<p>Hello,
I am a undergraduate transfer student aspiring to get my life started at a big University! I am currently finishing up my last semester at a community college, and i am having a difficulty choosing between two schools. I have been accepted to Michigan State University (where i am a current resident), and the University of Texas at Austin (psychology and mathematics program). I have experienced Michigan States Campus, very lovely if i do say, and will be flying out within the next two weeks to vibe Austin's campus. I would like to get an outsiders input as to which school would provide me a better education, and overall experience. I am planning to pursue a professional degree, and would like to attend a school that can offer me endless doors as i move towards further schooling. I also plan to do a study abroad, hopefully, at a top tier program in Europe my junior year. Also, i would like for you to please disregard a tuition comparison for out of state, because my schooling is thankfully being covered by a trust fund.</p>
<p>UT-Austin is much better academically, and its vibe is very unique.
Austin is full of college bars and is the live music capital of the country.
The weather is perfect (if you like warm weather).</p>
<p>UT is considerably better. No comparison here.</p>
<p>I don’t think the academic gap between the two is all that large. Top 50 vs Top 75. MSU has some good areas that UT does not and vice versa. Both are very large.</p>
<p>As to city aspects, yes Austin easily.</p>
<p>Michigan State is better for Supply Management</p>
<p>@barrons</p>
<p>UT is a top 50 school in Texas, where there aren’t any other top 50 schools (Rice is too small to count). Top jobs in Texas, home to perhaps the country’s best economy, are given to UT grads, by and large.</p>
<p>MSU is a top 75 school in a part of the country where there are TONS of top schools. Top jobs in the Midwest/Northeast go to grads from those other schools.</p>
<p>Anyone who would say there’s a huge gap between these schools academically is splitting hairs. What barrons says makes sense. Austin is a great university town, though; no question. Weather is great much of the year. But “perfect weather”? For real? Y’all spend any time there from May to August? It can get nasty hot.</p>
<p>You can get an equivalent education at either school (the USNWR believers to the contrary), especially in popular majors like math and psych. I would go for fit, vibe, and (although you say it doesn’t matter) cost. Also for weather, if that is important to you, since it is (ahem!) quite different.</p>
<p>Thank you for the feed back so far everyone! Both schools are considerably sublime, but i would like to ask, if i intend to study abroad in Europe, would attending UT-Austin vs. MSU make a difference or would one give me an upper hand (being an international student)? Is one more internationally well known for this?</p>
<p>Nope. I believe MSU has more people in study abroad. Also as a Big Ten school there are more programs open to them as many BIG schools sponsor programs.</p>
<p><a href=“http://studyabroad.isp.msu.edu/about/[/url]”>http://studyabroad.isp.msu.edu/about/</a></p>
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<p>Are the winters in Michigan a picnic? At least, it is not that hard to avoid spending May to August in the heat. Avoiding going to school in the winter is harder. But the OP resides in Michigan, so he would know that. </p>
<p>As far as I am concerned, the OP should spend some time building a possible curriculum at both schools and weigh the classes and the faculty he might have. Considering a desire to study abroad, there is really not much time. </p>
<p>For the vibe, checking Austin in July is not the best alternative, but one will form a pretty good idea how … hot it is. In all senses of the word!</p>
<p>PS Before leaving for Austin, make sure to research the food scene. There are plenty of interesting places that might appeal to you. Ask around and do some web searches.</p>
<p>
+1 This</p>
<p>SU Study Abroad in Europe - March 2008 / Thriving Ivory - Secret Life </p>
<p>[MSU</a> Study Abroad in Europe - March 2008 / Thriving Ivory - Secret Life - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoD6UwU-Wpo]MSU”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoD6UwU-Wpo)</p>
<p>My quibbling about the “perfection” of weather in Austin was not intended as an endorsement of winter in Michigan, xiggi. I happen to be a big fan of Austin, but the excessive heat at certain times of year is notable.</p>
<p>UT - Michigan State isn’t in the same league of schools.</p>
<p>Right - one’s in the Big 10 league, one’s not. But the OP didn’t mention a football major.</p>
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<p>^^ Right, one is in the Big Ten which has 12 schools, and the other is in the Big 12 which has 10 schools.</p>
<p>I think Texas is a somewhat better school, but barrons has a point, too. Texas and Michigan State just aren’t nearly as far apart as a lot of people assume, and if you go department by department there are some areas where Michigan State is the better school. MSU also has a slightly better student/faculty ratio (16:1 at MSU, 18:1 at Texas) and fewer large (50+) classes (21% at MSU v. 25% at Texas, though both are high). Texas has a slightly better graduation rate (81% in 6 years v. 77% at MSU, but neither is all that strong). And Texas has a stronger student body, largely because so many top in-state students in the state of Michigan are absorbed by MSU’s in-state rival, you-know who.</p>
<p>For those who give any credence to US New rankings, look behind the ordinal ranking, which is what most people fixate on. If you look at the actual rating scores on which the ordinal ranks are based, you’ll see that the top 5 publics are bunched very closely together, with UC Berkeley at 79 points, UCLA and UVA with 76, Michigan with 75, and UNC Chapel Hill with 74. From there it’s a pretty long drop to another bunch clustered in the mid-60s: Georgia Tech at 67, UCSD at 66; UC Davis, U Washington, and Wisconsin at 65; Penn State, UC Irvine, Illinois, and Texas at 63. (William & Mary sneaks in between there at an intermediate tier with 69). But a whole bunch of other schools are tightly sandwiched between Texas at 63 and Michigan State at 54, e.g., Ohio State, Maryland, Texas A&M, UConn, Florida, Pitt, Purdue, Georgia, Clemson, Rutgers, and Minnesota together with a bunch of private schools, often bunches of them separated by just 1 or 2 rating points. So what appears to be a substantial difference in ordinal ranking (from #45 Texas to #71 Michigan State) is a little misleading; this is really a large number of schools very closely bunched together, if you give credence to US News’ rating system. The ordinal ranking at this level is very misleading because it implies greater differences than the rating scores support.</p>