<p>I've redone my college list again, and Michigan State has quietly drifted its way up to a position of prominence. I have a few questions for everyone here:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As a prospective engineering student, I'd be interested in experiences from that faculty. Are students happy with the quality of education? Is the curriculum challenging?</p></li>
<li><p>MSU is known for its Honors College. How challenging are the Honors courses? Are the research opportunities discussed on the website accessible?</p></li>
<li><p>The state of Michigan certainly has economic issues. However, these problems are not really all that new; is MSU having the same sort of major cuts as universities in California and Arizona? Does MSU host recruiters from employers in other regions of the country?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>edit - Ooh i just noticed you’re from Alaska? Me too! If you have any questions regarding that feel free to ask. </p>
<p>1) Can’t really help you with engineering particulars, sorry!</p>
<p>2) The challenge of honors courses highly depends on the class and instructor in question. I took ISP 203B -Honors section (a natural hazards/environment course) and it was the easiest class I have taken at school. The honors section for the intro to accounting class is really no different from the regular course - you have an extra little project to do. My international economics class - honors section is definitely more challenging though, but my professor is great. I’ve also taken a honors option (where you attend an additional class section - do readings, extra project or essay) and I’ve thought it to be very thought-provoking if not challenging but that greatly depends on the teacher you choose to do your honors option with. To be honest, I don’t think honors sections are all that much harder than regular classes (with the exceptions of EC 251-2H and MTH 152-3H among a few others). What makes the difference for me is the smaller size of the classes (more one on one attention instead of a huge lecture class) and the higher quality of the professors.</p>
<p>The research opportunities as discussed on the honors college website are DEFINITELY available (and more that is unlisted), including the professorial assistantship if you meet the criteria listed. I know kids (especially within science/engineering/math) that are doing awesome things within that program. I have a professorial assistantship right now and I, as an international relations/economics major am helping a professor edit his books (send them out to publishers, help edit and create contents/bibliography). Then there are the UGS honors research seminars for freshmen and sophomores which seem really cool as well (although I don’t have any additional details on those). </p>
<p>3) MSU is having major cuts…come spring-time, announcements for quite a few programs being cut will be made. However, this doesn’t stop MSU from being a world-class institution. MSU definitely hosts recruiters/employers nationwide (worldwide, really) through countless job fairs, presentations, employer events etc. Even with the economic downturn, finding a job out of graduation is still very possible (especially with MSU’s deep alumni/job network).</p>
<p>
That’s a bizarre coincidence…</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.</p>