The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Faculty accessability gets a B because it really depends on the professor. Some are good, some aren't.

Creativity gets a C because there is a little room for creativity on the class projects, but that's about it, in the classes at least.

Busywork gets a B because it again depends on the Professor and how you chose to do the assignments. Secret: doing 'busywork' type assignments on a computer can save a lot of time thanks to cut and paste.

Scholastic success gets a C because understanding the material of the curriculum alone will not get you a good or even necessarily passing grade. The electrical department was even worse about this. Case in point: at MSU I took circuits and got a 3.5 with little effort. At UofM I retook the class and got a 1.7 despite devoting most of my life to it. The final exam was 28 pages long. The aerospace department is like a milder version of that. Sorry, I know I'm probably scaring prospective students here. But that's how it is. If you are very smart or if you have excellent study habits (as opposed to just 'decent study habits') then you might do better.

Quality of program gets a B- because while UofM college of engineering may be one of the most resourceful engineering colleges in the world (aerospace is ranked #3 in the country and the college as a whole is #6), incredible resources won't erase problems that happen in the classroom--a lot of good students getting bad grades. And while a 50% on an exam won't matter if 50% was the class average (the average usually gets a 2.7-3.3 depending on the professor), it's still not good feeling to get such a low score. MSU is the same way.

Resources gets a B simply because while the administration raises tuition because the 'budget is so tight', they spend lavishly at the same time. We're getting a new drama center right here on North Campus next to the engineering buildings. That's like one example out of many expensive projects that the University is currently engaged in.

Campus aesthetics gets a B+ because here on north campus, the walk-ways don't always provide the best routes between buildings so a lot of grass gets trampled on. With that said, there are some parts of campus (all man made of course) that are truly magnificant to look at, even after you've seen it a hundred times.

Individual value gets a D because no one, other than maybe your closest friends, is going to care or help you if you're failing a class or can't get a job.

Campus safety gets a B because while I always feel safe, there have been several strings of thefts this past year (2005-2006) and the police think that it could be due to organized crime. By keeping my doors/windows locked, I haven't had any problems.

The surrounding city gets a B for several reasons. First of all, Ann Arbor is horribly congested with traffic. People have told me that Chigago is worse, but still, bad is bad. Second, taking busses within campus is time consuming, and taking city busses outside of campus can be VERY time consuming. On the plus side, they are free to UofM students, whereas MSU students had to pay a lot money to use them. Third, while there is a lot that happens on UofM's campus (especially activism stuff), I haven't been as impressed with the school events here as I was at MSU. There, it seemed there ALWAYS something going on. Here, not quite as much. That could just be because I live on North Campus though.Finally, I wouldn't say that the material is that difficult here (though solving the problems can be tedious), but getting a good grade sure is.