Columbia vs. University of Michigan

[lrsig]

I'm currently deciding between Columbia and the University of Michigan. I have attended both open houses. Michigan's (while tiring) was extremely comprehensive, informative, and friendly. I left with a great feel for the school and I definitely saw myself there. Columbia's open house on the other hand was disorganized, poorly attended by staff and current students, and gave very little information about the program. My conundrum is that while Michigan felt like the right school, they lack the strong international urban focus that is my current research interest. Michigan does have a "developing countries" concentration, but with the capstone and what current students seem to be doing, the focus for the school really seems to be Detroit. Columbia on the other hand seems to be very very focused on international cities and urbanization. I know that with either school I am coming out with a strong foundation in planning, and I don't doubt that I will be able to go on and do the things I want to do with either program. I want to know though that since I am spending the money, I should be getting a great education that allows me to explore my academic and personal interests in the field. It seems that while Michigan is consistently praised for the strength of their program, Columbia isn't. They both have a similar success in the Hines/ULI competition. They both have impressive faculty.

I was wondering if anyone at all had any insight they could provide me in making this decision.

Thank you so much!

[rdr06001]

Did either school offer you $? I can understand why you'd want to be in NYC given your area of interest, but as you mentioned, the collective view of Columbia tends to be negative. Assuming Michigan offered you something and factoring in COL, you'd be paying more for the lesser program if you attend Columbia.

Full disclosure: I'm not too familiar with Columbia's program as I did not apply. Also, I too am currently considering Michigan.

Good luck with your decision!

[lrsig]

I guess what I'm mostly trying to understand is why Columbia's planning education has a negative reputation. Do you have any specific critiques that you have heard from other students or planners? Unfortunately the open house did little or nothing to sway me. However, no other program I looked at has such a strong international development and planning focus.

[lrsig]

Also Michigan did offer me money, and Columbia did not. However, I have plenty of money saved up for school, and while it might seem crazy, I'm trying to not make money a main deciding factor.

[mcse]

I can't speak for Columbia, but I'll try to give some perspective on Michigan's program. Recently, we did lose an important faculty member who pretty much ran the developing countries concentration. The program is in the process of hiring someone to replace him, so it might be some time before that concentration is back up and running in full force. We do have a lot of faculty who do research on international issues that could fill the gap in the mean time. Capstone projects vary greatly from year to year. Yes, a lot are in Detroit, but last year, one focused on the Philippines (included traveling there) and another focused on a design competition in Seoul, Korea.

I think you'll be able to find many options outside of the planning program that fit your interests, and to fill in where the program may fall short. Many people with an international interest gravitate towards the Ford School of Public Policy and even do a dual degree. Here is a list of courses at the Ford school. Michigan is open to (and even encourages) cross-program enrollment, so I doubt you'll have any difficulty taking any of these classes:

http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/cour...rds=&sa=Search

With proper foresight, you could get a dual degree done in an additional semester to a year. If you'd prefer to keep within 2 years, you could rework your concentration to include more classes that suit your interests (I'd talk to Prof. Norton about that). In any case, there are many options available to you to really tailor your degree to your interests here.

Hope that helps!

[rdr06001]

Also Michigan did offer me money, and Columbia did not. However, I have plenty of money saved up for school, and while it might seem crazy, I'm trying to not make money a main deciding factor.

I don't think it's crazy at all. Actually, I told myself the same thing, but it sort of went out the window when I started tallying up the actual costs.

I'm not sure of specific critiques of Columbia. My impression is that the whole open house debacle is probably a symptom of the program's overall dysfunction. They're also notoriously stingy with funding, which obviously turns a lot of people off.

Still, I would say go with your gut. If you feel Columbia is going to prepare you the best for a career in that field and you don't mind the extra cost, go for it.