My son is an international applicant and has been accepted to both business preference major at Michigan state university and the Leeds school of business at university of Colorado boulder. We can afford to pay for both, and my son likes winter, so weather won’t be an issue. Any input will be appreciated, in helping us decide which university he should go, thank you very much.
the skiing in CO is world-class. the skiing in MI is not. The schools are similar in reputation inside and outside their states. MSU is kind of spread out, with bus or bike rides necessary to get to some places; this affects course scheduling and the four-year graduation rate. CU is less spread out, but there are some dorms now that are off-campus. Boulder is smaller and artsier than East Lansing. It’s a very liberal, laid-back lifestyle that nonetheless produces some of the best STEM phd’s in the country. It is also quite upscale white. Despite this homogeneity, I’d pick Boulder in a heart-beat, but I’m an alumnus.
I’d pick Boulder, too. Similar academics in a much more exciting location.
I’m from Michigan, have been to both schools, and would pick Colorado.
Colorado Boulder, definitely.
Unless he’s interested in supply chain management or something else where MSU is really strong, might as well go with the more pleasant/fun school.
MSU has a very attractive campus, but Colorado has the flatirons and the ski resorts nearby. If it were me, CU all the way.
Thank you all for your inputs, really appreciate it
Another vote for CU. I grew up near MSU and have a nephew there now, and my brother went to CU. CU has a lovely campus and lots of great outdoor activities.
@intparent , thank you
If I could just ask some more questions, when we decide which university to go to, should we take into consideration about the university’s school of business ranking? Because there is a pretty gap in term of ranking, between both school, please share your opinion , thank you very much
Neither is top 10, unless your kid is specifically interested in supply chain management (as mentioned above). I just don’t see that it is going to make much difference in this case.
Unless he plans to go in to supply chain management (which MSU is known for), I don’t see why rankings should factor in. Neither are elite (outside of MSU supply chain management). Outside of that field, most people probably wouldn’t even know whether Broad or Leeds ranked higher. You may want to research job placement information, however.
Broad may place better (though it’s tougher if you’re an international).
MSU has a big, beautiful campus. You can walk to classes as most kids do. This has absolutely no bearing on graduation rate and little to do with class scheduling. Everyone I went to school with graduated in 4 years. Sports are amazing. (From first response above: “MSU is kind of spread out, with bus or bike rides necessary to get to some places; this affects course scheduling and the four-year graduation rate. CU is less spread out”)
That said, you can’t go wrong with either school. I know little about Colorado at Boulder so I will not pretend I do!
Do you need to consider location and ease of airports and airlines?
MSU has many international students (and an International Student Union in addition to the regular one, or did when I was there). Again, I have no idea of international student population at Boulder.
Good luck to your son. I think he will do well at either and have a great college experience as well.
Thank you very much for all your inputs,@intparent, @PurpleTitan and @crazed ,
The MSU campus is sprawling. It can take an hour to walk between classes. My nephew complains because the buses are crowded. He bikes, even in the winter, because he has to. Not saying the CU campus isn’t also somewhat sprawling. Just that it makes it sound like things are close together and the weather is great for walking at MSU. Neither is true.
Also, “beautiful” isn’t really true for MSU, at least not compared to the setting of CU. There are certainly less attractive campuses than MSU, but it is no great shakes in terms of beauty. CU really is.
CU: 600 acres
MSU: 5200 acres (21 sq. miles)
That the size of the MSU campus affects the ability to take back-to-back classes admittedly is hearsay, but so is @crazed’s observation. Having said that, MSU does have a higher 4 year graduation rate than Boulder, although neither is particularly high.
Highly likely that it is at least partially because Boulder has more distractions – students do a lot of skiing, and a party CAN be found any time by a student who is looking for one (not saying that a serious student can’t do well, though – my brother had a business degree from CU and graduated in 4 years).
In addition to my nephew at CSU"s observations, we used to go to summer band camp at MSU every summer. Sometimes we would walk to various places on campus when we had a few free hours. I remember hustling to make it back on foot in an hour from some locations to the dorms where we stayed and practiced.
Thanks again @intparent and @jkeil911
There’s no question – I’d choose University of Colorado Boulder any day, and I’ve been to both locations. Also consider that about 40 percent of Boulder students are from out of state, so you have people from all over the USA converging there to go to college (that should tell you something about what a nice place it is!). MSU, on the other hand, will be mostly students from Michigan. In Boulder there will be the opportunity to go throughout the Rocky Mountains and see so much wildlife and beauty, and also visit Denver coming and going through the airport there. The economy is vibrant around Boulder compared to what is going on in Michigan. I wish someone would pay for me to live in Boulder four years! 