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Michigan State University

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I got exactly what I expected from MSU,Quite BrightBusiness - Management and Administration
I got exactly what I expected from MSU, and what I would have gotten from any other big state school. MSU's got some great programs with stellar faculty, but there is also the occasional mediocre professor (these are mostly the tenured ones who produce the best research, they just don't know how to teach undergrads). Expect to have huge classes for your first year or 2 (unless your in a residential college) before it tapers off in the classes that really matter. When people say that your undergrad education is what you make of it, take that to heart - the sky is the limit here and there are tons of opportunities, but it's not a place that will hold your hand so be proactive and take advantage of what you have access to. As for the social life here, it's pretty much the typical "college life". Your average MSU student is just like the stereotype of a college student, for better or for worse. I will add that most everyone I have met here has been welcoming and friendly, and the football/basketball games are great.
1st Year Male -- Class 2011
Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: B
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MSU is really a great place to goQuite BrightPolitical Science
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 economyThat being said, I cannot recommend this school enough.

4th Year Male -- Class 2009
Education Quality: A+, Individual Value: B
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I'm a student in James Madison College, partQuite BrightPolitical Science
I'm a student in James Madison College, part of MSU. It's a very intense residential college that challenges students to think critically. It's opened my eyes and has been a huge influence in my education. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has a passion for politics, social issues, international relations, policy, or government work. Students should look into the residential colleges at MSU; while they are difficult compared to the rest of the university, they are worth it.
2nd Year Female -- Class 2015
Education Quality: A+, Collaboration/Competitive: B
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