Academics

All of my teachers had office hours that made them easily accessible for me. They’re required to have three office hours a week, I believe, and were willing to set up appointments to provide additional help if necessary. I think they’re pretty good.

Athletics

I love the Big Ten feel at Michigan State. The big sports (Basketball and Football) are so fun to follow. When you get into the sports, you feel like a big part of the school. It's a great social event to go to games or to just watch in a dorm with your friends. Intramural sports are also really great. It's not a big deal for many groups if you win or lose, but it's a really good way to get to know your floor, or to hang out with friends. Plus, the study break and exercise are great.

Campus Dining

The food isn't bad. It's typical cafe food, but not disgusting. The best dining halls are the Gallery or Shaw Hall. Brody has a pasta bar every night, which is nice if you want a change. Cafe food makes you appreciate home cooked meals or even eating out much more.

Campus Housing

I like living in Hubbard Hall because it’s close to the student parking lot and it’s the tallest dorm building on campus. Holmes, McDonel, Shaw, Holden, and Wonders are great because they’re the newer dorms. The old dorms are Mason, Abbot, Phillips, Snyder, and Yakely. They are close to Grand River where the bookstores and the hangouts are located.

Campus Strictness

Most of these kids get drunk and make a lot of noise and get themselves in trouble. Another stupid thing the kids here do is they walk to parties, get drunk, and then walk home . . . . if you go to school in a place like East Lansing, a small city where there isn’t a lot of crime at any given time, why would you walk down the street drunk knowing that, unlike big cities such as San Francisco or Detroit, the police have nothing better to do than patrol for drunk kids?

Computers

College students here rely on their computers more than anything else. Most professors post homework, quizzes, and other additional information on the Web, so it would be very important to have one with you. It’s also a source of entertainment and communications. Computer labs are usually crowded nearing and during exam week. It’s practically impossible to find a computer at those times. There are many labs around campus. They’re located in all of the dorms and libraries, the computer center, and most buildings.

Diversity

The biggest problem on campus is not really diversity in terms of numbers, but diversity in terms of action. People seem to stick with their own races.There’s no real racial tension on campus, nor are there incidents, but you don’t get a lot of mixing. That’s not to say it’s a segregated campus; there are people who mix, but it’s rarer than it should be, in my opinion.

Drug Scene

Drinking is practically a sport here. However, I was pretty surprised at how little I've come into contact with the drug scene. Even at parties, they are usually pretty under the radar. But again, it all depends on who you hang out with.

Facilities

All the IM buildings are pretty nice and relatively new. But you have to pay $3 for a day pass and around $50 for a semester pass. There are some fun classes like yoga or kick boxing but you have to pay for those too. The union is a really fun place to hang out because there's a food court, a computer lab, and a bunch of couches to study or just hang out on. The library is usually pretty full, but is still a nice place to study. The cyber cafe has great coffee, though it is expensive.

Greek Life

I happen to be in a sorority and I love it. It doesn’t dominate the social scene, but I found that, coming from California and not knowing anyone, it was nice to be in a sorority house and make friends so quickly. Greek life may not be for you, but I suggest going through rush and seeing whether or not it is for you.

Guys & Girls

The guys and girls are basically the same as high school, the big difference is that you get to choose who you hang around. And yes, after walking around campus, one begins to realize that there are a lot of good looking people around.

Local Atmosphere

The social life at MSU is great. Since there are a lot of people, there are a lot of things going on, like parties, speakers, musical performances, plays, sports games—lots of stuff. I hate the image that some people have of MSU, that all of us just party all the time. We’re a good school with good academics, but since there are a lot of us, and we all know that college kids like to party, the partying is going to seem big compared to smaller colleges and universities. Anyway, it all depends on what type of student you are . . . . The main street near MSU is called Grand River Avenue. It’s a nice strip filled with bookstores, restaurants, music stores, and clothing stores. It’s a nice place to hang out.

Nightlife

The majority of on-campus parties take place in residences halls or are student organization sponsored. Most students gravitate towards Harpers, the Landshark, Rick’s American Café, and Buffalo Wild Wings across Grand River Avenue from campus.

Off-Campus Dining

There are plenty of restaurants to choose from when you’re sick of the ol’ caf food. Downtown has everything you could imagine! Pizza is a must-have on every campus: Hungry Howie’s, Papa Leo’s, Papa John’s, and, of course, the classic Pizza Hut are all available. For Chinese, there is Charlie Kang’s and Goumet Village. If you’re craving sushi, downtown offers Omi, Sushi-Ya, and several other small shops. For Mexican food, great spots include Panchero’s and Qdoba. For a low-key meal, Buffalo Wild Wings, Burger-Rama, and The Peanut Barrel offer more traditional American eats.

Off-Campus Housing

I think that living off campus is a better bet depending on what kind of place you’re in. It’s cheaper, sometimes more fun, and can be just as close to campus as you were in your dorm. I also enjoy getting to cook my own food. If you break down the cost of living in the dorms and getting a meal plan, off campus is better.

Overall Experience

My college experience at MSU was the best time of my life. I’ve wished many times that I could go back and do it all over again. I would never have chosen a different school because MSU offers the most out of any college in Michigan. The people are great, friendly, and fun. You can party all the time and still get a great education in almost any degree you can imagine.

Parking

It’s difficult to find open parking spots close to most campus buildings, since they are mostly University faculty spots. The majority of available open parking is very expensive.

Safety & Security

There’s this program called ‘Night Call’ (or ‘Night Rider,’ something like that) where if you’re afraid to walk someplace at night and you’re by yourself, or it’s you and a friend, they’ll come and pick you up and take you where you need to go. It’s only from places that are on campus, though; you can’t go from off campus to on campus using it, or vice-versa.

Transportation

Public transportation is pretty cheap and easy once you've figured out the system. Transferring buses sometimes gets confusing and I don't like having to take a bus to the CATA station and waiting for the next bus to come, but if that prevents me from having to walk a mile in the cold, I can't complain too much.

Weather

There are lots of overcast days and the state of Michigan itself only sees about 60 days of sunshine a year. The winters are very cold with so much snow that it makes you not want to go to class.