The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
I hate to be negative, but I am definitely going to give a "darker" review of the University of Michigan. I am about to complete my first year of graduate school in the Masters' program for Computer Science and Engineering. As a West Point graduate and Army veteran, I came from a background where people work together to achieve a common goal. This is definitely not the case at U of M. First of all, if you are a military veteran (or if you support your nation's soldiers), the University of Michigan is not the place to be. This university is the ONLY public institution in the state of Michigan (and perhaps the entire country) that does not grant in-state tuition to veterans moving Michigan after active duty. I have not found a single organization on campus that supports students heading to or returning from the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan; this is probably the only public institution that ignores us completely.

Anyway, enough about military service. Let's move to academics. Now, please keep in mind that I can only speak from the perspective of a graduate engineering student. I will first tell you that most of the students here are brilliant. They work extremely hard, and they are extremely gifted. However, the classes are designed not to foster learning and understanding of the course material, but rather as "contests" to see which students are the smartest, forcing them into cutthroat competition. The assignments, exams, and projects do not test students on how well they understand the course material; they seem to be nothing more than indicators of who is the most gifted. This, in my opinion, is not what learning is all about. Although I was impressed with the relatively small class sizes, don't let that fool you into thinking that you will receive any attention from a professor. My assigned graduate advisor doesn't even know my name. I have to remind him when I come to see him for an appointment (which he usually has to postpone three or four times anyway). Unless you have a shining beacon on your forehead that reads "I have the potential to be the next Nobel Prize recipient", don't expect the faculty to take the slightest acknowledgement of you.

Finances. The education and resources available at the University of Michigan are definitely not worth the Ivy League price for out-of-state students like myself. I had a successful career as an Army officer (and I continue in the reserves) making an average of $60K a year , yet I cannot afford to pay for just one year of education (and this is after veterans benefits, loans, etc). Furthermore, the university has extremely low funding available for work-study programs (only $180K for a school of more than 40,000) and other types of financial aid. Also, the university does not have the graduate staff assistanships that you see at so many other universities. Unless you are here as a doctoral candidate with an external grant from the DoD, NASA, NSF (or other external source), don't expect a penny to come your way.

Social life. Perhaps I am just cold-hearted, unattractive, and full of body odor, but I have not made a single friend here at the university. I have never had a problem in social environments before, but this place is something else. I don't know if it's because engineering students are too engrossed in their work, or if they are afraid to befriend someone with whom they are competing for an 'A', but it almost seems that I am actually avoided by my fellow students. I have tried to attend a few graduate student organization meetings, and when I try to introduce myself, I get little or no reply. So, basically, I have given up in the social department.

I have plenty more that I can say, but hopefully someone out there with a similar background will read this before making their decision.