<p>3.9 UW GPA
30 ACT
in state</p>
<p>NHS
Student congress VP
Class Council Pres
Great Books Club Pres
NHS</p>
<p>U of M-AA is my first choice, but in case I don't get in there, I just might end up at MSU.</p>
<p>Yes, most definitely a super safety.</p>
<p>you're from michigan.... what city or area do you live in?</p>
<p>I live in a suburb of Detroit called Oak Park. It's about 1.5 hours from MSU.</p>
<p>i've actually never heard of oak park... lol... but ya i also live in a suburb of detroit.</p>
<p>I have friends from Oak Park but have never been there... Rose, I think your end... but you should consider the possibility of "ending up" at State. MSU's a great schools and, trust me, many, many bright kids (who could attend most anywhere) choose MSU over U-M... not a knock at U-M, just indicates the high qualties many kids/parents see in Michigan State.</p>
<p>One of my friends (graduated HS last year) had a 3.9gpa, 32 ACT. She was admitted to UMich as well, but ended up choosing to attend the Honors College @ MSU. She absolutely loves it.</p>
<p>IcicleRose88, you mentioned in another thread (but w/in the MSU group of threads) you'd "obviously" choose U-M if you got in over MSU. Why "obviously"? Dont get me wrong, I don't mean to or want to come off as attacking you, b/c everyone is entitled to their feelings and college choices are deeply personal; stressful, too. But I'm just curious -- is it a feeling? Parents? Counselors? Friends? Guidebooks? Have you really not liked what you saw at MSU/liked what you saw at Michigan? Quite obviously I'm an MSU backer (as are, no doubt, many in this thread) and know tons of bright kids who chose MSU over U-M; kids who could have gone upper-tier Ivy League if they'd wanted... just wondering.</p>
<p>I understand where you're coming from. I visited MSU and I really liked it from what I saw on that day, so it's not that I don't like MSU. It's just the reputation it has for partying, people not working hard, etc. It's often thought of as a second-tier college academically, and these are my main reasons for preferring U of M over state. I'd be happy at MSU, and given the honors college and lyman briggs school and study abroad program plus good scholarship money, I could see myself actually picking it over U of M. It does seem like there's more oppurtunity at MSU than at U of M, and one feels more "wanted" at MSU than at U of M. </p>
<p>My parents make fun of me about the whole MSU thing, always pointing out if something is green..... lol they like state too as a college but are U of M fans.</p>
<p>IcicleRose88, obviously you've researched MSU quite well and seemed to have really checked out the quality of academics, mood of campus and lifestyle. No question, the party school thing is real, but as you see upon your visit, there are plenty of bright, thoughtful kids engaged in a lot of different things. And other great schools, like UNC, UVa and Wisconsin are known as party schools, too (and Wisconsin made the Princeton Review list and MSU didnt).</p>
<p>As to MSU's alleged "2nd tier" status, I wouldn't put much stock into that. As I'm sure many have told you, ranking colleges is a highly imperfect science. For example, by US News' standards, Miami U (Ohio) is supposedly 2nd tier, too -- because it lacks big name grad programs -- but there are many who consider it a "public ivy" and its a magnet for Ohios best and brightest because of many other intangibles, like the scale and beauty of campus and traditions. MSU certainly isn't 2nd tier in the minds of thousands of very bright Michigan students who opt for East Lansing over the Ivies, U-M, Northwestern, ... wherever. And you know that for most bright Michigan HS seniors, the traditional dilemma is "... is it U-M or MSU?" If MSU truly was a 2nd tier school, it wouldn't even be on bright kids' radar; theyd either go to U-M, K-Zoo or leave the state. Also, it amazes me how may alleged "Top 50" (ie 1st tier) schools are considered so but w/ little or nothing more going for them than MSU ... often less. I mean, why is Penn State 1st tier and MSU is not? --- because it's lucky enough to exist in a bigger state with no flagship competition of another major residential school? certainly theres nothing the likes of a U-M for PSU to contend with in Pennsylvania Penn State's a land grant school very much like MSU (founded literally w/in weeks of one another in 1855), but lacking such liberal arts aspects as MSUs residential colleges, its fine music school, its museums (they do have an art museum, but no collections for natural history, entomology, a herbarium, etc) and programs like its excellent creative writing, political science and many nat sciences, like physics And top 25 UNCs known largely for its great journalism school. Im here to tell you no J-School outshines MSUs, site of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.</p>
<p> Oh well, best of luck wherever you end up, Rose. You seem to be bright and intellectually flexible and will succeed anywhere you go hopefully that place will be a certain big, prominent land grant school in south central Michigan.</p>
<p>US News considers KSU a 4th tier university, so dont take much creedence in what they say.</p>
<p>KSU???? you mean MSU?</p>
<p>He must have meant Kansas State. Even US News wouldn't dare rate MSU as 4th tier; ... it's solidly 2nd tier, ... by their standards, along w/ a good school like Miami of Ohio.</p>
<p>Quincy4- are you an MSU student or have ever been one?</p>
<p>IcicleRose88, </p>
<p>as for my being a student, now, I WISH!!!! My 4 years in East Lansing went by way to quick... Actually, I'm an alum who graduated with a B.A. 16 years ago. But I stay current because I work with HS students in Philadelphia; I stay up on all schools. I do some light recruiting for Michigan State on the side and go to homecoming every year; plus I have many friends in Michigan and travel there quite frequently. I love State and love the state. While I focus a lot of attention on MSU (I'm biased, of course, but I think even objectively, its a great school and way underrated and too often overlooked), I also want to be a resource for other schools that I know a lot about, too and I know quite a bit about a lot of schools as Ive been in academia and have a number of friends who are profs and administrators at a number of different colleges, including MSU of course.</p>
<p>what do you usually tell your HS students about U of M?</p>
<p>If they ask, I certainly tell them it's a good school. I never put down other schools. But I don't go out of my way to tell them about or sell them on U-M, either. Why should I? Why make the rich richer? U-M's got enough rep and name recognition, so chances are, they've heard of it already. MSU's the gem they haven't probably heard of, so I let them know about MSU. But I try and match kids for what they want and what seems best for them. Large quality state schools arent for everyone, so I dont try and sell MSU on all kids. Sometimes its a niche school or an LAC But for those who do go to MSU, Ive heard no complaints; instead, almost always they are totally in love with the place. Like I said before, Ive heard so many, I had no idea it was this good reactions from kids, parents and even other academics visiting there. Since MSU is so multifaceted a big state school, with small LAC-type activities with, even, a small, classic LAC-type campus atmosphere it satisfies quite a wide academic demographic.</p>