<p>Hi, I am a current undergradute at Michigan State University and I am somewhat in a dilemma, with a couple of questions. </p>
<p>I am a freshmen here at MSU and have completed 1 semester thus far. I am in the honors college and I am going for a degree in chemical engineering. My first semester here I had a 3.89 overall GPA along with I think 27 AP credits coming in (AP: Jap, Chem, Eng/Comp, Eng/Lit with scores 5 5 4 4 respectively). I now have 40 credits under my belt here at MSU and am a first year freshmen with sophomore status. </p>
<p>Although I am fairly ahead for my class and in the honors college, I still don't know if MSU Honors is as respectable as U of M Engineering from an employers point of view or a graduate schools point of view. I am confident I will be able to transfer in the fall as my GPA meets the 3.5 minimum thus far and I am confident I will be able to carry through this spring semester with at least a 3.7. However, my engineering classes do not transfer to U of M which means I will have to retake them, falling behind. Is it worth leaving my accomplishments and of being so far ahead at MSU to retake engineering courses and fall behind at U of M? </p>
<p>Pros for U of M (IMO)
-Prestige
-Ann Arbor
-Close to Eastern (where a TON of my friends are haha)
-Cool campus
-Closer to home</p>
<p>Pros for MSU
-Being in honors college, having advantages others do not (prestige?)
-Beautiful Campus
-Also many close friends here
-Party atmosphere infused with fairly academic atmosphere (once you get past the weeding classes)
-Awesome athletics(sorry, I've been a Spartan fan since birth)</p>
<p>I need some real, unbiased (even though that'd be hard) advice from people that are older/wiser than me. My parents say stay at MSU but I dunno. </p>
<p>Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post! </p>
<p>I do think UM CoE is more prestigious than MSU Honors, but at the same time, it’ll be a lot harder to stand out at CoE. At MSU, you’ll clearly be among the very top people, so that’ll help a ton with getting noticed. I don’t think you’ll really be at a disadvantage either way.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d ultimately decide based on the atmosphere. Engineering has a reputation for being very rigorous. If you want to be constantly challenged, this is a good choice. I don’t know enough about MSU’s engineering program to know if that’s true there as well - but based on MSU in general, its seems like the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed. Which one suits you better?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that U of M CoE is more prestigious than MSU Honors. Also, there’s the EGL honors program, and a lot of other ways to stick out at U of M if you’re up for it.</p>
<p>IMO, if you’re up for it and think you can do better, I’d go to U of M. If MSU is challenging you enough, it may be better to stay.</p>
This paragraph states enough. University of Michigan and Michigan State University are both great schools and doubt either would hold one back in being successful with their career. Though University of Michigan is much more prestigious but since your in MSU honors college the recognition of your education may be greater. As one who prefer University of Michigan over Michigan State University I would say even if you were not in MSU honors college to retake your engineering classes would be risky and costful, especially if you did well; also if you plan on applying to graduate school after undergraduate it’s unlikely that the undergraduate education at University of Michigan to Michigan State University would become a deciding factor considering you have achieved the same academics at each school.</p>
<p>Gald to see this thread… my son and I just visited U of M, doing central and north campus (engineering) tours. We were both very impressed and know U of M is a prestigeous program. However, he may be able to stand out more at MSU and therefore really thrive, and might also have apportunity to be a part of the honors program (he has 4.05 gpa and 36 ACT). It appears that there are also better scholarship opportunities at MSU, which is a factor. (We are in-state.)</p>
<p>He is a junior, so we have some time. It may come down to applying to both and see what comes back as far as honors college, scholarships, etc. from both. We are closer to MSU, are big Spartan fans, and have been to the campus many times for athletic events. We will, however, do an official visit/tour in the near future to see their engineering facilities, etc. </p>
<p>I am curious how the advice comes in on this topic… bigger, well-known program vs. smaller program where a student could possibly stand out. It’s a real consideration for us, and possibly many others.</p>
<p>Ok, I am not an ENG but do have clients in ENG recruiting. If the only dimension you’re considering is “prestige” then from a recruiter’s vantage, particularly in some types of ENG in an expanded geographic footprint, you’d be insane not to choose U Mich if you were able to choose U Mich (eg. academically and financially.)
HOWEVER, there is much to be said for fit and future plans, and each of the students in question needs to determine where they feel good about the “fit” and never mind the “prestige” component alone. It truly only helps you for a “short” time – you know, the first job – until you develop the track record for the quality of your work in the field. (Although it does improve connections, don’t get me wrong.)
But in terms of learning – if you are able – you will always LEARN more by being a small fish in a big pond than a big fish in a small pond. So, does someone with a 36 ACT want to be (possibly) mentoring the rest of his class, or working on a team of peers, for example? On one hand, mentoring others is ostensibly an opportunity to develop leadership. But in the type of project work involved in ENG I am thinking a team of peers might help develop collaborative strategies for innovative thinking. Just my .02. Good luck with your decisions, guys. Cheers, K.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention my parents have a Michigan Education Trust fund where my tuition is covered for 4 years so if U of M is more bang for the buck, would my being behind 2 semesters be worth the trade-off? </p>
<p>Another question that I just thought of is, how is LSA in comparison to MSU Honors? </p>
<p>So far I’ve gathered that U of M is more prestigious, but may not be worth the trade off (due to the classes I have to retake), but I may have a more humbled experience (around brilliant people) resulting in an augmented education at U of M vs MSU Honors. This thread has been very helpful thus far. I appreciate the feedback.</p>
<p>Kaijuman, MSU is very well regarded as a regional school and the Honors school is also very well regarded with employers, so first let me say you are in a win win situation whether you continue your path where you are or elect to make a change – don’t second guess yourself if you decide to stay at MSU. If your family can bear the financial burden of the cost of retake and if in your heart you’d like a more challenging environment, then the opportunity is yours for the taking. If you think you’d like to job search nationally or worldwide, give extra points to UMich merely for the alumni network, national rank, recruiting opportunities, etc. If you feel you’re more likely to want to work and live in Michigan, I feel many people locally don’t make such a big distinction between the schools (rightly or wrongly, I should say.)</p>
<p>Most importantly, why not ask to sit in on some COE classes in your field at UMich and talk (in person) to some of the people in COE – spend a day or two “trying it on.” I suspect you’d quickly get a feel for whether it’s in your best interest/best fit to make a move. And it would be worth missing a day of classes for, considering the extra cost of those ENG courses you’d have to retake.</p>
<p>FYI my son is at the SOM (school of music), which, like COE, also doesn’t accept transfer credits from other uni’s in many cases for the specialized/required music courses. At first, we thought this a slightly greedy policy. Then we discovered first-hand why that is so. My son had a great class at a well-regarded university in music theory. After the first month of the U of M “equivalent” he’d exhausted all he’d learned/covered in the entirety of the so-called equivalent class, and is certainly not even remotely near the top of that class at U of M (more like just keeping his head above water) despite having had an A in the “same” course elsewhere. Yet he learned more in a term than he might have in 3 terms at the other place. And you can hear the difference in the music he writes. In his case, being surrounded by “bigger talent” has brought him great enjoyment and rich experience that I don’t believe he’ll regret, even though it costs more, and frankly, has taken more effort than he likely thought it would ; )</p>
<p>In the end, it’s a personal decision that only you can make. But do sit in on classes and talk to students. That helped my son enormously. You’ll get a feel for the right path for you. Your parents – who you said want you to stay at MSU – might like most Michiganders not really get the distinction between a well-regarded regional university versus a nationally and internationally well-regarded/high ranking university. It might also be helpful to, after a visit, discuss with them your goals and the reason you’d like a more challenging environment. When they see the practicality of the investment, they may be more supportive of a move.</p>
<p>What kind of first-year engineering classes at MSU will not transfer to Michigan? Unless you are in some high-level classes, that just does not make any sense.</p>
<p>What are your plans after you graduate? If you plan to work right away, the prestige of Michigan will definitely help you out with prospective employees (assuming you’re not being hired by MSU grads, haha). If you’re planning to apply to graduate school, school prestige is much less of an issue if you’re able to demonstrate that you can succeed academically. You’ll have to evaluate realistically if you can continue to perform at your current high level with your studies in Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>As of now I plan to get my MBA. I might be looking way too far ahead but I want to go to Berkeley or Northwestern for graduate school. Realistically, I don’t know if I can make it there (if my college performance henceforth reflects my laughable high school GPA and a lackluster 32 on the ACT) but I hope to keep up at the rate I am at MSU. So say, a 3.3 at U of M would not necessarily be “better” than a 3.7 or so at MSU? </p>
<p>I do genuinely believe I will be able to compete at U of M but not at the level I am here at MSU. Some of my smartest friends go to U of M and are getting 3.5s or 3.0s but then again they aren’t as diligent as they were in high school. </p>
<p>Thanks for the guidance, you guys are extremely helpful! Cheers.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think I’m going to transfer. I’m going to MSU for Fall '10 (because I think I missed the transfer deadline) so I think I’m going to transfer for the winter semester. I may not even stay in engineering but I think UMich is the better fit for me. I’m going to my friends fraternity this friday and probably going to tour the campus.</p>