Michigan State University Top Questions

MSU is an excellent teaching university, which is trying to reinvent itself as a half-assed research university. I feel because of this, the actual educational value of what's being taught is begining to suffer for undergrads, but will be improving for grad students in the future. I like the interesting people I meet, and since it's such a big campus, you have the opportunity to meet a lot of them. The campus itself is one of the most beautiful I've seen, so if you like wildlife and natural settings, you'll love it for that. The reputation for students really depends on what department you're in (if you're in a good one, a MSU degree is respectable). East Lansing is a really good hangout as well, and borders campus so it isn't too bad of a trek. The administration as a whole has the same faults of any other, being uncommunicative, bloated, and autocratic, but there are certainly universities where this is far worse. For the most part, MSU is an average state college that excels mostly in the departments where the best degrees are to be had.

The best thing about MSU is that it is so big and there are some many people that you meet a new person from a different background like everyday. The size is perfect if your into being on a large campus. Speaking of the campus, it is definitely the most beautiful campus ever. It is covered in trees,flowers and has a river that runs through it. Most of my time I spend on campus is probably in one of the classrooms but sitting underneath one of the trees by the river is also a great place. East Lansing is absolutely a College Town. MSU wouldn't be what it is without East Lansing or vice versus. The city and the school work together to make life in East Lansing wonderful. The biggest controversy over the past year was the so called riot in April but things have calmed down since then. Is there school pride at MSU? Well that is just a bit of an understatement. We Spartans are hardcore about everything MSU we try to be the best at everything we do whether its sports, academics or just being the best fans in the country. Green and white bleeds from us. One memory that I'll never forget was during the 2006 Football season. We were playing Notre Dame, who one of our biggest rivals. We were killing them in what seemed like the storm of the century. The wind was howling, rain was blasting the entire stadium but we are too hardcore fans to leave. We were even shouting to the storm "Is this all you got?". Even though we ended up losing the game in the last few minutes its the memory of all us students banding together as one in the worse storm that is then best part.

I have found that a lot of campuses are sprawled through out the neighboring city such as the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. But Michigan State is different. It's really cool because MSU is like a mini city full of people your age and always tons to do. It's very big and would take about an hour to walk from the west side of campus to the east side. Although this may sound kind of daunting, once you get used to it and begin to learn where everything is at it is really a great feeling, king of like it's your city and your campus. Although it may sound weird I sometimes love feeling anonymous walking through campus. I feel anonymous because although you will see people you know, you rarely see the same person twice in one day. It is a large contrast from my high school where everyone knew everyone else and everyone else's business. But at MSU the anonymity allows me to not worry about being myself and not worry so much about what other people think. It's really nice. Although I have had a few professors that I have no liked or did not agree with the majority of professors and faculty that I have interacted with have been more than helpful and very nice. Yet I still check allmsu.com and see how other students have rated professors before I schedule my future classes. It is a very helpful site and comes in very handy so that even if you can't get out of a class you will at least be prepared.

MSU is huge! When you walk to class you pass hundreds of students, and even up until Senior year, it is rare to see someone you know..no matter how many friends you have. You have to be willing to have a long walk to class, and trek through the snow when all you want to do is lay in bed. Campus is beautiful, and it is so nice to be able to go sit by the red cedar between classes, or just for fun. I love the student body..everyone that goes to MSU is in love with their school and it makes being there so much fun. East Lansing is great..I love how campus is set up, and the student housing is right across grandriver with tons to do in between. The first day that its warm out in the spring is my favorite time of every year..everyone is outside on their porch and everyone is so happy and excited that it's finally getting warm. The only thing that sucks is that it means the semester is almost over.

MSU has a lot to offer. A great campus (you will definitely get used to the size quick), amazing professors, amazing classes and advisors, great opportunities, an awesome social aspect, and it is full of surprises.

MSU is huge...There is so much to do here and it takes up almost literally the entire city of East Lansing. Whatever you are into...It's definitely here. I couldn't really pick the best thing about MSU. The campus is gorgeous, the population is the most diverse I've ever seen and the opportunities for work, study abroad, extracurricular activities, and most importantly education are just endless. Between the Izzone and the newly united student section in football, school pride is through the roof. The only complaint Ive ever heard is the campus is enormous and slightly confusing to drive around.

Best thing about MSU is that scenery and location. It is away from everything just in the middle of the state even though its by the capitol. Campus seems like a good size but things can be changed such as the setup of how buildings are located, how living space works, little things but nothing crucial. Most of my time is spent around central campus because i lived there and if i left my room, most of my friends lived around there, and the inter mural building is fairly close as well. There is school pride of course because we all chose to come here right? so i think everyone should have it, but just not let it effect you if you see people from "rival schools" etc. I'll always remember orientation when i didn't know almost anyone coming in, and i had to force myself to meet new people, and to open up. I saw a lot of people who knew each other from high school and they stayed in their cliques but soon they were going to have to meet new people too, so that was an experience that will always stay with me.

I love the large size of MSU. Some may think of it as intimidating but you find your group and once you have a major you will surprisingly see the same people around campus. The actual campus is beautiful, and the students bleed green. I will always remember the football games, and how important and fun they were for everyone.

MSU is the best place in the world. Seriously. The campus is beautiful, the people are friendly, and there's always something to do. There's a million clubs and groups you could join and so getting involved isn't hard. The dorms are actually very nice, and the food is pretty good. MSU is a very large school, which I personally think is great. It gives me opportunities I would not have elsewhere. Plus, you can always make a large school seem smaller by getting involved, but you can never make a small school larger. I never go a day without seeing someone I know walking around so size isn't an issue. I guess the only complaint I would have is that it's cooold during the winter and sometimes classes are not close. A twenty minute bike ride at 8 in the morning with below zero temps is NOT fun. But the bus system is decent, so there's always that option.

While the campus is very large, you will not get lost after the first week. There are a ton of people here which just means there is a ton of friends to make and things to do. The pride to be a Spartan is thrilling (goes along with the pain of underachieving on a somewhat regular basis). I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

MSU is a very large campus. East Lansing is a great college town, all kinds of great stores and restaurants are on Grand River on the north side of campus. The campus is very pretty with the older historic buildings on the north side, and the newer buildings south of the Red Cedar River. I have never had a problem with administration, and the enrollment for classes is easy and all done online. There is tons of Spartan Spirit, especially during football and basketball season, make sure to buy season tickets because the games are fun... but get to the games early because there is always a huge line to enter the stadium.

I love the size of MSU because there are so many opportunities. There are also smaller communities, but you choose yours instead of being stuck in one. You can be whoever you want and find people you like to hang out with. It is extremely diverse, including all religions, races, nationalities, etc. Almost everyone is extremely friendly on campus. There is more than enough to do, but it isn't so distracting that you can't get your work done. There is a lot of school pride. Anyone can be part of a sport if they want, not just varsity scholarship students. I traveled on the fencing team through my whole career at MSU, and I only learned as a freshman. The only complaint I really have is the rioting that has happened a few times since I've been here after some games, but I just try to avoid being in town on game days. That's easily done.

MSU offers a lot of variety. Places to go, things to do, and classes to take. There are a lot of opportunities, however, because it's such a large place it's easy to get lost in the numbers. You need to be proactive about your college career and take control. A lot of people have gotten in trouble just listening to advisors, you need to double check what they tell you. The classes are large, if you don't go, know one cares. You need to introduce yourself to the professor and make it obvious that you are there to learn and are trying to succeed. My main complaint currently about MSU is the emphasis and money they place on football. Tutiton keeps going up and up, but we invest more and more into the stadium. Perhaps, if i could play football and go to college for free this wouldn't bother me..... Another issue is the city of East Lansing....they want your money, but they don't want you. They are constantly trying to cut down on the student housing and move everyone into large student housing groups in the Bath area (north of campus). The police care only about DUIs, disorderly's and underage drinking. It's sad that the city and student body are so against one another. It's almost the opposite of U of M, where Ann Arbor enjoys the students and they have a great city and relationship to show for it.

The big picture is that it is an amazing place to go to school. If you love lots of new people and want to meet a diverse group of people this is the place for you. You can make your experience at MSU whatever you want it to be. If you are the type of person who wants to just get by and party through school, join a frat, thats excatly what you'll do. If you have goals and want to go somewhere in life, you can pick a real major and work hard, but have tons of things to do all the time in your free moments of life! There is always something to do in those free moments, and there are always people around who are willing to go have fun with you no matter what time of day/night!

Very well known school across the World.

If you can't handle being an unnoticed face in the crowd, MSU is not the place for you. With 40,000 undergrads, this is not a small place. Your professors will not know you unless you make the attempt to get to know them. Personally, I like the size because there are enough people that you can go out and not run into someone you know, but you don't feel completely alone in the world (though if you don't make any friends, it might get very lonely). East Lansing is a nice place. Across Grand River from campus is a strip of stores which cater to the college lifestyle. Walking through town at night is not scary, but I've heard stories about people being attacked in dark corners of campus late at night (usually when they're drunk), so carry pepper-spray is not irrational.

I like that there's always something to do around campus, and it's usually free. There's always help all around campus with classes. My one complaint would have to be housing. Once you sign up for on campus housing, the only way you can get out is if you're married, pregnant, or have serious financial or health issues. I would definitely suggest moving off campus when you can. For one, the dorm food is just as bad as fast food; no matter how much you work out, you will still gain weight with the food (fries, pasta, and fried chicken everyday). Second, it will definitely save money. The meal plan alone is around $1300 a semester, and the average student in apartments spend around $600-700 a semester.

I LOVE the "big campus" atmosphere. State is agreat place to meet new people and start fresh. The campus is beautiful by the way. I also love "web enroll," which gives you the opportunity to choose your schedule from the comfort of your home or dorm room. When I tell people to go to MSU, they tend to get excited because of our reputation for partying. East Lansing is definitely a college town. Unlike U of M, MSU MAKES East Lansing. At U of M, Ann Arbor MAKES the campus. I would probably change the dorms to be a bit bigger, but it's your freshman year and you don't need that much space to make it work. The dorm food should be better. The food at the International Center is GREAT! Classes have been pretty good. It ALL depends on the professor you have though; yes, a topic can be boring, but if you have a good fun professor, you'll do well. The biggest recent controversy was probably Cedar Fest, and the fact that students were tear-gassed. It's like that every time there's a Cedar Fest though. There is a LOT of school pride for State; I love being a Spartan. I'll always remember Greek Week because my team won in 2008!! Rushing a fraternity was a great experience. It's not for everyone, but it's very fun I think; it definitely helped my social life a ton.

MSU takes up 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of East Lansing, MI. East Lansing is MSU and its a great city. Our school is very large and I wouldn't have it any other way. You're constantly learning about the school and its history even if you don't try to. There are so many students that you can potentially have future ties with, its great for networking after you graduate. If you go to MSU, you are proud of it! The one time of year that is the most fun is Football season. I will always come back for tailgating and rooting for the Spartans, the students and alumni do a great job at coming together and creating a great tailgate scene.

East Lansing is definitely a college town. It's almost like a ghost town if you stick around for the summer, but that just means great specials at local retailers and no traffic! With 40,000 students, it's on the large end of schools, but I never felt it to be overwhelming. Campus isn't too huge to walk around and there's not too much car traffic on campus at all, so that makes it seem smaller. The thing I liked most about MSU was that you could get involved in as little or as much as you want. Living on campus provides even more opportunities, and while I feel like I grew out of dorm life after two years, it was an amazing experience where I met some of my best friends and my fiance.