The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

My only reservation about Michigan is that it markets itself as "The Leaders and Best" which isn't something a school that legitimately has the Leaders and Best would have to say (e.g. Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, etc.). Furthermore, most of the programs here are only really well ranked because of the graduate school rankings. Many undergraduate programs are significantly worse (though still above average) in comparison.

Outside of Engineering and Ross, U of M is merely above average. I would rank the 3 most important schools as follows: LSA is comparable to USC, Engineering is comparable to Berkeley, and Ross is comparable to Duke.

Also, if you think that U of M students are less intelligent than you expected, YOU'RE HANGING OUT WITH THE WRONG U OF M STUDENTS.

I've noticed that many English, Nursing, Arts, (Insert group here) Studies, etc. students on StudentsReview like to complain that they're not being intellectually stimulated. THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE IN THE WRONG CLASSES. If you think Math 115 is too easy, take Math 185 (Honors Calc 1). If you thought your english classes were a blowoff, try taking an engineering class like EECS 281 and then tell me how you feel.

The fact of the matter is, easier classes attract a lower student intelligence population. Don't take IGR, WS, DAAS, or any other Bullshit department classes if you want to challenge yourself intellectually.

For those that are in Engineering and Ross and still think they're not being challenged, you're probably experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect, but in case you're not, there still exist outlets for highly successful peer groups.

I'd suggest 2 of the business fraternities (90%+ of people in AKPsi or PCT could get into Bulge Bracket firms), most entrepreneurial organizations (e.g. MPowered, Shift, StartUM, etc.) or start your own venture (I know tons of students who've started their own businesses), join a consulting group (these tend to have highly competitive admissions), or just take very difficult classes (e.g. Math 217, EECS 381, etc.). On the whole, U of M benefits greatly from having such a large student body because it provides such a breadth of student quality and experience. Your experience here varies greatly depending on where you see yourself and how much effort you put into college. Go Blue!