A few questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Michigan State University
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<p>I am seriously considering going to MSU next fall, I live in EL so I am very familiar with the area, but I do have a few questions about the dorms and credits.</p>

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<li><p>How may credits is it possible to take each semester? Like is there a limit? What would be really too much for anyone? I am looking to double major in Astrophysics (or physics) and Mechanical Engineering. Possibly a minor in a humanities field...even with summer classes, I would need an excess of at least 16-18 credits each semester to do this in 4 yrs. I can usually handle a on of work, so I am not super worried about workload. I will have like 40 some credits from AP tests already, but they don't take care of a whole lot passed university requirements. </p></li>
<li><p>I would be in the Honors College, and I think I'd like to be on an honors floor, but I kind of want a single... so is it possible to get a single (like I saw on msu's tuition calculator that you can get a regular room meant for 2 and pay basically for both beds) on an honors floor?</p></li>
<li><p>Also, how are the bathrooms?</p></li>
<li><p>Room furniture? I stayed in Shaw for a week last summer for a summer program and there were 2 beds, 2 desks, 1 dresser and 1 closet. The beds seemed to come with parts so that you could make it into a sort of loft if you want and there were lots of storage things under the bed too... is this the "modular furniture" that I keep hearing about? Also do all dorms have it? </p></li>
<li><p>For storage/organizational purposes what (if any) other furniture type things would you bring?</p></li>
<li><p>Anything else I should know :P </p></li>
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<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>also about the scholarship test in February, I haven’t been able to find like any info on it, can someone please tell me a little about it. Basically all I have found is that it is multiple choice and is hard…can someone define “hard”?</p>

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<p>My daughter goes to MSU and is in the Honors College (junior). Once admitted to MSU the only requirement for the HC is a 30 or higher on the ACT. She took that test and it was really difficult (ie. no $). No way to study for that test. Good luck!</p>

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<p>1) You can definitely take 16-18 credits a semester. I think in order to take 19+ credits in one semester you have to get special permission. Don’t recommend it though, unless you are taking all blow-off classes. In your major(s), I don’t recommend taking more than 16-17 credits a semester. </p>

<p>2) As a freshman, it is very VERY uncommon to get a single. I think the only freshmen who get a single that I know of are those who’s roommates moved out or dropped out before enrolling at MSU, or those who have special disability requests. You can ask about getting a single on an honors floor, but generally thats something for sophomores and upperclassmen, not really freshmen. You obviously would have to pay extra for having a single. Plus I think living with a roommate is kind-of a nice experience to have at least for 1 year, just so you can know what it is like. You never know, you might end up great friends with your roommate</p>

<p>3) The bathrooms are decent/okay. It depends on if you have community bathrooms or suite bathrooms (4 people/2 rooms to share 1 bathroom). I’ve had both - I much prefer suite bathrooms, but with community bathrooms you don’t have to clean it (they have facilities who clean it daily…sometimes a mess does accumulate throughout the day though, especially on the weekends the bathrooms can get a little gross). The suite bathrooms don’t have as nice showers/faucets as the community bathrooms, and I know my toilet water would always turn strange colors once in a while (with the yellow ring around the toilets). But it was nothing that I couldn’t get used to.</p>

<p>4) Room furniture is pretty standard. A desk/chair, a dresser, shelves. Either a walk-in closet with a door or an open closet. The beds in most dorms are the modular style where you can loft them or adjust them how you want- not all of them though. </p>

<p>5) For storage stuff a couple plastic bins would be nice. Nothing fancy needed</p>

<p>6) Only if you ask particular questions then I can answer them (I’m a senior in the honors college so I can answer most questions)</p>

<p>7) There have been a lot of posts on CC about ADS weekend (just search it in MSU prior history). I took the test in Spring 2008, it was like 130 questions of lots of random stuff, for example, put together a AP test bank of every AP test question ever (except the foreign language ones) and that is what the test is like. There were questions on english, calculus/math, biology (a sample MCAT question I believe was on it), chemistry, economics, psychology, art history, government etc. There were also 2 short essay questions, one about a book we’ve read most recently then a more general personal statement type question. I definitely did not get any $ from it, I thought the test was hard as heck but I think they said 10% of the students who went ended up with some sort of award money.</p>

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<p>@umichgrad: yeah I got a 34 so I think I am getting in :P</p>

<p>@fa-la-la-lena: Ok this will maybe sound like a strange question, but is attendance part of your grade for most classes? I just get the feeling that if I do end up taking a ton of credits, maybe some of the classes will overlap timewise…</p>

<p>Also, I’ve read some posts here and on other sites about the dorms, but I couldn’t really tell if they were recent enough in regards to all the updates on the buildings (I know Syn-Phi got a new caf as did Brody) but I was wondering if you could maybe give me a quick pros/cons list of the dorms with honors floors?</p>

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<p>You can take up to 20 credits without special permission. How do I know this? I took 20 credits last semester (it’s hard), and they wouldn’t let me sign up for more (not that I would want to). But special permission is not hard to get! I would not take upwards of 20 credits unless you’re really prepared and have “tested the waters” by taking difficult upper-level classes.</p>

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<p>Like fa-la-la-lena said, it’s nice to have a roommate. That said, you probably won’t get a single anyway.</p>

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<p>Not to brag (okay, I totally am bragging right now), but I found it to be not too bad. I ended up getting the ADS scholarship, but looking at some of the other ADS scholars, especially those in higher years, that was probably luck. Some of the upperclassmen ADS scholars are easily some of the most brilliant people I have met. The test is on basically every subject (cell biology, art history, psychology, etc.), and it’s ridiculously hard to study for because of that breadth. But you’re welcome to try.</p>

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<p>Don’t even think about trying to enroll for classes that overlap in time, unless you’ve talked to the professors first. Just don’t. Yes, some classes do take attendance into account. But that’s not the issue. You’d just be opening yourself up to trouble. You’ll probably have to make some compromises in your class choices if there’s an overlap.</p>

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<p>Short version: Holmes is awesome! :D</p>

<p>Long version: Preferences vary. Sny-Phi and especially Brody have the best cafeterias, but Brody is way out in the middle of nowhere and you actually have to walk outside to get to the cafeteria. Holmes is also pretty far out but conveniently near the science buildings (except engineering, which is closer to Case). Case is full of Madison kids (very work hard, party hard) and is fairly conservative, while Sny-Phi is fairly liberal. Whichever one it is up in West Circle, I don’t know. I don’t know much about Mason-Abbot, but it seems a little cult-like to me…</p>

<p>Anyway, ask everyone has their own preferences, so people will probably contradict me and that’s fine. You have to make your own choice, but it’s not the end of the world if you choose “wrong.”</p>

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<p>about the ADS: I’ve been involved in quiz bowl throughout high school and I feel like I know a ton of random crap. I do intend to do some basic research in the areas I found listed in these forums, I have a pretty strong math and science background (for a high school student at least) and I am pretty ok at history. Would you say that your high school classes prepared you for the test or did you do a lot of outside research?</p>

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<p>ALSO, is it possible/ how easy is it to get scholarships for 1. Study abroad and 2. Summer classes?</p>

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<p>annnnd also, I don’t have my heart set on getting a single… I asked the question knowing that I’d probably want a roomate…I just wanted to see if it was an option I could have.</p>

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<p>Wrong. You also have to be in the top 10% of your class. (I had a 33 on my ACT, no HC invitation).</p>

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<p>yeah I know. I have a 4.01 right now so it’s all good</p>

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<p>also, the dean said that if you have a high ACT but for some reason or another like you were in a really competitive high school or something, but show that you are hardworking and could handle honors college work, you can contact them and ask them about it</p>

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<p>It’s actually top 5 percent of class now - they changed it recently to make HC membership more competitive. Just check out the Honors college website for details</p>

<p>For an engineering major Case honors is the best (in my opinion) because it is closest to the engineering building. Case cafe is pretty decent, it is being remodeled this year so it will be awesome like sny-phi and brody cafes. </p>

<p>Class attendance policy varies. For most writing/language/discussion intensive classes, attendance or participation can be from 5 percent to 30 percent of your grade. For some science/prerequisite courses, there is no mandatory attendance. For others, there is a set amount of classes that you can miss before you drop your grade or something like that. Don’t schedule class times that overlap…it is a terrible idea.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys!!! go green!</p>

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<p>Hmmm…I was also (and still am) a quiz bowler as well, and I did find that my quiz bowl knowledge helped a little bit, but it was more the kind of stuff you might learn in your classes. If, for example, you ranked high at NAQT Nationals, I would say you have an excellent shot at ADS. (I can’t speak for other conferences.) My classes prepared me pretty well, but I retained a lot from them, so I didn’t need to do any extra studying. If you didn’t retain much, you should go back through your notes for some of them. Many of the ADS scholars were in quiz bowl in high school and still are now, but I wouldn’t say that you need to have that kind of broad, “random” knowledge, nor will it automatically get you a scholarship.</p>

<p>In general, I don’t think it will pay off much to do a lot of studying. Just try refreshing your memory on things you learned before but might have forgotten.</p>