WOW THIS PLACE IS EXPENSIVE...should I even apply?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>OK, here's my situation...</p>

<p>I've been looking to apply here for quite some time, but I'm OOS, and the cost is just outrageous...$42,511 according to CB. My parents have told me at most they will give me 30k/yr for an education. That leaves $12,511/yr I would have to make up somehow. I really don't feel like being in 50k+ in debt when I graduate, especially since I am 100% sure I want to get an advanced degree. My parents make about 150k/yr combined (dad makes about 120k of that). Is there any chance that I would get ANY financial aid from UMich, considering that I am in the top 5% or so income bracket? If not, I don't think I will even apply...</p>

2

<p>Always apply for aid. You probably will just get loans but you never know. Your current concern should be getting into uofm. apply for outside scholarships. then when/if you get in, you can compare the estimated financial aid of this and other schools to see which offers most, to finally make your decision. Personally, I would apply just to see the outcome, though i doubt you'll get any financial aid.</p>

3

<p>FA seems unlikely given you're OOS and your parents are relatively high income. Have you looked at the merit scholarships given by LSA (worth 5-20k/yr, they give about 90 out of the 1500 freshmen that apply each year) or the other schools?</p>

4

<p>fiN, what are your stats like? If you have a 3.8+ unweighed GPA and a 34+ ACT/1500(2250)+ SAT, you could qualified for a merit scholraship. The higher your GPA and standardized scores, the better the odds. Generally speaking, students who come from families in the 95%ile income group will not qualify for need-based aid.</p>

5

<p>S in going to be a sophomore - OOS. We don't get any financial aid. He is already an upperclassman, thanks to many AP credits. Therefore, his tuition this year is going up two different ways - the OOS tuition was raised percentage wise more than in-state tuition was, and upperclassmen pay a few thousand more in tuition. There is absolutely no financial aid for OOS. Many make the argument that it is still cheaper than private schools. However, most private schools will give merit aid. S absolutely loves Michigan, but I don't feel it's worth the money. Michigan's OOS tuition is already the highest in the nation. I have a feeling they are going to see their OOS numbers drop over the next few years. Don't get me wrong - it is a great school, and as I said before, my S absolutely loves it. However, I don't think it's worth the tuition.</p>

6

<p>Michone, Michigan is not more expensive than the majority of top state universities. Cal, UCLA, UIUC, UT-Austin and UVa all cost between $38,000 and $44,000 when room& board and other costs (such as books, insurance and miscelanious expenses) are factored in. Private universities cost anywhere between $40,000 and $53,000. For OOS students, private universities are indeed more generous, but that's because for instate students, those state schools are way cheaper. However, unless one comes from a middle income or lower income family, those private universities aren't going to be much cheaper.</p>

7

<p>My son will be a freshman in the fall. Our income is quite a bit less than your family's and we qualified for no FA. However he did receive a substantial amount of both merit and talent based aid (he's a performance major). So, if your stats are high and you love the school (it was my son's first choice), why not give it a go, you never know what may come of it!</p>

8

<p>I am OOS and all but $2000 of my tuition is covered by a combination of merit scholarships. It is possible to make Michigan affordable! I did have high HS stats though...the scholarships are quite competitive so you need very high numbers.</p>

9

<p>Even if you don't get substansial finanacial aid, there are always merit scholarships and outside scholarships.
I would say never decide not to apply purely for financial reasons. Think about finances after getting in, because it certainly would stink if you decided not to apply only to find out that you could've afforded it in some way or another.</p>

10

<p>I agree with above posters -- if you are truly interested in attending Michigan, apply first (that cost is but a drop in the bucket) and then see about financial aid. Outside scholarships could help a lot.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, Michigan will also be more expensive than you think it is -- once you have junior standing (55 credits I believe, regardless of what semester you're actually in), you get charged a higher rate. I think housing and tuition costs also have atotal increase by $1-2k per year. For a public school, Michigan is the most expensive but it's in the same realm as other private schools in terms of cost of attendance.</p>

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<p>Matthew, Michigan is not the most expensive public. It is one of the 5 or so expensive publics, inlusing UCB, UCLA, UIUC, UT-Austin and UVa. All of those schools will cost between $40k and $45k. I don't think it is fair to single out Michigan.</p>

12

<p>Well, Michigan has the highest TUITION out of any out-of-state public school in the country. </p>

<p>If you do direct cost, it's behind only UC-Berkeley and UC-Santa Barbara in costs after aid for a public school. </p>

<p>If you do direct cost after aid, it's the most expensive public school in the country.</p>

<p>Here's an interesting resource.</p>

<p>Rankings</a> for 100 Best Values in Public Colleges</p>

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<p>A2Wolves, my point is that there are 8-10 publics that cost anywhere between $40k and $45k a year for out-of-staters. Cost of living must be taken into account. Students must be housed and fed. </p>

<p>Saying that Michigan is the most expensive school in the nation is misleading. Yes, its tuition is highest, by a margin (roughly 10%-15%) over several other major publics. However, in the large scheme of things, relatively speaking, when all is said and done, Michigan is not significantly more expensive than most of its public or private peers.</p>

<p>Here are some 2008-2009 tuition rates:
Berkeley:
Tuition: $30,000
UC</a> Berkeley Registrar : Registration Fees
Room & Board: $14,000
<a href="http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/Cal_Housing_Brochure.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/Cal_Housing_Brochure.pdf&lt;/a>
Total: $44,000</p>

<p>Most UCs cost roughly as much as UCB. The cheapest will come to about $40k/year. </p>

<p>Michigan:
Tuition: $34,500
Room and Board: $9,000
<a href="https://www.finaid.umich.edu/Financial_Aid_Basics/cost.asp#F/W%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.finaid.umich.edu/Financial_Aid_Basics/cost.asp#F/W&lt;/a>
Total: $43,500</p>

<p>University of Illinois
Tuition and fees: $30,000
Room and Board: $9,000
University</a> of Illinois Financial Aid: Undergraduate Non-Resident 2008-2009 Cost
Total: $39,000</p>

<p>University of Virginia
Tuition: $30,000
Room and Board: $8,000
U.Va</a>. Financial Aid - Estimated Cost of Attendance
Total: $38,000</p>

<p>University of Texas-Austin
Tuition: $29,000
<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/pubs/tf_flatsem.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/pubs/tf_flatsem.pdf&lt;/a>
Room and Board: $8,000
Division</a> of Housing and Food Service - Prices
Total: $37,000</p>

<p>It goes without saying that Michigan's private peers, like Cornell, Northwestern and Penn, cost a good deal more (roughly $50,000).</p>

<p>So yes, in absolute terms, when you look purely at tuition, Michigan is the most expensive public in the university. But in relative terms, Michigan is roughly as expensive as most of its peers. In the end, when it comes purely to Tuition and Room and Board (medical insurance, books and supplies, transportation and miscelanious costs not included), all those schools will cost OOS students $40k-$45k.</p>

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<p>Alexandre, your point isn't relevant. Both MatthewM and I have said that Michigan is the most expensive public school in the country (had to bold it because you insinuated that I said solely "school", which is not true), which you've disagreed with, but haven't shown any factual data that proves otherwise. You're making our argument for us, posting numbers showing that it is!</p>

<p>IMHO, the fairest way to compare schools is by looking at the direct costs after aid (shown on the Kiplinger page) - what you will be paying to the university. If you don't want to use that, I would argue that tuition is even fairer, because living off campus you can control how much you pay in rent, how much you spend on food, etc.</p>

<p>However, if we want to try another way, we can compare compare direct costs, that is the Tuition and Fees, Room and Board.</p>

<p>Here's the top public universities direct costs:</p>

<p>UCB $44,034
Michigan $41,659
UCLA $41,052
UCSD $39,457
Virginia $37,499
Texas $36,172
Illinois $31,790
North Carolina $30,412
Wisconsin $29,520</p>

<p>Keep in mind though, that OOS students for the most part, aren't going to Illinois, Texas, or any of the UC's, as all those schools are 92%+ in-state students. Virginia and North Carolina both meet 100% of aid for all accepted applicants.</p>

<p>That begs the question - why is it that people are going to Michigan OOS? I just don't understand the appeal with that price tag, considering you can pay practically $11,000 less/year (before aid) to get the same (scratch that - better) experience at Wisconsin.</p>

<p>You keep insinuating that Michigan shouldn't be singled out, isn't the most expensive public in the country, but have yet to come out with data that proves otherwise. Your last post confirmed what we were saying - Michigan is more expensive than Texas, Illinois, Virginia, but you're not acknowledging it even though the numbers are right in front of you, attempting to group the schools all together, and then bringing up private schools! You keep making hasty generalizations to make an argument that the data disproves. </p>

<p>"(It's) roughly as expensive as most it's peers".
"However, in the large scheme of things, relatively speaking, when all is said and done, Michigan is not significantly more expensive than most of its public or private peers."
"It is one of the 5 or so expensive publics, inlusing UCB, UCLA, UIUC, UT-Austin and UVa."
"Michigan is not more expensive than the majority of top state universities."</p>

<p>"Roughly"? "One of 5 or so"? "In the large scheme of things"? "When all is said and done"? This is numbers. It's not rocket science. One is higher than another. Why do you consistently make posts dodging the facts?</p>

<p>If Michigan's not the #1 most expensive public school in the country (tuition, cost after aid), then it's the #2 most expensive public school in the country (direct cost).</p>

15

<p>Ok A2Wolves, Michigan is the second most expensive public university in the US. It is also one of the top 3 or top 4 public universities in the US. </p>

<p>"That begs the question - why is it that people are going to Michigan OOS? I just don't understand the appeal with that price tag, considering you can pay practically $11,000 less/year (before aid) to get the same (scratch that - better) experience at Wisconsin."</p>

<p>Wisconsin does not offer a "better" experience than Michigan. Different and as good, yes, but they are too different to compare. And the reason why OOS and international students are willing to pay so much to attend Michigan (and Cal) is because it is one of just three or four public universities that is generally held in the highest possible esteem.</p>

16

<p>Too different to compare? Oh come on, I see you all the time in the College Search & Selection forum comparing Michigan to schools like Duke, Penn, Northwestern, and then I give you Wisconsin and you're saying it's "too different"? </p>

<p>They're practically twins. They're in the same athletic conference. Both are successful in athletics at their conference. Similar rankings in most academic departments. Both in the same climate. Both in identical towns; Ann Arbor and Madison are the same city, they both have a "State Street" that is the focal point of the city, Madison just happens to be between two lakes and has a capital building. Name 2 universities that are more similar to each other than Wisconsin and Michigan. And don't use Purdoo and Indiana!</p>

<p>I happen to believe Wisconsin's better because of the party/social aspect, but my thinking is different than those who value staying in the library to look at ugly women all day, which I will admit Michigan would be FAR AND AWAY the better choice :) I shouldn't say that, my girlfriend goes to Michigan. She looks good though, doesn't fit in the "Michigan Girl" stereotype. Maybe that's a testament to Michigan guys? Your thoughts? (I'm "LMAO"ing right now)</p>

17

<p>Michigan needs to cut off its affiliation with the state and become a private school. In this day and age, if a university wants to stay competitive in attracting the most diverse and academically qualified student body possible, then it needs to have quality financial aid programs. I have a friend in-state who was accepted to Harvard and Michigan; Harvard was still about 6-8K cheaper for a UMich instater!! This is the result of Harvard's incredible endowment and high alumni giving that makes this possible. UMich needs to make collecting alumni donations its single most important priority from here on out if it wants to remain a top university.</p>

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<p>fiN01, what is your state of residency? If your state has a top state school I would say go there. Michigan is a rip off for OOS students. Save your money for graduate studies. Frankly, I think the whole college admissions process is ludicrous. It matters where you do your last bit of education if you are going to pursue a career in medicine, law, engineering, pharmacy, or any science/social science/humanities.</p>

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<p>I agree with evil<em>asian</em>dictator, U of M should go private! Aid would go up, ******** policies would go out the window (ie/ no finaid for int'ls) and the calibre of the students would also increase. U of M's rankings would skyrocket. In the 80's U of M was ranked number 8 in Top National Universities. Now it is ranked number 25.</p>

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<p>Quote: Alexandre
Wisconsin does not offer a "better" experience than Michigan. Different and as good, yes, but they are too different to compare. And the reason why OOS and international students are willing to pay so much to attend Michigan (and Cal) is because it is one of just three or four public universities that is generally held in the highest possible esteem.</p>

<p>Obviously A2Wolves6 has a problem that Michigan charges more money than other public universities. The funny thing is, they have no problem getting the dollars that they are asking. It's called supply and demand. I suggest anyone who complains about the high cost of attending U-M move to Michigan and gain residency before you come here for school. Otherwise there are plenty of people out there who would gladly pay the premium dollar and take your place. I would imagine many of them would go to Michigan in a heartbeat over Wisconsin, in spite of the difference in costs.</p>