@Beaudreau
Thanks so much for taking the time to give us a good comparison! My NMSF d’s top three college choices are MSU, University of Pittsburgh, and UA in that order. We pretty much came to the same conclusion on various aspects and comparisons of UA and MSU.
Pros and cons for us-
Pros of UA:
Beautiful campus
People seemed very friendly when we visited
Nice weather
Great honors dorms
“Fellowship” Honors program- I don’t remember the exact name- offering more opportunity for engagement with UA & community
Seems like a really fun campus
Good scholarship for NMFs
Fantastic Study abroad opportunities since OOS NMF can get their tuition converted to pay for a large portion of study abroad; because their study abroad programs are reasonably priced and a few tour European countries during downtime (what d is interested in seeing); and because the NMF scholarships give a 5th year of tuition which can be used for summer study abroad.
Committee letters are a huge plus for pre-med since my d is very independent (never asks teachers for help) and not very political (establishing connections).
UA has a class for applying to med schools where they help prepare for MCAT and make sure the students know all the steps involved in applying.
I liked the surrounding community at Tuscaloosa better than Lansing; however d might like East Lansing better
UA academics seem good and seem to prepare pre-med students and help them get into med school
Although MSU is ranked higher by US News, I don’t think there is really much difference in quality of the education
Many OOS students makes it easier for OOS students to feel more at home at UA
Football- great school spirit
Cons:
Greek life is strong. D is OOS minority (half Asian) and might have difficulty getting into sorority. Also, she is a northerner and does have a more straight forward approach to people than what I have observed in the south. Another Asian poster on CC- a UA senior commented that she felt left out and felt she did not belong; she was not in a sorority.
So, even though my d may pass on sorority at another college, she thinks it is essential to be part of Greek life if she were to attend UA. Also of note is the higher sorority cost at UA- approx $6,600/ yr for dues vs. approx $3,000 for mid-west school. Greek life at UA seems like it offers a lot to the students but also requires more time commitment than MSU Grekk life might require. While d wants to belong to a sorority, perhaps the commitment level at MSU would better mesh with her career goals and with being part of a Varsity College Dance Team.
We are looking at dance opportunities and UA dance team has a somewhat different style of dance and does not seem to do that well at UDA National Competition. I have heard some unusual things about the coach… don’t know if they are true.
Location: 10 hr drive from where we live. Added expense of flying d home for Thanksgiving and driving long distance for winter break. Not being able to see her very often during the school year.
Diversity at UA is different; although there are many OOS students, not many Asians or International.
Sightings of ANY Confederate flags- especially if it is on campus; guaranteed to make any minority feel not welcome
Pros of MSU-
Beautiful campus- my d prefers MSU (but I like UA better- guess its not important what I like…)
Weather- d does not mind the cold weather
Lyman Briggs Residential college- which offers small introductory classes to math and science majors
Opportunity to become part of a community with the other Lyman Briggs students and will be able to interact more closely with professors. She will also be able to live on the honors floor of the Lyman Briggs residential hall. Being a member of Lymann Briggs is like having the advantages of going to a small college while also having all the opportunities of a larger research university.
D is accepted into the honors program. We really like Dr. German and she seemed to have a very good understanding of gifted students. MSU honors program is the oldest in the nation; I like their approach to honors programming. Honors students are given priority registration.
Honors students are given flexibility in choosing classes to fulfill basic educational requirements.
D has been offered a Professorial Research Assistantship- a paid research position starting her freshman year.
Diversity- a larger Asian community would likely make d feel more at home at MSU. Also- she likes learning about other cultures and will likely enjoy the larger international community at MSU.
Greek life is not as prevalent and even if d does not go Greek, she will still feel very much a part of the MSU community. Sorority dues less expensive (about half that of UA).
Dance Team would be a better fit style-wise. Also- talked to coach and like her approach.
Football- great school spirit
Basketball- great school spirit
Location- only 4 hours from home and a very easy drive (no mountains to drive through).
I think MSU and the surrounding community is more liberal politically than UA and its surrounding community
Very highly regarded Research University. I think a saw a report they had the highest number of Goldwater Scholars last year.
Cons of MSU-
Dorm rooms not as nice as the UA honors dorms
I have not heard of committee letters at MSU for pre-med students
I did not not hear about any class to help prepare pre-med students apply to med school (like what they have at UA)
The campus is very large geographically and it is a long walk to some parts of the university- especially in the cold weather. (Of note is the Lyman Briggs classes are held in the same building as their dorms and we were told they try to cluster classes together for certain majors.)
People constantly compare MSU to U of M and fail to see the larger picture that MSU is highly ranked by both US News and internationally, and for being a large research university.I think what I am trying to say is that their reputation is actually higher than how it might be perceived due to the constant comparison to U of M. Ironically, MSU is ranked 75th by US News and is tied with our state’s flagship (IU)- but you don’t really hear people comparing IU to U of M very often.
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