My ds got in with merit and it is a serious contender. Whoever said the campus was not nice must have really high standards because I thought it was beautiful. It has a river running through it, pretty running trails, beautiful buildings and all the kids seem happy, I was that embarrassing mom who asked the students at the restaurants and coffee shops we went to how they liked it and they seemed genuinely enthusiastic and so nice to talk to me. It did not appear to be overly Greek which is a big consideration and tons of things for non-Greek type kids to do.
The happy vibe kind of reminded me of JMU, which is not a consideration because my kid wants engineering.

Anonymous wrote:

The comments about the hierarchy of Michigan schools feels outdated and was accurate 30 years ago.

You people keep saying this but no one updates the info.

A PP. I agreed with some of it. MSU is the number one destination at our decent but not prestigious public.

"Michigan State was for the high-average students who needed in-state tuition."

This makes total sense to me and is not insulting.

Yeah...3.5 to 4.0 unwtd. kids go in droves. The best-qualified get really nice merit. We had a full-ride kid at our high school last year.

It kind of reminds me of how people used to talk about UMD. But now UMD is hard for MoCo people to get into so they respect it more.

We don't have a population glut of seniors in MI. So it's easier to get into our schools. So people are less freaked out about the application cycle.

I rarely hear about anyone choosing the small liberal arts colleges from here. They are a bad value financially.

Anonymous wrote:We went to tour Michigan State last week while visiting family. We happened to meet this dean who told us about Michigan State being a "dream school." I loved the school and impressed that this ranking of Dream Schools is taking into account what students actually do on campus rather than the GPA's of incoming students. Anyone have experience at MSU?

https://undergrad.msu.edu/news/2025/09-centering-the-student-experience

It’s not an official “ranking” - it’s one man’s new list designed to sell more products to make himself rich. And there are 75 new “dream schools” on his list. Don’t be a sucker for marketing

The comments about the hierarchy of Michigan schools feels outdated and was accurate 30 years ago.

You people keep saying this but no one updates the info.

As a person who grew up in southwest Michigan and attended the University of Michigan, I find this thread amusing. The comments about the hiearchy of Michigan schools feels outdated and was accurate 30 years ago. Michigan is a harder admit and more expensive than State. I'm sure that factors into people's decision on which school to attend. However, handsdown, Michigan is higher ranked and has more brand recognition. I know people who've attended both schools and done well. I'm sure State is a dream school for some students and a safety for others. It's really about where your child feels like they will be successful. That is most important!

MSU is broke and struggling with some major deficit issues. Systemic dysfunction and corruption issues going back decades.

Midwest culture: slightly slower-paced, expectation of conversation with strangers and that you engage with people as equals. Lots of drinking, especially beer drinking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Midwestern culture is the old Buffalo Wild Wings slogan…beer, wings, sports.

True “Southern Western Michigan” perhaps if you throw in a few multi-level marketing schemes and some Calvinism.

Lol, this is very on point.