<p>so how are the dorms, I know its broad, but are most of them nice? I also heard the campus is very large, will I get lost?
Are the class sizes big? I mean I really dont like huge class sizes. Any more info on the campus or dorms would be appreciated!</p>
<p>How are the dorms?
-Meh, they’re dorms. They’re not gross or anything, just not much room. South and East neighborhoods have suite style rooms (2 people on either side of a bathroom), so you get a bathroom with 3 other people, but you have to clean it yourselves which can be a pain if you have messy suitemates. North is pretty on the outside but old on the inside, with community bathrooms, Brody’s really nice but far away from everything. The unlimited meal plan and amazing dining halls make it worth it.</p>
<p>Will I get lost?
-Yes. Took me like 2 weeks to not get lost. But once you figure it out, you’ll be glad it’s big. Honestly. Especially if you plan on partying and don’t wanna see the same people every day.</p>
<p>Are the class sizes big?
-Depends. General university requirements (ISS, IAH) and intro-classes are big. But once you get deeper into your major classes, they get smaller. I know honors sections of classes are pretty small, as are residential colleges (Lyman Briggs, James Madison, RCAH).</p>
<p>If you have any more questions, just message me!</p>
<p>The dorms are not bad. It isn’t like TV (like Boy Meets World) where they have community bathrooms and all genders have the same bathroom. I live in Holmes since I am in Briggs and it is very convenient for me. In my mind, Shaw is the best place to live due to how close it is to classes. I would not live in Brody, the cafe is amazing but by halfway through the semester you will regret it b/c you realize EVERY SINGLE one of your classes is at least a 20min walk, thus forcing you to have to buy a bus pass and sometimes wait in long lines for the bus. Trust me, you don’t want this occurring in that frigid cold weather. If you are a Natural Science major then nearly all your classes will be in VetMed building, Anthony, BPS building. In my 8 semesters here I have lived in Holmes for all 4yrs (I am in Briggs) and I find it more convenient to live in the dorms. I have had just two classes my entire time here that have been WEST of Farm Lane Road (which is really near the middle of campus), which is probably no more than a 15min walk to any class.
The cafeterias are actually good. You go to WMU or CMU and you get crap food, food here at MSU is legit. Holmes cafeteria ain’t the best but it is open from 7am until midnight. While Akers and Hubbard are a little better but open just 7am-1pm, 5pm-8pm at Hubbard and then 11am till 8pm at Akers. Halls like Akers, McDonald, Hubbard, Holmes are a 2-4min walk to IM East (a gym), but then IM West is the real deal but that is closer to South Complex (Case, Wonders, Wilson).</p>
<p>Walking: Now I really don’t understand how people hate this part of campus. If you don’t live in the Brody complex (when you live on campus) then walking to classes is easy. But once you live OFF campus then it is more challenging. When it was Welcome Week I remember I came a couple days early and by Friday night when I was going out to drink I knew exactly how to walk back to Holmes despite being hammered as *****!!! When walking to classes for the first week or two at least keep one of the handy maps you get during your Welcome Week and keep it in your backpack. But again, my freshmen Fall semester, being in Briggs, I only had one class OUTSIDE of Holmes Hall, but it was all the way over at Wilson or Wonders 4 times a week. By the second class I had already known where to go. All you need to know is when to turn left or right off of Shaw Lane. If you live in Shaw and you have a class in Wells there is a trail behind near the Red Cedar River and you just follow that to Wells, but it is not an actual road. Maybe it is just me being a Natural Science major, but the only buildings I have had a class in have been Holmes, Akers, VetMed, Anthony, BPS, Wells, and one in Wonders. Then a recitation in Berkey which sucks to walk on Friday mornings all the way out to Grand River.</p>
<p>Class sizes: I got lucky since I am in Briggs and some of my classes were just 100 students for Chem and Bio. But your Intro classes (like PSY 101, HNF 150, MMG 301, BMB 200, PSL 250) are all 300+ student classes. One good thing about college is sometimes these classes are pointless to go to b/c many teachers are getting into the new age and recording their lectures and putting them online (we use a site called ANGEL). But during my freshmen year I didn’t skip classes b/c two of my Briggs classes had clicker points.
And an FYI for buying books. GO ONLINE!!! Get the international edition or at least use Amazon. I have not bought a book from the Student Book Store near campus since Freshmen year.</p>
<p>The dorms are okay. I lived in Wilson (South Complex) which was alright. They are a little small but I have no major complaints outside of the usual roommates suck type stuff. For the most part the dorms house very few upper classmen, most of us live off campus.</p>
<p>You will get lost, everyone gets lost. You do figure out campus fairly quickly and learn the major streets which will make it easy to get unlost at least. For the first few weeks of each semester you should probably keep a map on you.</p>
<p>Campus is really big, even if you leave off the farm area. Lots of people bike (which is kind of dangerous because they are idiots and ride on the sidewalk like they own the place). You can generally expect a good 10 minute walk from class to class or to your dorm. It is important to look at a map when scheduling freshmen classes (which tend to be all over the place). As you get into more upper classmen classes you start to see more of your classes being in one building.</p>
<p>Class size is really variable. I’ve had a math class that was easily 150 people and I’ve had a math class that was like 30 people. Most big classes do have recitations which are small (~30 people) classes taught by a TA which will go over questions you might have. I would say my average class size is about 100 people. Honestly it’s rare to have one of those 400-500 people classes people talk about.</p>