Comment Talk to the engineering students. (Score 1) 835
I'm in the CE program at the University of Michigan, and our engineering department is huge on Linux. All Windows PC's in the engineering computer labs dual-boot into Red Hat. All the programming courses use the GNU compiler package as the reference compiler. Most of the software the engineering classes use is Linux-based - they even provide a VNC client so you can do your work without a Linux computer or having to go to the lab. (As an aside - most of the engineering labs also have some Macs, and a few have Solaris machines for certain special-purpose software.) The department is structured so that it's essentially impossible to graduate without being semi-competent in Linux.
The LS&A college (Literature, Sciences, and the Arts - the "standard" college that most people apply to) has its own separate IT department, and they're much more Windows and Mac-oriented (very Mac-heavy in the math department for some reason). Even they support Linux, though - I've run a dual-boot on my dorm computer for awhile now, and I've never had any problems using Linux to access University resources. It's not really used as a teaching platform for them as far as I know, and I'm sure a lot of the general tour guides would have no idea what to tell you if you asked, but most of the ones doing the North Campus tours (i.e. the engineers) probably know more about Linux than you, me, or your daughter.
I don't know what your daughter is intending to study, but I would imagine a lot of schools delineate things the same way - Windows for the regular school, Linux for the engineers. If Linux use is a big deal I recommend you talk to the engineering department to get some straight answers. And if that's the platform she's most comfortable working with, I recommend looking toward an engineering major as well.
Also, Go Blue. (obligatory)
The LS&A college (Literature, Sciences, and the Arts - the "standard" college that most people apply to) has its own separate IT department, and they're much more Windows and Mac-oriented (very Mac-heavy in the math department for some reason). Even they support Linux, though - I've run a dual-boot on my dorm computer for awhile now, and I've never had any problems using Linux to access University resources. It's not really used as a teaching platform for them as far as I know, and I'm sure a lot of the general tour guides would have no idea what to tell you if you asked, but most of the ones doing the North Campus tours (i.e. the engineers) probably know more about Linux than you, me, or your daughter.
I don't know what your daughter is intending to study, but I would imagine a lot of schools delineate things the same way - Windows for the regular school, Linux for the engineers. If Linux use is a big deal I recommend you talk to the engineering department to get some straight answers. And if that's the platform she's most comfortable working with, I recommend looking toward an engineering major as well.
Also, Go Blue. (obligatory)