(UMich) Overall, my education here has been positive

How this student rated the school

Research Quality	A-	Research Availability	A-
Research Funding	A-	Graduate Politics	B-
Errand Runners	A-	Degree Completion	-
Alternative pay [ta/gsi]	B+	Sufficient Pay	B+
Competitiveness	B	Education Quality	B+
Faculty Accessibility	B-	Useful Research	B+
Extracurriculars	-	Success-Understanding	A-
Surrounding City	B+	Social Life/Environment	B-
"Individual" treatment	B+	Friendliness	A-
Safety	B+	Campus Beauty	B
Campus Maintenance	B	University Resource/spending	A-

Describes the student body as: Describes the faculty as:

Male

Lowest Rating Graduate Politics	B-

Highest Rating Research Quality	A-

He rated most things higher than other students did.

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Social Work (This Major's Salary over time)
Overall, my education here has been positive. I was attended UC Irvine as an undergraduate and the University of Washington as a graduate student. I will be receiving my MSW degree this year and I'm off to U of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for my Ph.D.

I came here because of reputation. U of M has been ranked #1 in Social Work for 12 years, so it would make sense to attend the #1 school of social work. Here are the pros and cons of the social work program and U of M.

PROS:

The campus is pretty diverse (I am Asian American.). I never felt out of place, and the people in general treated me with respect.

Research here is quite impressive, even in Social Work which is a practical degree. I feel well-prepared to continue on with Ph.D.

Students in the social work comes from all over the country and various backgrounds. This made my learning experience truly unique.

I felt supported by my professors and advisors. I am sad to be leaving Ann Arbor in about a week.

U of M is well-recognized nation/world-wide. For example, I went to Korea last summer, and people were impressed with my status as a student of U of M. Alumni network is vast, and alumnis are well-respected wherever they go.

CONS:

If you don't have a car, you're pretty much stuck at Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is a nice city, but there isn't whole lot to do here. Transportation isn't so great here. Bus comes every 30 minutes to an hour.

Ethnic restaurants here leaves something to be desired. If you're from Cali like me, you won't be impressed with the #1 Chinese restaurant in Ann Arbor. Everything is too pricey.

Social Work here is too research-focused. If you are embarking on clinical social work or clinical psychology, this isn't the best place (Try NYU or Columbia).

Professors in Social Work (and other depts) are too research-focused sometimes.

In social work, if you are not in tune with the mainstream, you'll feel left out (I know several people who experienced this).

Lack of activism here (compared to Berkeley)

Tuition is very pricey, if you are an out-of-state student.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about U of M. Good luck with your decision. A year (or two) from now, I'll make some comments about my impression of UIUC.

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