<p>I am expecting some biased answers here given the territory, but oh well, I'm sure some of you can give me some insight. I come from a Spartan family. When it came time to apply to colleges, I knew I wanted a Big Ten school to provide me with a great "college experience," which led me to considering U of M as well. I was accepted at U-M EA and to James Madison at MSU in the Honors College.</p>
<p>I am truly conflicted on deciding where to go. Most (just about all) of my high school friends will be going to MSU and a few of them are in James Madison, which could be a plus or a minus. As far as UM goes, I will be pretty much on my own there, as my twin brother is going to MSU for sure and my family works for MSU, meaning I'll be missing out on family trips and stuff since UM's schedule is different. </p>
<p>. I really like Ann Arbor itself, but am compared about some of the things I've heard about arrogant students and so forth, which I didn't really notice when I visited but which would annoy me greatly (along with having to associate with Walmart Wolverines). I have heard some horror stories about the difficulty at UM as well and don't know if I can handle it. The experience there in the poli-sci department is also not a residential college, obviously.</p>
<p>My apologies for the length of this. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me about their experiences at U of M, especially if they were involved in Poli-Sci. Do you think the challenge of really starting over is worth it compared to the comfort of being at MSU? </p>
<p>I have about one week to make my decision. Sorry for sounding so ignorant.</p>
<p>If you’re in state and have the opportunity to come to Michigan, you should not pass that up to go to State. It’s not a smart decision for your future. The classes here are difficult but there is an atmosphere of hard work and you will learn a lot. These two schools are not in the same league and considering you’re in state for both it would make no sense for you not to come to UM, even with honors at State. It’s not hard at all to make friends here so don’t worry about coming in alone, I came in knowing nobody and had the best year of my life. Just deposit now and don’t look back, you absolutely will not regret it. Think of it this way, you’re way more likely to go to State and look back and say “what if I went to Michigan” than you are to go to Michigan and say “what if I went to State.”</p>
<p>Also don’t worry about rumors you’ve heard about this school from State people. Obviously when you’re a student here you don’t hang around “Walmart Wolverines” considering everyone you’ll be with actually goes to Michigan. Everyone is generally pretty friendly and down to earth.</p>
<p>Go to MSU where you will be with family and friends and be comfortable and happy. You will have a great “college experience” in a residential setting. It will be easy and you will be able to handle it. No one there is arrogant and you won’t have to associate with anyone who shops at Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>How do you feel about being separated from your twin? Are you ready to “break out” and travel a different path? Is that part of the attraction?
MSU honors is a fine choice if it suits you, but I do feel umich can offer you unparalleled opportunities and a broader network of connections due to the high OOS population, alumni network, and national/international reputation. There are many, many students who would love to have the opportunity before you of a world-class education/experience at in-state costs. </p>
<p>With repect to the “walmart wolverines” – sometimes it’s not so bad when a go blue fan fawns over the fact you attend umich it can make clerks and wait staff much more friendly! Which of course, is no reason to either attend or not attend! However, in terms of EMPLOYERS response, well, that’s in your favor for sure ;)</p>
<p>Best wishes with your decision. Put less emphasis on you family’s preferences and scheduling and more on the opportunities you wish to have for yourself and you’ll make the right decision!</p>
<p>No easy answer as you see from the variety of responses here. MSU is a fine school and it saddens me when UM people disparage it. The big question is where will you be the most successful, happy, productive, focused. There was a football player from Texas (the guy on youtube who leaps over people) who came to UM and was so homesick that he left. If you are extremely attached to your friends, maybe you should be with them. However, maybe you need to separate a bit (it’s not far away) and gain some independence. I happen to like honors programs and the type of students who attend them so that’s check in MSU’s box. Which campus do you prefer? It’s important to like your surroundings. MSU has the capital, which might be good for government work. UM has Ann Arbor and I don’t know if there’s a city on earth I prefer to Ann Arbor. It does have the county seat. You are interested in poly. sci. and that’s another check for MSU due to the James Madison program. What is your career goal? Do you want to work in government? UM has some other interesting programs such as the undergrad. research opportunities program. Would the residential college interest you. It would interest me since I like multi-disciplinary study and practical application of study. I went to UM and can say that I did meet reasonably humble people along with arrogant ones. I certainly met enough of the former to keep me company. Whatever you choose, go forward with energy and make the most of it. You have two excellent choices. Just watch your wallet, save your pennies, and be focused on walking out of there with some chance of making a living. Minimize party time and don’t get caught up in academic fantasy-land.</p>
<p>I thought most people would choose some place where they don’t really know anyone because if you have so many HS friends attending the same school, it’ll be like HS again. You’re always hanging out with the same group of people, that’s no fun.</p>
<p>Michigan has so much to offer but it’s up to you to make your choice.</p>
<p>How competitive are you? Do you like a challenge? State is fine and will probably be a bit less competitive. Michigan will be less comfortable and more difficult and challenging but in my opinion more fulfilling. Michigan does breed some arrogance but there are plenty of regular people here as well. Michigan isn’t for everybody it comes down to your desire to be among the best. </p>
<p>I think one of the best things about Michigan isn’t that the Professors are better but that the competition forces you to be better, you will be challenged is ways at Michigan that you will not be at State. You will meet people from all over the country and the world. State is the safe choice and you need to determine if that is what you want.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m a MSU senior in james madison/honors college so if you want to ask any questions about MSU/my experience feel free to PM me. Here are a couple of things to consider (obviously with an MSU slant, but I really respect U of M as a school as well):</p>
<p>1) When comparing MSU james madison to U of M poly sci, you have to consider what academic interests you have. James madison - as you may know has 4 different majors, none of which are the exact equivalent in study to poly-sci. International relations - focuses on international security & international political economy aspects. Political theory/constitutional democracy - focuses on law, theory, philosophy. Comparative cultures & politics - anthropological view of international studies, more regionally focused. Social relations & policy - domestic issues (income inequalities, race, gender etc). If you want to go into a more specialized field such as one of the above MSU might be a better place for that. </p>
<p>2) Poly-sci is not exactly a program known for its academic rigor in comparison to other majors, even at U of M. James madison has the reputation of being one of the hardest majors to get 4.0’s. (check out this article [No</a> Grade Inflation at James Madison College | The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy](<a href=“No Grade Inflation at James Madison College — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal”>No Grade Inflation at James Madison College — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal)). So don’t assume that U of M poly-sci is truly that much harder than MSU/james madison. I’d argue that the programs would be comparable. You also cannot argue that poly-sci faculty at U of M is quantifiably “better” than james madison faculty. I honestly have not had one single bad professor within James madison. I love all of my professors, and I rarely hear complaints about bad teaching within the program from my classmates, if ever. </p>
<p>3) While overall academics/professors at U of M are noticeably better, being in the honors college at MSU allows you to skip over the not-as-great parts of MSU academics. i.e. you get to make your own general ed requirements (substituting higher level courses with better professors/smaller class sizes for the boring integrative studies requirements/gigantic lecture halls), skip over a lot of prerequisites for courses, take honors options (which allows you to have even more close contact with your professors-more opportunities to establish relationships), and even take graduate level classes among others. </p>
<p>4) You can still “really start over” at MSU even with a lot of your high school classmates going…after all, we do have a campus of 47K students. My best friends are all michiganders who had quite a few high school classmates attend MSU as well, and they have still carved their niche with new friends and experiences (and none hang out with exclusively their high school buddies). Sure, you might run into old classmates from time to time, but it is way easier to do your own thing in college. You just have to make a choice - choose to room with someone blind instead of someone that you know, make friends in your dorm instead of hanging out with just your old friends, and join student orgs that intrigue you etc. </p>
<p>Good luck on whatever your decision may be!</p>
There’s your issue. My best friends at Michigan are from Ann Arbor, California, England, Turkey, Grand Rapids, Maryland, and DC. At Michigan you’re not only exposed to world renowned professors, challenging classes, and an unbeatable college town and atmosphere, but you also get students from all over the country and the world. Personally I don’t think I would enjoy college as much if everyone I knew was from Michigan. They say UM is about 2/3 in state but it sure doesn’t feel like it.</p>
<p>^for the record just because many of my best friends are michiganders, doesn’t mean I don’t have plenty of friends that are from other states and countries. Case in point - I’m from Alaska (born and raised all my life). Yes, most MSU students are in-state, but we are in the top 10 country-wide for international student enrollment. I have friends and peers from Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, Eithiopia, Canada, England, etc. I certainly don’t feel limited because of the fact that a lot of my peers are from Michigan. Let’s get real, there are 47,000 students at MSU - cultural diversity is quite expansive at any school this size.</p>
it can make clerks and wait staff much more friendly! Which of course, is no reason to either attend or not attend! However, in terms of EMPLOYERS response, well, that’s in your favor for sure ;)</p>