<p>bclintonk, I do not agree with your assessment of Berkeley vs Ann Arbor. I actually think Ann Arbor is a much nicer town than Berkeley. I find it cleaner, safer and generally more genuine. </p>
<p>I am not sure what you mean about Berkeley being more cutting edge and progressive than Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is a trend setter in areas of civil rights and intellectual thought. It does not lag Berkeley or any other city for that matter.</p>
<p>I also do not agree about the weather. I personally love the late summer, fall, early winter, later winter and spring in Michigan. The only time of the year when the weather is too cold for my taste is the December-February period.</p>
<p>I agree about San Francisco though. It is a great city and very accessible to Cal students. However, California is so far from all other nice areas. Ann Arbor is a reasonable drive from Chicago and Toronto and a short flight from NYC, DC and Boston. </p>
<p>Of course, all of the above is a matter of preference, not fact. Some people love temperate weather all year, others prefer seasons. Some people prefer Berkeley's vibe to Ann Arbor and vice versa. </p>
<p>Academically, Cal and Michigan are very even in most respects save the pure sciences, where Cal does indeed have an edge, particularly in Chemistry, Computer Science and Physics. In most other disciplines, Cal and Michigan are pretty even. </p>
<p>Between those two schools, I would almost always recommend one go for the better financial option...and if cost of attendence is roughly the same, then go for fit.</p>
<p>Berkeley. Better school, location, weather, and academics.</p>
<p>Any Big 10 school.</p>
<p>I agree with alex about AA being a better college town than Berkeley and I think it’s really an apples and oranges comparison. The Bay Area is completely different in so many ways than what one gets in Michigan. Berkeley sits in an area that is one of the USA’s great playgrounds, but it’s not the main show by a long shot. By comparison, U Michigan dominates the more detached environment of AA and, for those who enjoy this, probably affords a more quintessential college experience. </p>
<p>As a college town, the most similar places to AA would be several other Big 10 universities (eg, U Wisconsin), while more distant places like U Georgia and U Texas have some similar footprints. I don’t completely endorse the comparisons to these, however, nor to U Virginia as the feel of the southern campuses is just… .different.</p>
<p>Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, UC Berkeley, U of Colorado, U of New Mexico. Colorado, Indiana and Iowa are fairly liberal places and have really nice college towns. U of New Mexico has an artsy and liberal feel to it too.</p>
<p>I plan on visiting University of Michigan- Ann Arbor to see exactly what this vibe I hear students talking about, although I stay not far from Michigan State University at all and it has a nice vibe as well. Outside vite and scenery is great. You can be far off in the middle of the large green campus, or walk towards Grand River Ave. and experience the nightlife. Also downtown Lansing is just down the street, and it seems like Lansing is making large improvements.</p>