I am from New York and I feel my college selection process could come down to these two schools. Currently I have been accepted into Michigan State, but should be getting into Penn State as well. I am going into business and more specifically accounting. Michigan State seems like it has an amazing business school for accounting, but I speculate with the overall prestige of the school as I don’t know much about. So what school do you like or don’t like? Why? What are the pros and cons of the schools? What is the feel of the campus and people?
Penn State is a bit pricier, both are expensive for out-of-state students. Make sure you can afford OOS tuitions.
Like many large universities today, MSU & Penn state have a lot of alcohol/marijuana use. Hardcore drug use isn’t very common, though.
Both schools are very large, so you won’t have many, if any, intimate classes.
Both schools are also located in areas with frigid winters.
MSU
Positives:
-Great location
-Lots of student groups
-High retention rate
Negatives:
-Very large campus (walking long distances in deep snow isn’t fun)
-Tuition hikes
Penn State
Positives:
-School spirit
-Teachers
-Great alumni network
Negatives:
-Very rural location
-Most expensive public school in the country
-Lack of diversity
-Uneasy relationships between students/locals
FWIW, I have never experienced an “uneasy relationship” with the locals at Penn State.
And I think MSU has tons of school spirit. We could debate forever. Take some time to dig into the programs of interest to you. If you can afford them comfortably, they are both great schools.
MSU has many great bike paths from what I hear, if you like to get around that way. That’s something in direct contrast with that other state school in Ann Arbor.
Yes, it’s a big party school, but it’s a classier sort of party school from the accounts I’ve heard than other state schools. MSU is one of the ten biggest schools in the nation (something like 50k students) so the classes are huge, but there are also many resources available to you. East Lansing is nice and not far from the state capital if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
As far as prestige goes, there’s a running joke in Michigan that goes, “What do a U of M grad and an MSU have in common? They both got into State.” That said, it’s largely nonsense and Michigan State is one of the best public schools in the nation.
As a New York resident, what does Michigan State and Penn State offers that your State (SUNY) schools do not offer as far a an accounting degree? The COA at:
SUNY = ~$24K
Penn Sate = ~$48K
Michigan State = ~$50K
Are you looking for a school with a big football program? Is it worth $25K per year…$100K over 4-years?
Comparing MSU and PSU is like comparing Ford and Chevy: they are comparable in many ways, so you won’t know which is better for you until you drive them around a bit and look at the bottom line. So: fit and finances.
Green or blue?
Suburban or rural?
Campus vibe?
Weather?
In this case the weather is probably similar, but you get where I’m going: “fit” has to do with how well you’ll fit in, how much you’ll enjoy (or be able to endure…) your time at school.
If you haven’t already, I suggest visiting both of them. Spend a couple of weekdays there so you can see what life as a student would be like.
Jamrock as yes I want to go to a school with pride, I also want to get out of New York as well and adventure into new experiences as well. Thanks for the advice everybody.
If you are from NY and are looking for new experiences, my opinion is that you should attend Michigan State. Penn State tends to attract many many kids from NY area high schools. Culturally, you may not have a much different experience at PS than you did in HS- at least that’s what goes on here.
MSU has the added bonus of being great at basketball in addition to football. Some may argue that it is the best athletic school in the nation when these two sports are considered.
Look up Eli Broad. He was an accounting student at MSU and has done a lot for the school. I’m certain the accounting program there has a lot to offer because of him. Look into all that and visit the place. You’ll need a bike if you go there. Wonderful school and people.
I’d pick MSU. The honors college has a completely different experience if you qualify, and there is a good mix of internship opportunities around Lansing in government, non profit and local businesses. MSU’s campus takes about 25 min to walk end-to-end but most classes are concentrated in one area. The campus is beautiful in the Spring and Fall with a river running through it. If you have access to a car there is downhill skiing a few hours away, cross country on Campus.
There are also good air connections with the Michigan Flyer bus (E Lansing - Ann Arbor - Detroit Metro Airport) which stops on Campus. Detroit airport has non-stops to Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Corning, Ithaca, Syracuse, White Plains, Rochester, Newburg, LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark.
Penn state university is not the most expensive school. University of Michigan is
Actually NASA, most UCs are as expensive as, if not more expensive than Michigan if you include housing/dorm costs. UVa is also as expensive as Michigan.
What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay?
What are your stats?
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It’s true that PSU has more NY-origin students than Michigan State, but I don’t think that means culturally, the school will have a more similar experience to OP’s high school. New York is a vast state with different cities and lots of rural areas. I think that a kid who went to high school in New York City, for example, would actually, “culturally,” have more in common with a kid who went to an urban high school in Boston or San Francisco (or Philadelphia or Pittsburgh!) than a kid who went to a suburban high school in Orange County or a rural high school in upstate New York. Simply living in the same state doesn’t necessarily confer some sort of cultural sameness.
Which is why I question the OP’s need to leave New York to get “new experiences.” A lot of high school students believe that, but it’s rarely true. Even if you went to a SUNY that has mostly NY high school students, those high school students may come from around the state. Everything will still be new. (Heck, even if you went to a more local regional public that attracts a lot of kids from one region - e.g., New Paltz and Purchase attract a lot of city kids - you’d still have a new experience there).
Plus, I’m not sure that any thin-layer ‘new experiences’ would be worth paying twice the price.
That said, there aren’t any flagships in New York that offer the same big-sports, school-spirited, rah-rah experience that Penn State and Michigan State do, so that’s different. To answer the original question…they’re both great schools and neither is clearly better than the other. Frankly your experiences at either would be pretty similar. Michigan State is a well-reputed school, particularly in business; you don’t need to worry about the overall prestige of the school.
One particular difference may be the setting. I don’t know anything about East Lansing. The populations of State College and East Lansing are roughly the same (around 45K people), but East Lansing is directly adjacent to Lansing, a city of over 100K, and is 1.5 hours from Detroit. State College is really in the middle of nowhere; it’s about 2.5-3 hours from Pittsburgh, 3 hours from DC, 3 hours from Philadelphia and 4 hours from New York - and it’s not too easy to get to any of those cities other than New York unless you have a car. So you have to be committed to the whole college town thing. (That said, State College is a really nice college town with anything you’d need during the school year right there!)
I think living in a college town is best for the college years, and in a city once you have a salary. 
(Additionally, I’d be more tempted to visit Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and NYC, than Lansing and Detroit, but that’s me. … HS students vastly overestimate how often they’ll have time to go away for a weekend anyway.)
But my main concern is cost: do your parents have 45K in their budget for each year of your schooling? Can they pay off savings and income, or are you expecting them to take loans on your behalf?
I agree that the NYS schools do not offer the big rah rah sports experience that PS and MS have to offer. I also agree 100% that NYS feels very different depending upon where you are. If you live on Long Island and attend certain SUNY schools that are upstate, you will not have much of a cultural change. If you live on Long Island or Westchester and attend SUNY Brockport or Geneseo, you will have more of a cultural change because there are many more upstate students attending these two schools. NYS is a very big state and depending upon where you are, it feels very different. Culturally, many kids from the city are very similar to the students living in the suburban down-state area, including parts of Orange County. If you want a new experience it is not necessary to leave the state; if you are looking for a big rah rah sports experience, then it likely is necessary to leave- but it will cost a lot of money.
I do not know where the OP lives in NY. PS draws a very very large crowd from the downstate area (Long Island, Westchester, Rockland). When much of your floor is comprised of these kids, and they all hang out together, there is not much of a cultural difference. If you branch out and meet others who live in various parts of Pennsylvania, there may be.
I think both schools are great, but they will be pricey compared to SUNY. MS does give money. One girl I know got full tuition, while another girl I know got $8,000 (which still makes the school expensive). I am not really sure what kind of change the OP is looking for, but I do agree that you do not have to leave the state to get some type of change.
I am also from NY and I have as much knowledge as you probably do about PSU and MSU. That being said, I think that either choice would be fine. Both having great accounting programs, school spirit, etc. People who go to PSU or MSU will obviously tell you that their school is better, but from an unbiased perspective, they seem the same. They both have beautiful campuses. Penn State is obviously closer, so that might be a consideration for traveling expenses.
I visited MSU and the school spirit there is crazyyy. The whole town is MSU themed, even the damn McDonald’s! The campus is so nice too. I decided to go with a SUNY school and I am thinking MSU for grad school (btw, I am also accounting).
I will warn you though that taking out that much in student loans for an accounting degree might be a mistake, especially considering you are going to want to earn your extra 30 credit hours if you are trying to become a CPA. My college (UAlbany) has provided me with an outstanding education in accounting for only $9,000 a year (I commute). If money is not a problem for you though, I’d definitely go to MSU or PSU. The entire experience will be extremely similar.
BTW, did you apply to Syracuse? That school is similar to MSU and PSU as far as school spirit, big sports, etc. and they have a good accounting program as well. They are very generous with financial aid, unlike most state schools when looking at out of state students.
BTW: the only reason why I say taking out that much for an accounting degree might be a mistake is because accounting is basically taught in the same fashion no matter where you go, as long as the business school is AACSB accredited. Just keep that in mind!