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Public · Urban campus · founded 1817 · full profile

University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

Self-directed students who want research-university resources and big-campus energy — and especially Michigan residents, for whom the value is hard to beat anywhere.

CompareOfficial site
Ann Arbor, Michigan34,177 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 4Public flagshipResearch universityDivision I athletics

The short answer

Michigan is the strongest all-around public university in the country by breadth, ranking top-25 nationally while enrolling 34,177 undergraduates. In-state students pay about $18,000 in tuition for a program that competes with private universities charging three times that; out-of-state students pay roughly $60,000 and receive limited need-based aid.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
15.6%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$13,138

83% below the $76,274 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$83,648

Above the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
93.2%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$19,500

Above the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1360–1530

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Michigan ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Universities#20of 436National universities
Forbes2026America's Top Colleges#21of 500Top colleges (Forbes)
Washington Monthly2026National Universities#29of 442National universities
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.#22of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)A+#20of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value CollegesNot ranked by this source
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University Rankings#45of 1,504World (QS)

Methodology sensitivity: Michigan's position moves 6 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a moderate spread; the ranking you look at changes the answer somewhat. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Michigan

Michigan's case rests on scale done well. It runs top-ranked programs in business, engineering, information, public policy, kinesiology and social work simultaneously, which means a student who changes direction twice can usually do so without transferring institutions. The alumni network — over 675,000 living alumni — is among the most active in the country.

The in-state versus out-of-state calculation dominates the value question. For Michigan residents, it is one of the best price-to-quality ratios in American higher education. For non-residents paying near $60,000 in tuition with modest need-based aid, the comparison shifts toward private universities that meet full need, and families should run both net prices before assuming the public option is cheaper.

Practically, this is a large research university and it behaves like one. Introductory courses can be very large, popular majors including computer science and the Ross School of Business have internal admission or capacity constraints, and getting attention requires initiative. Students who seek out labs, smaller upper-level seminars and residential programs report a very different experience from those who do not.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Elite depth across an unusually wide range of fields, so changing majors rarely means changing schools.
  • Exceptional value for Michigan residents at $17,736 in tuition.
  • One of the largest and most engaged alumni networks in the country.
  • 93% six-year graduation rate, high for an institution of this size.

Considerations

  • Out-of-state cost approaches private-university levels with limited need-based aid.
  • Competitive internal admission to Ross and capacity limits in computer science.
  • Large introductory lectures; small-group learning requires deliberate effort to find.

Who this school genuinely fits

Self-directed students who want research-university resources and big-campus energy — and especially Michigan residents, for whom the value is hard to beat anywhere.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

In-state tuition & fees
$17,736

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$60,946

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$15,328

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $76,274 a year, but the average family pays $13,138 — a 83% difference. 18.1% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Michigan's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Computer Science
  2. 2Business Administration
  3. 3Economics
  4. 4Psychology
  5. 5Mechanical Engineering

Standout programs

  • Ross School of Business (preferred admission)
  • College of Engineering
  • School of Information
  • Kinesiology
  • Public Policy
Student-faculty ratio
11:1

IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

First-year retention
97.5%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduate enrollment
34,177

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Michigan: questions families ask

It depends on your aid picture. Out-of-state tuition runs $60,946 with limited need-based aid, so total cost can approach that of private universities that meet full demonstrated need. If you qualify for significant need-based aid, run net prices side by side before assuming the public option is cheaper. If you are paying full price either way, Michigan's breadth and alumni network compare well against private peers at a similar number.

The overall acceptance rate is 15.6%, but that number is misleading on its own. In-state applicants are admitted at a meaningfully higher rate than out-of-state ones, and admission to the College of Engineering or preferred admission to the Ross School of Business is substantially more competitive than to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Similar colleges

Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TXPublic

UT Austin pairs a top-30 national ranking with in-state tuition of $11,688 and Texas's automatic admission law, which guarantees a place to students in the top 6% of their high school class. Accounting and petroleum engineering are ranked #1 nationally, and the Austin technology market absorbs graduates directly.

Acceptance rate
26.6%
Average net price
$19,857
Median earnings (10 yr)
$75,121
6-yr graduation rate
88.9%
US News · National universities#30 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#46 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#39 of 442+3 more on profile

42,855 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 6 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

Purdue University

West Lafayette, INPublic

Purdue has frozen tuition since 2012, holding in-state cost at $9,992 for more than a decade while ranking #46 nationally and top-10 for engineering. It graduates more astronauts than any other institution outside the service academies, and at a 49.9% acceptance rate it is meaningfully attainable — rare among schools with these engineering outcomes.

Acceptance rate
49.9%
Average net price
$14,600
Median earnings (10 yr)
$72,424
6-yr graduation rate
83.1%
US News · National universities#46 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#62 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#44 of 442+3 more on profile

44,503 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 11 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GAPublic

Georgia Tech delivers private-university engineering outcomes at public tuition: median earnings of $102,772 ten years after entry against in-state tuition of $12,058. Its Industrial & Systems Engineering program has been ranked #1 in the country for three decades, and the co-op program places students in paid, multi-semester industry rotations.

Acceptance rate
14.1%
Average net price
$12,116
Median earnings (10 yr)
$102,772
6-yr graduation rate
94.0%
US News · National universities#32 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#32 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#21 of 442+3 more on profile

18,785 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 5 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

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