p>University of Virginia and UC Berkeley are both like UMich in that they are large public universities with great academic reputations. Charlottesville and Berkeley are also known as good college towns, although most people have heard that Berkeley has a unique hippie-ish feel. UVA and UCB play in major athletic conferences, similar to UMich.</p>
<p>Of the other schools on your list, Stanford has some similarities with UMich. It is much more academically driven and is the best school on your list, but it is a huge campus with an amazing athletic program and a lot of school spirit. Palo Alto isn't too much of a college town though.</p>
<p>UW-Madison isn't <em>quite</em> on par with Michigan, but is similar in that it's ranked highly in a very broad range of disciplines and has a whole lot of school spirit. Plus, Madison is consistently ranked as one of the best college towns.</p>
<p>If you want to look at more of a safety, I'm a big fan of UIowa. It's the smallest member of the big ten, and Iowa City, while small, is a pretty cool place with a pretty decent hippie/intellectual vibe, thanks to the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the school itself... so while you can find a big spirit/rah-rah atmosphere, you can also do your food shopping at the co-op and your cashier might be covered in tattoos and going on peace rallies. I haven't been in Ann Arbor in ages, but I would say that Iowa City is somewhat like Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>NOT William and Mary. They are located at one end of the colonial village of Williamsburg. Not exactly your college town experience. NOT Columbia - it is a city campus where most students use all of NYC as their playground. Berkeley is in a large urban/suburban area, not a college town like Ann Arbor. It has its own distinct campus (unlike GWU), but it's not really the college town feel. Stanford is located in a Silicon Valley suburb. It's a beautiful distinct campus, but Palo Alto is not just college students and Stanford hospital is right on campus so there are doctors' offices all around campus. UVa sounds like your best bet. Others not on your list... Univ of Florida and UNC Chapel Hill have the same feel you are looking for. UT Austin is close.</p>
<p>As someone who was accepted to both Umich and Brown, one major difference I saw in the two schools is that Brown is integrated through Providence aka the streets run through Brown. At Umich most of the buildings are in one place so that was one major difference that really bugged me at first with Brown but I got over it eventually.</p>
<p>If I understand the OP correctly, they are asking about cities. I think Madison and Ann Arbor are pretty freaking alike, although Madison is next to lakes, in a state capital, and larger. Ann Arbor is slightly more wealthy.</p>
<p>As for schools, you've got to be kidding me with some of those on your list if you want something like Ann Arbor. </p>
<p>Oh also, to one of the above posters, I'd like some justifications why UVA is like Michigan. Both are top publics with the whole rah-rah thing, but they have such different feels.</p>
<p>dude if u havent been to austin, TX it rocks...literally... the BEST music scene in the country...every1 in town is behind the HORNS...it's bigger than ann arbor, but it is all about UT, probably the closest thing you'll get to a college town besides A2, believe me it is like Michigan. Maybe not as good a skool but still a top public university for business and engineering- the only thing austin is lacking is snow and ice hockey. the football and basketball games rock, football RULES at UT. Trust me I go there every year from Dallas, to the football games, however it is roughly 1.5-1.75 times the student population of UMich. Good luck!</p>
<p>I'd say Berkeley. I love Ann Arbor but Berkeley has everything Ann Arbor has and more---a little more cutting edge, a little more progressive, much better weather, much more beautiful setting, and across the Bay from one of America's greatest cities. And the universities are also similar but Berkeley has a slight edge academically in a lot of fields. The other places the OP mentions aren't all that similar.</p>
<p>Just go to Michigan and live on campus. Save your money for grad school. It's always a different experience when you're not going home every night.</p>