Michigan State University

First of all, most of my comments are really for kids that are considering MSU's Honors College. I think that my experience would be much different if I wasn't in the Honors program. Being a part of the HC allows you to take any classes (with no prerequisites) and schedule before basically everyone else. If your test scores are just below HC level (30 ACT), it is well worth it to retake them. Several scholarships/programs are available only to those with a 33+ ACT. It's a big university here; you are free to do pretty much anything. You can challenge yourself with a difficult major and classes, or cruise through easy classes and an obscure major. I enjoy the Big Ten atmosphere immensely; the football and basketball student sections are tons of fun. There are plenty of IM sport opportunities and numerous clubs to join. I don't personally know much about the Greek system, but there are always frat/sorority events going on, if you're interested. There isn't overwhelming pressure to be a Greek, that's for sure. The residential colleges can be a good experience as well, with Lyman Briggs for the science majors and James Madison for the pre-law and political science people. As far as academics, I've had a solid experience here. My easiest classes still required me to put in time studying or doing problems. I've come away from all of my classes feeling like I learned something useful. Learn to love reading... it'll make college life much easier. My first two years here have been great; I'm involved in several engineering clubs, the campus band, and undergraduate research. The resources are here for those who want to use them. I have met all kinds of people here, too. There are idiots and geniuses at MSU; choose your friends carefully. The campus is large and beautiful. One can easily walk across campus in 15 minutes, but I prefer to bike everywhere. MSU is an excellent undergraduate institution. Expect to get crap from your friends at U-M... they'll appear in the fall for football smack talk, disappear during basketball season, and blame their low grades on the difficulty of their program. Don't take them too seriously. Overall, I have had a great time at Michigan State. I've met some great people, done interesting research, had fun cheering on the sports teams, and obtained two fantastic internships for the summer months. Do your homework when researching your college choices, and don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions about the Honors College or engineering at MSU.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2007

Education Quality: A+, Individual Value: B+

Make sure to choose a career for a major, not a hobby. Its all well and good to be a religious studies or philosophy major, but can you get a job? College is not always about doing what you love, but finding something you could love to do. You will always have time for hobbies when you arent working. This school did not prepare me to be able to pay yhe bills.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

I've found that unless you are going into a specialized field (medical, law, engineering, etc.), obtaining a college education gives you 3 benefits. First, it opens up opportunities for interviews with companies and for job positions. The second and third benefits I have found to be tied for the most important and should be viewed as such with how you approach planning your college career. The second benefit referred to is improving your ability to learn. It's been my experience that most individuals will not stay in their field forever (once again, this does not apply to specialized fields), therefore, it then becomes critical for an individual to use their ability to learn new roles and responsibilities. With the current job market (employers market) being what it is, this might prove to be critical for not just finding new opportunities within the job market, but for finding career advancement opportunities within an organization which might be limited with what your degree was in. The third benefit that should not be taken lightly, but also should not be abused is an individuals social education. Social skills will help you create relationships in your career. This can become critical when new advancement opportunities present themselves. Remember, after a few years, companies don't look at a person's grade point average. Instead, they look at job experience, do they have a degree, and will they be a good fit for a company. Finally, as cliche as it sounds, a lot of opportunities are created by "who you know", not what you know. So don't overlook that social education and look to build relationships whenever you can.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000