<p>Hoping for some insight from any engineering students out there. My son has been accepted to both U of M and MSU (honors college) for engineering. He is extremely torn at this point in the decision-making process. Yes, he knows that U of M's engineering program is ranked among one of the best in the country, but he just feels more comfortable at MSU. Also, he is a finalist in the ADS competition, and if full tuition (or better) comes through, it will be hard to turn down MSU. He does have a pretty nice engineering scholarship offer from U of M, considering how few and far between they are. </p>
<p>The question: for those of you who chose MSU over U of M, any regrets? Should he take the U of M offer, simply because of prestige of the program? Or, did you chose MSU and never look back? I would love to hear any feedback on this topic. HELP!!</p>
<p>I was accepted at both MSU and UM for their Computer Science and English programs. It was a hard decision; my dad, mom, and two of my cousins have gone through UM’s engineering school, and I absolutely love the city of Ann Arbor. It ultimately came down to UM’s prestige versus MSU’s overall environment. I couldn’t handle the overwhelming majority of arrogant students and professors who populated UM’s EECS program, so I opted for MSU. To this day, I have absolutely no regrets choosing MSU over UM. Plus, your son would be in the Honors College at MSU, and from what I’ve heard, it’s an awesome program (they have separate classes, all-Honors dorm floors, etc). </p>
<p>Both MSU and UM are great schools, so no matter where your son goes, he’ll get a good education. But if he wants to have a great college experience in and out of the classroom, I’d totally recommend MSU :D</p>
<p>MichMom07 - sorry can’t help you much here, since my D chose UMich over MSU last year, for engineering. She received full-ride merit scholarships at both places, so finances were not a differentiator.</p>
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<p>I hope you realize that the quote above is entirely the subjective opinion of the poster.</p>
<p>karkri: Congrats to your D.
To my knowledge, this year (for incoming 2011 freshmen) U of M engineering offered $8000/yr merit scholarship. I wonder if anyone has so far received a full ride, merit (not need based) scholarship for all the 4 years of engineering. Interesting to know!</p>
<p>S got the $8,000 plus Regents ($1,500) from U of M. Still awaiting the ADS results from MSU. Hoping that information will help with the decision-making efforts at our house (sigh).</p>
<p>My daughter received the full Shipman scholarship at UMich in 2010, which while technically not a full-ride by definition, amounts to a full-ride for in-state students.</p>
<p>From other posts on this forum, I believe the invitations have gone out for Shipman scholarship competition for this year already.</p>
<p>Well, he is. We are certainly not blowing off the $8,000 from UM engineering, but he wants to have all of the cards on the table before making his decision. The possibility of absolutely no costs for his undergrad is a lot to consider. Once we know how he fared on the ADS, things will hopefully be clearer to him.</p>
<p>Thanks, Trinity. We received work this week that he has received the Distinguished Freshman Scholarship (full tuition & fees for 4 years). Unfortunately, this does not really help our S in making his decision. We were really hoping for either the really big or the really small award (were waiting for a “sign”!). This sign isn’t very helpful…</p>
<p>^^ MM07: May want to inquire about what they may offer for being a NMF. It ranges from “$750 to $2,000 annually, depending on financial need”; they also report to be offering special merit scholarship for NMFs - $2000/yr for 4 years. </p>
<p>If MSU offers only $750/yr for being a NMF, then U of M’s engineering with $8000/yr appears to be an attractive (overall, not just financial) option; it is assuming your S is not a candidate for other programs at MSU (such as OMSP etc.).</p>
<p>Heads up: MSU Honors college is in the process of distributing Honors Competitive Scholarship. In order to retain ADS scholarship winners, if a candidate has better scholarship offer(s) from competing schools (Comparable top 30 research universities such as Michigan, Minnesota, Pitt etc., as measured by The Center for Measuring University Performance, [Research-</a> The Center for Measuring University Performance](<a href=“http://mup.asu.edu/research.html]Research-”>http://mup.asu.edu/research.html)), MSU Honors College will do its best to enhance its scholarship offer.</p>
<p>MSU Engineering is no dog and is working to be better, but a U-M Engineering degree and the education & opportunities you get there will be much, much better. Why does your son love MSU-- just familiarity? If so, that’s not very much to bank a future on. That said, again, MSU Engineering is not a bad school. Just not on par with UM for engineering, in my opinion. If you can afford UM, it’s the better deal. If it would be difficult to afford UM, then by all means go to MSU and be happy!</p>