StudentsReview :: Michigan State University - Extra Detail about the Comment
-or-
Search for Schools by Region
 

or within distance of city

Similar Schools
Central Michigan University -- Mount Pleasant, MI
University of Michigan Ann Arbor -- Ann Arbor, MI
Arizona State University -- Tempe, AZ


  Who's got the Best?

Perceptual Rankings:
You Make 'Em.
We Post 'Em.
You Vote 'Em Up.
You Vote 'Em Down.
Aww yeah.


Michigan State University

How this student rated the school
Educational QualityA+ Faculty AccessibilityB+
Useful SchoolworkA+ Excess CompetitionA
Academic SuccessA+ Creativity/ InnovationA+
Individual ValueB University Resource UseA
Campus Aesthetics/ BeautyA+ FriendlinessA+
Campus MaintenanceA+ Social LifeA+
Surrounding CityA- Extra CurricularsA+
SafetyA+
Describes the student body as:
Friendly, Approachable

Describes the faculty as:
Friendly, Helpful

Male
ACT:31
id='quarter' class='snapshot' style='color: #009704; line-height:80px';float:left;
SAT2080
Quite Bright
Lowest Rating
Individual Value
B
Highest Rating
Educational Quality
A+
He rated most things higher than other students did.
Date: Jan 03 2009
Major: Political Science (This Major's Salary over time)
MSU is really a great place to go to school. I came here from out of state (VA) and would not change a thing if I were to go back and do it again.

Socially, MSU has been all I could have asked for. The students here are very friendly and welcoming. Coming to a place that was around 90% in state students, I almost expected the students here to be in cliques and hang out with people they already knew from high school, but State is not like that at all. From the start it was easy to make friends and find things to do. In a college of 40,000 people you can find almost anything to do. If you want to party/get drunk, of course East Lansing is a fun place to be, but your social life on campus is definitely NOT limited to booze. The benefit of such a huge school is that you have limitless opportunities.

Spartan sports are always fun, and even if you aren't a sports fan, going to games is a great experience here. The basketball team is always solid, and has a shot at the NCAA final four practically every year. The football team is good, and looks to have a promising future. We had an impressive season this year (beat Michigan, a previously one sided "rivalry" dominated by Ann Arbor) and played in the Capital One Bowl (lost, unfortunately).

Academically, MSU has exceeded my expectations. The Poli-Sci department here is great and rivals any in the big ten (not quite at the level of UMich or Northwestern, but easily as good as OSU, Wisconsin, etc) in terms of undergraduate education. Your classes will be huge as a freshman, but this is true at any research university. The professors early on were a mixed bag, but in the higher level courses, I had small classes taught by GREAT profs. It is true that some of the professors here are focused on their research and see teaching undergrads as an afterthought, but if you use ratemyprofs and pick good classes, you can usually avoid this.

One thing that MSU has to offer that surpasses so many other schools is the residential colleges. The James Madison College for public affairs, Lyman Brigs for natural sciences, and the new one in Humanities/Liberal Arts (its actually a re-creation of the Justin Morril college that closed in the 60s). These are small departments where you take the classes in your dorm hall, and they get top-notch profs and have great reputations.

As a poli-sci major applying to grad schools, I strongly recommend any prospective political science student coming to MSU to go into the James Madison College if you're thinking of grad school. I did not, but I wish I had - the connections you can make with renowned professors in the small classes will be a godsend for grad school recs, which are a huge part of the process.

The same thing goes for pre-med students: GO INTO LYMAN BRIGGS. They have as good a premed program as any college, and send tons of grads to med school at MSU and elsewhere.

I could ramble on for hours about how much I loved State, but here are some of the downsides for coming to MSU:

  • Michigan State is not the most "prestigious" college in the nation (but a degree from MSU will not by any means keep you in Michigan.)
  • Huge college - it could definitely be easy for somebody to feel "lost" among 40k people
  • The dorms are pretty mediocre
  • Downtown Lansing is not the nicest city
  • You're in a state with an awful economy
  • That being said, I cannot recommend this school enough.

    Ask a Question or add a response!
    Michigan State University
    Michigan State University
    Compare MSUSave MSU