Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi State

Hi, I am a current senior and have applied to quite a few universities. As of right now (my mind changes on the daily) I am really liking MS State and OK State and they are probably my top two choices. I know I have a while to decide but I like to just here the pros and cons to help me make a decision early. The problem here is that these two universities are almost IDENTICAL. Not by the looks of course but just the people, the town, student body size, and things being offered. They are both in small town settings and have more of a “country” feel to them and both are stereotyped to have a lot of red necks. However on rankings, okstate is ranked better but just barely! So that doesn’t give me much to go off of. They both specialize in agriculture and engineering, which doesn’t affect me because I plan to major in Management Information Systems. All the reviews I have read about both schools all say the same thing. The reviews are almost the same and almost always talk about how everyone is so nice and the hospitality everyone at the university has. If anyone has ANY input about either school, experience with one of them, or has an opinion of which one I should go to. Please comment. Thank You!
p.s. please don’t try to persuade me to go to some other university. I am pretty set on these two right now.

Apply to both and apply to all of their scholarships. Then see how you feel in March and what the bottom line cost will be. Fortunately you don’t have to decide until then!

Yes, I have applied to both. I entered my stats into their scholarship calculator for both schools and they are almost the same price. I don’t live in either state but the scholarship I would be getting from both schools would just about cover the oos tuition. I think OSU would be about $1000 more and I don’t think I am going to get much, if any federal loans or grants.

I’m an OSU graduate if that helps - You can ping me with any questions as I majored in Economics and did Masters work in MIS. (It has been almost 30 years ago however). I don’t really know much about Mississippi State so I can’t compare them. OSU is not ‘known’ for its MIS program, but the teachers are great and care. At OSU much of your life will be about the school - there isn’t much to do outside campus and so you will live eat and breathe orange. I loved my experience there and wouldn’t change it for anything…I still bleed orange, but I’m also very realistic - my son did not end up attending there because it wasn’t right for him and I respect that - in his case, he did not want large lecture classes (You will have those at both of the schools you are looking at). I do maintain that the newer housing at OSU is perhaps the nicest in the country - “The Villages” ranks as one of the nicest dorms I’ve ever seen at any campus bar none. I also found that it was easy to make friends there because you were pretty well confined to doing things with other students. It isn’t like college in a big city where students could all split up and go off campus to do different things - There just isn’t that much (Besides Eskimo Joe’s) to do off campus!

Again, if you have any specific questions, I’m happy to answer, I worked with the admissions office a few years ago to do some recruiting in Missouri where I now live so I’m still pretty familiar with what all is going on there.

Hello! I am currently a high school senior also and I am considering Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Arizona. I believe I can answer any questions you have about Oklahoma State because I have lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma for the past 11 years! Also, both of my parents graduated from Oklahoma State, my uncle and cousin did so also, I have also been enrolled as a dual enrollment student and will have twelve hours, i.e. a full semester kinda, by the time I graduate from high school.Have you visited campus yet? If not you should soon, it is set up like any other traditional southern/midwestern university, i.e. huge Greek life if that’s your thing, it is beautiful and full of green. I do not know about Mississippi State personally but would predict you would get the same general feel at both universities, something you already pointed out. One great thing I would like to point out about Oklahoma State is the improvement of the university. When I first moved to town in the early 2000’s the university was just starting their decade and a half long trek to improve the university in every way possible. Since I have lived here, Oklahoma State has renovated and improved seating in both Gallagher-Iba Arena, the basketball/wrestling facility, and Boone Pickens Stadium, adding a whole west side adding twenty thousand seats, also pertaining to sports they have added a new tennis facility and The Colvin Center which is second to none in terms of athletic facilities for students, if working out is your thing, this makes intramural sports a big deal at Oklahoma State and they even have unique sports such as Quidditch. Also, a new indoor football practice facility was erected across Hall of Fame Street from Boone Pickens stadium. Lastly, a new track was built, and over the grounds of the old track the university built an all new residential building that is also second to none. The Villages were also built next to the disgusting Kerr&Drummond, which has been rumored to be torn down for the tenth summer in a row, maybe next summer, private apartments and homes are easily found and have been going up like wildfire recently for upperclassmen. Oklahoma State has also poured countless dollars into education, well actually countable and that number is a billion. With the hiring of the new president, Burns Hargis, OkState went on a campaign of a billion dollars towards education in ten years, and it was accomplished in three! The university has recently built multiple classroom buildings, a library annex, renovated the Library, built a Center of Architecture, Engineering, and Technology. Renovated the old gym for the Architecture department, and the Noble Research Center, a massive research center for every science and engineering department, and classrooms for all. The university is also currently building a Performing Arts Center which is supposed one of the best in the nation, also they are rebuilding the business school due to massive donations from alumni. The Student Union is also a kind of a on going project for the school of architecture, so much so that it has become the largest student union in the nation. There are probably more I missed, but I hit the highlights to show that the university is committed to providing the best education for its students and faculty. Talking on your selected field of study, my best friend from high school had two grandparents who had been faculty of MIS for many years, they are wonderful people and very much involved in the program still, like stated above they are not very well know program, but are filled with amazing people and you could have a great education there, I also know this because three of my friends from high school are currently in the program. OkState’s honors college is one of the first established in the US and is well recognized, please consider joining if you have the stats, two extra essays won’t hurt in the long run, excellent for the huge job fair hosted in Gallagher annually. One con to OkState is the price, for someone who is in state and has a 33 ACT and 4.0 I still could go out of state cheaper, the only reason I am really considering anywhere else! Also, I would like to experience another town! If you come to town check out the Strip, also know as Washington st. on campus, and Eskimo Joes, both places you will spend a lot of time at, The Tumbleweeds is another place if you are interested in concerts and dancing! I hope this helped ask any questions if you want to, and maybe we will be OkState class of 2020 together! Go Pokes!!

@confusedteen33 Thank you so much for all of that information! I really appreciate it. Impressive that they have made such progress in recent years! Yes, I did apply to the honors college but I just barely qualified with a 27 ACT so I’m hoping I get accepted. Do you know if most people get accepted if they meet the requirements? That’s very interesting that they don’t give good scholarships to you with your stats. Good luck with your college selection and thanks again!

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entered my stats into their scholarship calculator for both schools and they are almost the same price. I don’t live in either state but the scholarship I would be getting from both schools would just about cover the oos tuition


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So, each school will cost you about $25k per year? Are your parents fine with paying that? If so, then just wait and see if a clear winner emerges.

@Undecided2020 Yes, if you have a 27 and the minimum GPA requirements you will be automatically accepted. You still have to fill out annoying essays, but they aren’t too rigorous. I do not know how close you live, but if you have sent your ACT score to OkState you should get invited to Scholar’s Day which is on October 15th this year, it is full of great information about research opportunities and academics. It’s okay if you cannot make it, just a suggestion. No problem always happy to help out a possible future Poke!

I realize that this post is a couple days late but I thought I would give some insight since no one from Mississippi State has commented. I’m a current student here and I really love it! As you’ve mentioned it is a true college town in that it is pretty small. Many of my friends from larger cities in Texas, Atlanta, and Florida, and other places had to adjust to the small nature of the city. In reality, if you are involved in campus and stay busy, you tend to forget you’re in the middle of Mississippi. We have a cool area outside the campus called the Cotton District, which has bars and restaurants and hosts our school’s yearly Bulldog Bash, which is a large outdoor concert. This year we hosted Misterwives, X Ambassadors, and Local Natives. Also, athletics are big here! We are known for supporting our school’s various teams. If I’m not mistaken, we have the cheapest season tickets in our conference. (SEC) This year we paid $55 for tickets to every home game. In addition, we seem to have large turnouts for basketball games, and our baseball games were voted the third best atmosphere/experience in college baseball. I’m not sure if you would be interested in Greek life, but I thought you should know that while it is a big part of our campus, it does not consume our campus culture like it can at other Southern schools. People in fraternities and sororities are friendly and, while they may encourage you to rush and be apart of Greek life, they realize that for a lot of people it just isn’t their thing and they respect that. Many people rush but don’t accept their bids to fraternities and sororities. Whether you do accept a bid or not, rushing can be a great way to meet lots of people early in your college career. You’ll find that the people here are amazing and super friendly and accepting. Historically, we are known as a school that loves everyone regardless of their background, which speaks volumes to the culture and nature of the school. Here everyone feels welcome. Starkville is fairly progressive when compared to the rest of the state and region. Our campus is well-connected and isn’t as huge as other schools, so you can get most places in ten minutes or so. I hate to sound cliche, but if you come here with an open mind and get involved, you can have a great experience here at State! I hope I’ve helped.

I think that Mississippi State has a bit more of a college town than Oklahoma State. The area has a lake for outdoors adventures. A bit less landlocked since it’s 300 miles to a beach and the ocean, vs. 12 hours for Oklahoma State.
Why did you choose these two though? What attracts you there?
(You’d qualify for merit at both Ole Miss and UOklahoma by the way - both in nicer environments).

Stillwater is twenty times better than Starkville! More to do and more beautiful, also four major lakes inside city limits so who cares about the beach