<p>I'm a high school senior and probably applying to a school in Michigan... but, I live across the country so nobody around here knows much about them. What are the major differences between the two schools? And which one is the more prestigious school?</p>
<p>Both are great schools, but U of M has more “prestige”. U of M is much harder to get into. State is known for letting people in that might not have had the best grades, but that doesn’t really deter from your education.</p>
<p>collegeboard.com could tell you more actual stats of the schools.</p>
<p>It depends on what your interested in. As a general rule U-M is considered more prestigious and is very strong in engineering, business and social sciences, among other things. MSU, however, has a number of unique programs such as James Madison, RCAH, packaging, hospitality management, supply chain management and animal science that aren’t’ offered at U-M or most schools. A few of the posters on this board are students who are at MSU by choice and seem to be pursuing interesting courses of study.</p>
<p>I agree with Bc2015 and res ipsa.</p>
<p>Overall, U of M is the more prestigious college, but for some programs, Michigan State may be the better school to attend.</p>
<p>I am one of those who is at MSU by choice. I chose it over U of M.</p>
<p>Yes, U of M is seen as more prestigious overall. However, James Madison routinely outranks U of M’s political science programs, for example. </p>
<p>I chose MSU because of the RCAH, the bigger focus on undergrad (U of M tends to focus more on grad students in my experience and in my friends’ experiences), and better study abroad options, just to name a few of the reasons. </p>
<p>Either school- you can’t go wrong. Spend a few days at each and sit in on a few classes in your intended major. Those will give you a better feel for the school. I did these for both U of M and MSU. MSU clicked with me right away and I just felt out of place and uncomfortable at U of M. To each his or her own :).</p>
<p>PS: Post this question in the U of M forum as well. You will get some… interesting… answers. Generally, they look down on the MSU students as screw ups who chose MSU because they couldn’t get into their precious U of M. Mind you, that is not how everyone at U of M thinks. It is just the prevailing sentiment on the U of M board here.</p>
<p>What do you plan to do? If you want to do something in agriculture and natural resources, then definitely msu>uofm. If you want to do something in engineering, then definitely uofm>msu.</p>