<p>Im freaking out right now i have a little over a month left to make a decision between michigan state and grand valley state for college freshman year next year. They are both colleges in Michigan if you are not familiar with them.
I want to go into pre-med... i have heard good things about both but MSU is considered a bit better of a school academically and a lot better socially. BUT grand valley would be about 5 thousand cheaper for me a year, and i'm not into the whole huge party scene thing that MSU seems to be obsessed with. They are both big schools-GVSU has 25,000 and MSU has 50,000. And i love big schools. when i visited grand valley the classrooms seemed like high school and thats not what i want... And also I feel like a bachelors degree would be a lot more valuable at MSU because its a better school first of all and second nobody knows what or where grand valley is outside of michigan...</p>
<p>Can anybody tell me which one of these i would be better off at? and give your experiences if you went there? I really do not know which one to pick at this point. Thanks!</p>
<p>In general, MSU has a stronger reputation than GVSU, however, you can get a good education at any university if you put the effort in and take advantage of the most challenging curriculum and opportunities. We have a new student from GVSU in our Ph.D. physics program this year and he is doing as well as anybody else in the program.</p>
<p>If the financial burden of going to MSU puts strain on your family then GVSU is the better choice because you will do better without the stress of knowing you are digging a financial hole.</p>
<p>The financial think wouldn’t put stress on me my family is fine financially, it’s just that I don’t know if saving 5k a year is worth going to a less reputable school</p>
<p>"I don’t know if saving 5k a year is worth going to a less reputable school "</p>
<p>If you want reputation why don’t you go to UMich. Comparing reputation between Michigan State and Grand Valley lol ? that’s like comparing reputation between Montana State and Arizona State… both have the same reputation i.e no reputation</p>
<p>Both Michigan State and Grand Valley are known as the Universities for UMich rejects…So, save your 5k and goto Grand Valley</p>
<p>XtremePower you crack me up, but you are right for the most part. As for the OP I would recommend GVSU due to the cost difference and the fact that the academics are comparable between GVSU and MSU. Plus, GVSU is known for the premed and medical undergrad programs. People know of both schools outside of Michigan, in fact GVSU has a growing and decent sized amount of out of state students. However, if you are concerned about name or its a better fit I would recommend Michigan State. </p>
<p>I live out of state now and the only school that is mentioned or known out of state is the University of Michigan. If you say Michigan State they might say something about basketball, but that’s about it.</p>
<p>Actually, no. Grand Valley State basically has no reputation whatsoever here in michigan its just sort of there, but MSU is regarded as a “decent” school. And yes i am going to umich if i get in anyway.</p>
<p>@gvnee89 isn’t the premed better at msu though? at least thats what ive heard. But both schools have good premed programs right? Im just trying to make the right decision. I feel like i would have a slightly easier time with premed at grand valley, am i right?</p>
<p>GVSU has a good reputation in Michigan dettigers, if you really want to go to MSU then go there. GVSU has very similar admissions and academics as MSU, though MSU has a little bit higher ACT scores (GVSU does not emphasize ACT as much in there applications). I think premed is pretty similar between both schools, it really depends on your ability and the professors that you have (at MSU you’ll have a lot of grad students/foreign professors teaching classes). Like I said before GVSU is known for their medical programs as well as business and education. GVSU is also a growing school in prestige and selectivity whereas MSU is a little bit more steady. I would pick based on fit and if cost is a real big concern then GVSU. If you fit more at MSU then I would go there.</p>
<p>@Gvnee89 thanks for the advice! At this point I probably prefer grand valley over msu.</p>
<p>I would definitely go with Michigan State, because it is a well known school.</p>
<p>No one has even heard of the other school outside of Michigan.</p>
<p>To a certain extent, the college you go to is a “brand name” label, that you wear the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Michigan State is well known outside of Michigan…for basketball. Anyway, you should go where you fit dettigers. On another note GVSU was just on the Today Show the other day…It is known more in the Midwest than nationally, but I live out of state and some people know of it. GVSU has a growing name and reputation and a growing population of out of state students.</p>
<p>Keep in mind a lot of top schools aren’t very well known outside of their regions. A lot of top colleges out east like Williams College and Amherst College are really well known out east and in “elite” circles but the layperson and other people in the Midwest or South or other areas don’t really know of the elite LACs and their reputations. Plus, if you’re really concerned about “name” you can always go to a “big name” graduate school.</p>
<p>These statements about Michigan State being a “nothing” school are absurd. Has anyone heard of the [Association</a> of American Universities](<a href=“http://www.aau.edu/]Association”>http://www.aau.edu/) </p>
<p>[Association</a> of American Universities - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Universities]Association”>Association of American Universities - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>These are the 62 pre-eminient Ph.D. granting institutions in the United States and Michigan State is in the club. Just look at the list and try to justify the statements above about MSU! Yes, University of Michigan may be higher ranked overall but that is just an indication of how flawed and misused these rankings are.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would attend Grand Valley and save the money. Both GVSU and MSU have good programs in their various specialties, and you’ll get a great education at either if you are willing to do the work. The same is true at any school. </p>
<p>If you want to do premed, your location in Allendale will help you. As you might know, Grand Rapids has a blossoming health sciences industry, and you can pursue volunteer positions or internships at three sizable hospitals and even the Van Andel Research Institute. You can even pursue your MD at MSU in the same town–go to GVSU, get your pre-reqs done, and then apply to the MSU College of Human Medicine downtown. </p>
<p>On the other side of the coin, GVSU has a pretty big party scene, too, or so say my friends there, so be aware. I don’t think it can compare to MSU’s in size and scope, but if you’re looking to avoid drunken peers, you won’t be able to do it at Grand Valley. As someone who doesn’t party, I can commiserate. </p>
<p>As for the MSU discussion–really, people? As a UMich student, I happen to think MSU is a great school with some remarkable strengths. And I don’t just mean the sports.</p>
<p>@xraymancs & @finnlet exactly. Anybody who says msu is a joke of a school is being completely unreasonable. It’s a fine university. Don’t know what that guy was trying to say earlier in this post. I may be skipping these two all together and going to a private school in mi for about the same cost. If its one thing I cannot stand in the college setting is students who only care about sex and drinking, not their studies. That, is why I’m skeptical about msu.</p>
<p>If you are interested in engineering or science you might want to look into the [Association</a> of Independent Technological Universities: AITU](<a href=“http://theaitu.org%5DAssociation”>http://theaitu.org) schools where the students are mostly serious about their studies.</p>
<p>MSU is a great school and an asset to Michigan. Like I said though it is a party school and is known out of state more for basketball than academics. There is partying at GVSU like any other college but not to the level of MSU. As for private colleges the good ones in Michigan are Kalamazoo College, Hope College and Hillsdale College. However if you’re going private I would recommend out of state for a private college. Also, if you want to to go to med school you’ll want to save money on undergrad and go to a public college.</p>
<p>@gvnee89 what about aquinas college in Grand Rapids? Is that a good school?</p>
<p>And Calvin college?</p>
<p>Both of those schools are decent but I don’t think they are worth the extra money to go there. Calvin is better than Aquinas but I think GVSU is a better choice than Calvin or Aquinas. You said something about not wanting too small of classes but Calvin and Aquinas are tiny.</p>