Michigan State University VS University of Oklahoma

I am currently considering both MSU and the University of Oklahoma (among a couple others but these are two of the front runners) and I’m feeling very conflicted. MSU is my state flagship and I would be paying somewhere around 17000 a year for tuition plus room and board and such. If I do attend MSU I will be a part of the James Madison Residential College. For the University of Oklahoma I am a National Merit Finalist so I would be paying at most 8000 a year and getting the NM benefits from the school. My plan right now is to major in political science and then go to law school and my family income is <50000 so money matters Does anyone have any insight into University of Oklahoma and advice about picking between the two? Would MSU possibly be worth the extra money each year?

I can’t see how MSU would be worth the extra dollars. You can get a great education at both schools.

  • Are you accepted into the Honors College at either? That may differentiate your experience.
  • Did you apply to any private colleges? At your household income level, your costs would be near $0 at many.
    Congratulations!

@magtf1 -I was accepted to the Honors College at MSU but I actually just applied to OU so I don’t have an acceptance from the school in general yet even. My plan however is apply for the Honors College and hopefully be accepted
-I did apply to a few private schools and am still waiting on one but unfortunately was offered very poor financial aid

I would also consider transportation costs to Oklahoma in your decision. Will you be taking loans to pay for college? If so, how much? The big advantage for an MSU poly sci major is easy access to the state capitol and possible internships / political jobs. On the other hand, Oklahoma has a huge NMF population and lots of perks. The 5 year NMF scholarship could take you the first year of law school (or more if you have significant AP credit). That is a pretty big deal considering the poor employment prospects for lawyers these days.

I would make a visit.

FYI: Michigan is the state flagship

NMF are pretty much guaranteed admission to the honors program at OU. You may have applied to too late for departmental scholarships for this year, but in future years you may also get departmental scholarships from OU which stack with the NM package.

Have you visited both? If not, I think OU will pay for your hotel stay at minimum. Visit both and see how you feel.

You might also get a Pell grant and work study from both schools.

Go to Oklahoma. MSU definitely not worth extra $. Will be good to see another part of country.

A few other points to consider:

  • Since you’re a PoliSci major, OK is firmly a red state instead of the swing-state politics you’re used to in MI
  • OKC metro area is a much larger city than Lansing + East Lansing
  • OU is not small, but MSU is large with nearly double the number of students.
  • OU winters will be much shorter and milder than MSU, but summers will be hotter

@TooOld4School @nw2this @moooop @magtf1 thank you all for your input I really appreciate it

OU doesn’t have anything like James Madison, how important is that experience to you?

U Kentucky is closer to MI and gives full rides to NMF, if distance is an issue. They have a wider variety of living learning programs, but still nothing poly sci related.

@nw2this I do know that OU has nothing like that it but it doesn’t really bother me. A living learning community is not a must for me. With MSU I just wanted a way to make such a big school feel smaller but OU is smaller to begin with plus the honors college and the NM program itself would help to make it feel smaller I think.

So thankful for good responses, wondering if there is any more insight or if anyone could elaborate on their experience with either especially OU because it’s less familiar to me

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-oklahoma/
https://www.niche.com/colleges/university-of-oklahoma/

We were at the NM weekend this past weekend. We had never been to OU before and were surprised by just how beautiful the campus is. The NM students are definitely given the royal treatment at OU. For our Dd, it is one of her more expensive options in addition to being a very long way from home. But, she could be totally happy there.

We met with the IS dept and there is a ton of flexibility within that program. I don’t know if you are at all interested in IS, but they have a 5 yrs IS and econ masters. We were told a lot of their IS students do go on to law or NGOs.

If you aren’t positive about MSU, visit OU. I think clearly understanding your options will allow you to make a decision you won’t second guess and later regret. If you decide you like MSU better, that is not a bad thing.

@Mom2aphysicsgeek thanks for your input I really appreciate it. I am definitely not sure about MSU which is why I’m looking into OU, I am planning to try and visit in a month or so to try and get a real feel for the school and Oklahoma in general