Michigan State University

Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan, is a huge state university with a stunningly beautiful campus that has an approachable bar for admission for most students. Founded in 1862, MSU was the prototype for the entire land-grant system created by President Abraham Lincoln. While it started as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, it went through five name changes, becoming Michigan State University in 1964. I like Michigan State because it embraces all kinds of students and all kinds of people. Because the undergraduate admission rate is over 85%, they’re willing to give students who may not have reached their full potential in high school an opportunity to get a great college education. The honors college is very selective, with honors housing, priority registration, and paid professorial assistantships – which means guaranteed research opportunities freshman year. Additionally, MSU has been a top producer of Fulbright Scholars for the past 10 consecutive years.

There are many colleges here with hundreds of majors, but to touch on a few, the College of Music is excellent and they doubled the size of the music facility a few years ago. The engineering program offers hands-on opportunities from freshman year and offers an immersive experience in an engineering dorm for first year students. The College of Business is not direct-admit and is ranked #1 for Supply Chain Management and #3 for Production/Operations Management by US News and World Report. Some other majors across the university that you don’t see everywhere include Actuarial Science, Advertising Management, Agribusiness Management, Apparel and Textiles, Arabic, Communication Leadership and Strategy, Dietetics, Fisheries and Wildlife, Food Science, Horticulture, Interior Design, Linguistics, Veterinary Nursing, and Zoology. I think I want to go back to college – I just can’t decide what to major in!

99% of first-year students live on campus, and students are required to live on campus for the second year as well. At 5000 acres, it’s a large campus, but it’s very bike-friendly, with more than half its roads equipped with bike lanes, and more than 20,000 bicycle parking spaces. There’s also a campus bus system that is free for all students, and it runs until 2:30am. At that time, the Night Owl service takes over, offering rides for 60 cents with a student ID. Greek life exists, but only about 10-15% of students participate.

In terms of outcomes, the data is great, but more importantly, Michigan State has one of the largest and most supportive and involved alumni networks in the country. If a student chooses to access that, opportunities are endless.