chandhi wrote:Anon.y.mousse. wrote:undecided2020 wrote:Hi,
I'm still trying to decide between Michigan and Columbia. Just wondering if anyone would care to share why they chose Michigan? People in general seem super enthusiastic about the school, just trying to figure out why! I mean I really liked it too after visiting but I guess not enough to make it my clear choice. Just curious what everyone else's thinking was.
Thanks!
When I visited Michigan I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but I walked away very impressed with the faculty I encountered, the students, the facilities, etc. A couple of things struck me: I/we heard professors say several times that one of their favorite things about Michigan is the students. I didn't hear that at any other school. I was impressed by the professional experiences that many of the faculty members have had prior to getting into academia, and I really value being taught by people who have practiced in the area they are teaching. I spoke to some current students, particularly one that I know from high school who is as much of a straight shooter as they come and couldn't really think of a bad thing to say about Michigan and generally raved about their experience there. I really dig the vibe of "yes we're smart and accomplished but we don't take ourselves too seriously, we don't have to constantly prove how smart we are." One of the faculty members told me gunners are pretty much slapped down by the people around them for being try-hards. I think their claims of collegiality are genuine. I appreciated how enthusiastic current students and alumni are about the school and how much they actually seemed to enjoyed their time there - one of the attorneys in my office who went to MichLaw years ago tells me about his group of friends that he made there and how they vacationed together with their wives and kids for decades after they graduated, which is something I can hopefully find as well.
I, admittedly, was worried about the lack of "prestige," when I was lucky enough to get into so many well known, private "elite" schools which is a reaction Michigan generally doesn't get (well maybe in the Midwest). At the end of the day, I didn't think paying more to go elsewhere was worth the bump in prestige to people who would play no role in hiring me or actually getting a job. During the application process I've encountered a handful of people who are Michigan graduates with jobs I would kill to have, and heard from a number of people in my office and outside of it that a) everybody in the legal world knows that Michigan is a great school, and b) when you get to the T10 (maybe HYS excluded as just the next level), you're really splitting hairs in terms of quality of education and outcomes - one guy compared it to stressing out over whether to buy a Lambo or a Ferrari. I'd rather go somewhere and be happy, get an education at a reasonable cost, and truly enjoy my time in law school and my classmates than go somewhere that isn't as great of a fit, costs more, and will only very marginally improve my chance at getting the jobs I want after graduation.
Financials were also a big part of it for me. Columbia gave me a whopping $0 in grant money. Ann Arbor is absolutely cheaper than NYC, forgetting differences in scholarships and tuition. I never visited Columbia, so I can't really speak to it personally, and I'm sure it's great for some people and maybe even for you! But that was my thinking about my decision. Hope that helps

Can vouch for all of this and want to add that I like how accessible the faculty and other students seem. A few people brought up the point that everyone lives pretty close (because where else would you live?). I've heard that faculty often host student gatherings at their houses, and they're usually up for grabbing coffee or even sometimes drinks. Coming from a major city and kind of commuter school known for very shallow relationships, I can't wait to be "stuck" with other people at the law school. Those connections will make the three years so much better and serve me well in the future, I'm sure. Also, I'm out-of-control excited for the low cost of living.
That bolded part.
So, I actually visited Michigan twice (in the same month). The first time I visited, it was just a basic campus visit. I did it because at the time, I had other ASD events scheduled for both the Michigan ASW dates at other schools. I left impressed with the school, but really unimpressed by Ann Arbor. I did my undergrad in a college town and was just OVER it. Ann Arbor is like my UG on crack, college town-wise. And omg, it was so cold. So I left feeling like I'd come to a conclusion: Michigan itself seemed great, but Ann Arbor left much for me to desire. At the time, I had ZERO $ from them, so that just added to my discontent. I had basically decided I'd be going to Northwestern, regardless of the $ they offered. I was even apartment-hunting! Well... fast-fwd to like... the week of the first ASW. I had this nagging feeling that I wasn't as sure as I thought I was about where Michigan stood for me, so much so that I dropped an ungodly amount of money to fly out to ASW and give Michigan one more shot. Being around so many students, engaging in conversations with faculty members, and being able to get a feel for the other prospective students and what kind of community I believed the c/o 2020 would foster basically completely changed my mind. Don't get me wrong: It's still a college town and it's still super cold (which is one of the only complaints I ever heard from current students, honestly, along with that it's a very WHITE college b/c of the affirmative action law, which is true, but also not super noticeable because the black students are very close-knit and present on campus) but the collegiality thing was clearly REAL. I feel like 46829478353 different law schools use the word collegiality and some of them mean it genuinely, but Michigan was on some next level shit. I was there for three nights and two of those nights, I was out until 4am with other current or prospective students. I was starting to remember people's names (and I'm awful at remembering names). The alumni and students I met are fierce advocates for Michigan, but not in a way that it seems like they're doing it just because it's what's expected, more in a way like, "I really loved my time here, I want you to have a similar experience. Come here!" I was also looking for a really strong sense of community wherever I went and, there is a lot - and I mean A LOT - of maize & blue in the LS. Like... People are proud to go to Michigan and they're proud to rep their school and they don't just see it as sort of a step in a series of steps to take to get where they want to go career-wise.
On a lesser important note: I also really liked that ASW didn't feel fake. I didn't feel like they were just trying to sell Michigan to us. It was more like, "So, we'll tell you about Michigan, and you decide if this seems like something that you want to be part of."
Basically, I had a really great time at ASW that didn't feel ingenuine, met a lot of people that seriously just love their school, and felt like I fit in with both current students and prospective students. The cheaper CoL & the $$ they offered definitely helped too. But really, I just have this theory that there's something in the air/water so once you go to ASW, you're in love with the place lol.