<p>I was accepted into both the MSU Honors college and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. I am planning on majoring in biology, and if that does not work out, I will probably switch my major to journalism. I have been a Michigan State fan all my life and did not think I would be accepted into the University of Michigan. I know a degree from that school is very admired and it is one of the top universities in the country. Since I have to opportunity to go, I feel like I should since it is such a great school. However, I know Michigan State is strong in the sciences, so that is why I am still keeping that in mind. I am also afraid of the environment at U of M and wonder if the atmosphere is more competitive and not as friendly. I don't know much about the social life at either of these two colleges, but if anyone has any input for either side, I would really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Thank you for your time and consideration of this post :)</p>
<p>How do you think the financial aid will be from both schools (if that matters)?</p>
<p>It will not matter at either school. I am an in-state student and my parents are paying for college, so they are able to afford both places. </p>
<p>MSU’s school of Journalism is excellent, and MSU is also good in the Life Sciences. If you have been a Spartan fan your whole life, MSU may be a better option. Michigan does have a greater reputation, but that is not worth it if you are going to feel out of place and be miserable. Go for fit, and in your case, MSU seems like the better fit.</p>
<p>I disagree with Alexandre. High school students put too much weight on “honors”. When you gradaute, no one gives a crap about honors or not honors, so it isn’t some equalizer to go to one schoold over another. When I compare two resumes, especially for the time I go through a 200-resume stack for one position, I just see University of Michigan vs some podunk university. I don’t spend enough time on each resume during the first pass to see “oh this guy went to podunk state, but he’s in the honors college, so 3 points for him”; nor do I put any weight on that. I know I am not the only one because this practice is well documented on both wallstreetoasis and silicon valley job message boards.</p>
<p>U of M does not have a direct journalism major, in the manner of MSU.</p>
<p>At UM- there are options under the Communications department, but there is no school of journalism. </p>
<p>I don’t think an honors college makes or breaks the day.</p>
<p>I am unsure what you mean by environment at U of M. I went there, as did my spouse, and now my daughter will attend. It is a fabulous atmosphere, full of people who really are into their school. I live adjacent to MSU now, and the kids that attend there are also happy to be attending that school. </p>
<p>I would suggest doing campus days at both schools. Really get to know th both. Spend the night in a dorm at both, if you can. Get a real feel for how you feel in that atmosphere. I think that will really help. </p>
<p>I, too, would give a slight nod to MSU for what you are interested in. However, I agree that you should spend some quality time on both campuses before spring and also get on-line and look at the course curriculum for a bio major at both unis and go with your gut reaction on fit. Michigan State gets the nod for journalism since they have a j-school.</p>
<p>I, too, did not attend U of M primarily because of the atmosphere (I grew up a Michigan fan, not a Sparty). Not because it wasn’t competitive but just because I “fit” better at MSU. I am now at Michigan for grad school and spending time on campus reaffirms the decision I made 5 years ago.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with picking a school based on fit. I’ve done it twice now and I am quite happy with my decision and everything turned out fabulously. With that said, I agree with mo3b. You should spend time on both campuses- a decent amount of time- before making your choice. Sit in on classes in both bio and journalism and get a feel.
Are you thinking of doing LB? I am a huge proponent of the residential college system at MSU. </p>
<p>Roman, could you explain specifically what the difference was between the atmosphere at MSU and UofM?</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the input! I had an overnight visit at Michigan State a couple months ago and loved it (at first I thought I wasn’t even going to apply, but the visit made me decide otherwise). I also took a visit to U of M during the summer months and enjoyed that as well. My tour guide told us there were no overnight visit opportunities at U of M which was upsetting to me as I believe that would give me a good idea of the environment on campus. I will probably take another visit to U of M soon because there will be more students on campus, but I am not sure if visiting both schools will help me make my decision since I have visited both and still can’t decide. </p>
<p>No, math, I can’t because I don’t really know. I’m a person that goes with my gut and I just liked MSU better. No pro/con list or anything of the sort.</p>
<p>One big difference for freshman is that many freshman are in North Campus at UofM and that campus is separated from the main campus. At State freshman are spread between the neighborhoods and the neighborhoods are contiguous to the campus. Now that is one year out of 4, but it is a difference. The residential college experience at MSU is unique and students are immediately exposed to others in their major and find study-buddies and tutors quickly. Michigan gets the nod for reputation and for having a large contingency of students from the NE and urban areas so you meet more people per capita from outside the region than you do at MSU. Food gets a tip at MSU. Frats & Sorrities (and their respective abodes) get a tip at Michigan if that’s of interest. Personally, I like the libraries at Michigan more than the libraries at MSU but not everyone studies in the libraries. OP you just gotta go with your gut because someone else could have a totally different perception. Spend time on the campuses, you’ll figure out the fit thing. Remember though it’s about the classes so do check those 4-year flow charts for the major(s) you are interested in to see what classes get you the most excited - that is what is most important. and far more important than where you live or what you eat.</p>
<p>As a parent if finances are important Michigan meets need for in-staters…and Michigan State does not guarantee that although from what I hear the do OK on that score, so you have time to decide while waiting for those all important financial aid letters.</p>
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And the neighborhoods are huge. That’s why State allows 20 min between classes for you to get from one neighborhood to the next.</p>
<p>^^Yes both unis are around the same size in terms of total student body and it can take 20 minutes to get from one end to the other at State or from North Campus to Central at UofM although the campus is not contiguous in A2 so that is another similarity. Both campuses have buses, or kids ride bikes or walk. </p>
<p>Fwiw, Michigan’s campus “feels” bigger to me because it’s way more spread out than State’s campus. 10 minutes is just too little time to get between classes IMO especially if they’re spread out. Luckily, almost all of my classes are in SPH but it takes more than 10 minutes to get from SPH to my outside of SPH class. </p>
<p>When I was a student at Michigan, I could walk from the Hill area to most places in Central Campus in 10-15 min. The medical campus is a bit farther, but unless you are a graduate student, you shouldn’t have many classes there.</p>
<p>Michigan, hands down; a world-class university, always among the very best public U’s. MSU is not in the ballpark. In the interests of full disclosure, I am NOT a Michigan alum, but have two degrees from a west coast university and one from one of UM’s close rivals. No one should hang his head in shame for attending MSU, but it is a far cry from UM in reputation and selectivity.</p>
<p>And if you hate it and have a miserable time, how much will all that stuff really help?</p>
<p>Not that it’s worth much but I got into every grad program I applied to- including several top 10 programs in my field. All seemed to think that my MSU degree was A-OK 
</p>
<p>“Not that it’s worth much but I got into every grad program I applied to- including several top 10 programs in my field. All seemed to think that my MSU degree was A-OK ;)”
Of course, if you had a marketable degree you would be gainfully employed with a good compensation package by now. But have fun wasting another 2 years away at school to right an early mistake :)</p>
<p>“And if you hate it and have a miserable time, how much will all that stuff really help?”
My employer never cared if I loved my time at Michigan or If I had a great time, all they cared is they got a competent investment professional with a marketable degree that they can show the fund of fund or endowment guys.
We also didn’t care if the guy we are now hiring enjoyed his time at MIT. He probably had a miserable time. But we value the fact that he made it through a reputable school and the fact that he has a reputable degree to market with. How does the rest of the stuff matter?</p>
<p>In short, don’t be stupid and go for fit like some posters try to suggest here. College is simply a rite of passage, a mean to an end. 4 years is a very short time. Set your sight further and plan for the real future. The idea of “fit” is stupid. The right fit is the degree that open the most doors. And almost 100% of the time a Michigan degree will open more doors than a state degree. Now of course that doesn’t mean the door you end up choosing as a result will bare fruit.</p>
<p>The “msu has a journalism major and michigan doesn’t” thing being a factor is equally as stupid. If that mattered Goldman and Mckinsey of the world would be flocking state’s business school looking for finance majors, as opposed to hiring actual smart people from Harvard and Yale of the world. Outside of the very technical engineering/science related jobs, college is simply a place you prove that you can handle the challenge. The real learning comes from the job anyway. There is nothing the state journalism major can do that a Michigan english/communication major can’t; and the latter is far more marketable with the huge step up in reputation anyway.</p>