I’ve been admitted during EA to both Tulane (with significant merit and hoping for full tuition but I don’t know yet) and to UMich (in-state) . I’m having a difficult time choosing and am looking for opinions and thoughts to help in the decision making process. I will not qualify for any need based aid and my parents have told me that it is my decision to make as my mom created a spreadsheet for me that lists out tutition, travel, rooom / board, books, and personal expenses and the COA is within a few thousand $. I am responsible for my personal expenses at either school.
On one hand, I grew up thinking that I would of course go to Michigan, where else is there ? However, the closer I get to having to make a decision, I’m not so sure. Some things that I’ve considered are below.
I have been on Michigan’s campus a lot from the time I was born and feel very comfortable there. On the other hand, I love New Orleans and would love to pursue a jazz minor (music is my thing) and Tulane would be a fantastic place to study jazz though my major will likely be Physics or Chemisty with an eye to grad school. I’ve thought through the big vs. not so big campus, the Big 10 sports vibe, close to home (45 min) vs. hundreds of miles away.
Any advice or things to think about that might help me decide?
No advice about choices. They are both great schools in very different ways.
I would suggest you put this decision out of your head for at least a month. You don’t have to commit to a school until April 30. Give yourself a break from this…and when you come back to it, maybe things will be more obvious to you.
@Youdon’tsay I’ve been once but not an official visit. I am visiting next month. I know I should wait for that. I guess I’m freaked out a little to realize that what I thought was a given may not be. @ColdinMinny I hear you about the cold. It’s sooo cold here in Michigan this week and the pics on Tulane’s blog look soo much better.
Either school is great. But if you have your heart set on a jazz minor, check out the opportunities at both schools… it can be hard to do. But that’s ok - you can enjoy music on campus w/o minoring in it.
I presume that you are getting a scholarship for Tulane and no scholarship to UMich and the final cost of attendance is approx. equal? If so, then I would choose Tulane. Scholarships are usually only offered to new freshman applicants so you could go to Tulane, and if you didn’t like it, you could transfer to UMich with no scholly. But if you choose UMich first, you cannot transfer to Tulane with a scholly; you would have to pay full price. That scholly is lost and you can’t really get another one once you are not a new frosh anymore. The Tulane first method keeps more options open to you.
Also would check out majors available at both colleges and also course/class catalog for both colleges.
My S is a freshman at Tulane and turned down Michigan engineering last year to do so. His financial situation however was different since he was OOS for Michigan and won a significant merit scholarship at Tulane. Aside from the weather (-10 degrees at his home in Ohio/Michigan area this week versus 60-70 degrees in NOLA for Mardi Gras) the other big differences between the 2 schools are the relative sizes of the schools (15K versus 50K) and private versus public status. Both have good reputations and draw a national student body. Both will have research opportunities (if like my S that is something you’re interested in), but my suspicion is that opportunities will be more easily accessed at Tulane rather than U of M, where more students (including many grad students) will be vying for opportunities. My S was just admitted to the Scholars program at Tulane where he was provided a list of profs to pick from who will serve as mentor to a research project for the next 3 years. While Tulane certainly lacks the “big house” and mojo of big-time college football, you may find something fun about allowing yourself the opportunity to expand your geographic wingspan, so to speak…and who can resist a streetcar ride for hot chocolate and beignets.
Good luck and have fun figuring it all out!
Good point above about the scholarship and transferring. And you will probably have a better idea after you visit Tulane again so try not to stress. Easier said than done. I’m sure some people you know have already made their final decisions and being in limbo can be stressful. But you have time.
Yes, overall, U.Michigan is probably the better of the two schools – but not for you want to do!
NOLA is the most unique city in America and is a great college town.
Add categories like Sports and Jazz and Weather and Dorms and food and quailtiy of Physics dept and whatever else intertests you in a college.
Then weight those things. Then rate those things. Then mulitiply weight x rate and add them up and see what college wins. So Michigan might be a 10 in sports, but you would only rate that as 2 out of 5 in importance to you.
At the end you will have a number. See if your gut agrees.
Two excellent options - congratulations. I think the schools are different enough that when you re-visit the schools next month things will be clear. Go with whichever one feels like the right fit.
This time when you visit Tulane you’ll be looking at it in a different light. I bet once you are back on campus the decision will become clear. That’s how it was for ds1 – that last week in April we revisited his final two choices, and it was a no-brainer which he preferred.
@YoHoYoHo thanks! I hadn’t even thought about it like that and you’re right about the scholarship. Thanks. @bopper that’s a great idea and maybe it will help. I know I have awhile to decide and I guess I’m surprised at myself. I thought for 17+ yrs that I knew exactly what I was doing (assuming of course that I got into Michigan). Suddenly, I’m not so sure. My parents are both Michigan grads and I think they are trying very hard to not sway me one way or the other.
Travelling can be a pain, but college is also a great time to get to know a completely different part of the country. And New Orleans is different. Neither of my kids decided which college to go to until April 30th. In each case they both had two great choices that were quite different from each other. They both ended up going to the slightly less prestigious college that had a better reputation in the field they thought they’d be studying.
I don’t know that my youngest would choose differently, but in the end the flexiblity of his department in recognizing courses taken during his junior year abroad, and the fact that he was only given credit for five APs meant that he didn’t have quite as much choice in courses to take senior year as he had hoped. So checking out actually department requirements may be a good idea. Try to get a sense of what they are like.
I think you should take your time, visit both with the eyes of a new admit, research courses, and then most of all go with your gut.
If Michigan feels comfy and you want to stay closer to home, that is a good reason to do what you had expected to do.
If you visit and fall in love with Tulane and New Orleans, it will be clear.
My immediate reading of your post was that you were all set to go to Michigan but now feel obliged to consider Tulane, since it is an option, and perhaps feel you should push yourself out of your comfort zone. It you almost sounded as if the idea is a bit disorienting.
Just make sure that your exploration is full enough to feel you can make a good decision. Unlike others, I think you should perhaps go to Michigan, where you originally felt you were headed. Plenty of chances for adventure in the future but sometimes it’s good to start off closer to home. Just depends on the person.
Did you research if Grad. school will cost you $$ or you will be receiving stipend?
If you are in Mich. currently, be cautious about adjusting to different environment, differenr people. I know many kids around us (we are in OH, one hour from Ann Arbor), who originally went to Texas, Florida, other places, simply could not handle this differences. Some of them even would give it a try for couple years and then still transfer closer to home. My own D. is psecifically very sensitive to this aspect.
Another thing, science major combined with Music minor is sooo perfect! My D. was pre-med (Zoology major, lots of very challenging classes) graduated with Music Composition minor. She had a ball with it, her minor helped her tremendously and she got a chance to be with the variety of student and not be always in intense pre-med crowd.
As a personal comment. D. had an eye on U of Mich. all along, went there numerous times for her swim meets, they have a great pool. When it was time to apply, we researched several schools and she decided to apply only to those that would offer substantial Merit award. We figured out earlier in a process, U of Mich. would not offer her any and since we are OOS, so it is very expensive for us, she did not apply there. She ended up attending on full tuition Merit award at one of our in-state publics. Since we did not have to pay her UG tuition, we paid for her Med. School instead. It is a huge deal for a young proffessional, she will be a great minority who graduates from Med. School without a debt. That is why I said, that if your future Grad. school is tuition free, then paying for UG is not such a big deal. However, if you will have to pay for Grad. School, then having free UG might end up as a great advantage.
Consider your goals. Look at the offerings at each school for chemistry and physics- your stated potential majors. Different schools run things differently. I went to Wisconsin, which ranks right up there with Michigan for my major in Chemistry (eons ago when I went and currently). 8 whole miles from home but a world away culturally et al. Do not let distance and wanting to leave sway you when it comes to the academics.
Look specifically at how many different introductory chemistry and physics sequences there are. UW has at least three for chemistry and two for physics- some schools lump all freshmen taking chemistry into the same course. This means all of the premed hopefuls are with those who love the subject for its own sake. Look at the courses available and required in each of your proposed majors. It matters if most science majors are thinking medicine and not the sciences apart from that.
As above- check out the opportunities to take a jazz course or participate in it. Being a large school Michigan likely has some surprising course offerings. realistically- how much time will you be devoting to the music versus how much can you get out of the courses in the sciences? Check out the lab facilities as well. New, modern undergrad labs can make a difference. Having larger, highly ranked grad departments can offer chances to see/work in different settings than those where most undergrads are not into the field. Having some of the best grad students in the field as mentors (being able to meet them as TA’s) can be helpful.
It is very different if one’s goals are primarily medicine or some similar profession. I happened to choose medical over grad school ultimately but having the experiences in a world class U helped me know what I was giving up.
? However, the closer I get to having to make a decision, I’m not so sure. Some things that I’ve considered are below.