I normally wouldn't respond to something like this, but this is such a poorly researched/written pseudo-article that I had to post a comment.
First of all, the article mentions "abysmally low SAT scores," which is entirely false. The average SAT score at MSU is around 1730-1760, which is considerably above average (average is around 1500), especially considering that MSU is a State university (which means that the school is FORCED by law to accept a disproportionately high number of in-state students). Also, the statistic might not be as significant as the writer wants it to be because he didn't take into consideration the fact that MSU is located in the midwest. Most kids in the upper midwest in fact do not ever take the SAT. They take the ACT. An average ACT score would be more significant when talking about MSU than an average SAT score. Way to get your facts straight, RadarOnline.
Also, MSU has an Honors College with MINIMUM requirements for freshman admission that would fit into the 25-75% range of statistics (GPA, class rank, SAT/ACT score) of ANY of the eight Ivy League schools. The kids that come into MSU's Honors College with Professorial Assistantships (basically the best Honors students) would be in the upper 25%-35% at any Ivy. And if you're thinking that it's only a handful of MSU students with these "stats," you're wrong. There are hundreds of incoming Honors College freshmen at MSU every year.
This all means that MSU has thousands of brilliant students that would fit into any college--regardless of how "prestigious" it is--, but you didn't research that at all, did you? The admission statistics at MSU are significantly brought down by MSU's land-grant mission. The University was built for the State of Michigan. It is, after all, a state-serving institution and must accept a high number of Michigan residents. What you criticize as being "abysmally low," we praise as a mission of serving the State of Michigan and its residents (who after all pay a lot in taxes to help our University).
As for Illustrious Alumni, I'm not surprised you didn't actually research anything. MSU is the alma mater of several past congressmen and many famous athletes, movie stars, etc. But our most notable alumni is probably Eli Broad, one of the 50 richest people in America and one of the main MSU donors (our Business College is named after him and a new museum with his name is in the making).
Do we party hard at MSU? Hell yes we do. We have fun. We have tremendous school spirit (have you even SEEN the Izzone during Big Ten basketball play?) and we're all proud to be a part of this University. But, as college students, we enjoy having fun and living life at the fullest. MSU allows you to get an excellent education (we're ranked as one of the top 100 Universities in the WORLD, one of the top 30 Public schools in America, have top programs in primary care medicine, marketing, supply chain management--#1 in the nation--,agriculture, one of the top 3 nuclear physics programs, the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, etc.), but it also allows you to have fun and enjoy the college life. I can honestly say that I've learned as much walking through our beautiful campus, hanging out with my friends, partying, and living on my own in East Lansing than I have in my classes (many of which have been very interesting).
To whoever said that MSU students are nothing but trouble to the East Lansing residents: we're not just "visitors." We spend 4 or 5 years of our life here, and we know EL as well as you do. Do we have fun like the 18-24 year olds we are? Sure. But we love East Lansing as much as anyone. Whenever there have been problems, its usually actually caused by students of other colleges or even the residents of East Lansing, Okemos, Grand Ledge, etc. For example, in the 1999 riots, something like 70% of all the people arrested were actually NOT affiliated to MSU in any form. In this year's welcome week, 59 of the 104 people receiving misdemeanor citations were NOT affiliated to MSU either. So you're wrong when you're saying we're the ones causing the problems. If anything, you should be thankful for Michigan State University. If it wasn't for this college, the City of East Lansing wouldn't even exist. If it wasn't for this college, Lansing wouldn't have grown as much as it did. If it wasn't for this college, you wouldn't have the football, basketball, hockey, etc. teams that this city roots for all the time. If it wasn't for this college, East Lansing wouldn't be the diverse, fun, vibrant city it now is. If it wasn't for this college and its students, many of the East Lansing businesses would go bankrupt. You have to acknowledge this: East Lansing LIVES thanks to Michigan State University, its students, its faculty, and its staff.
I love walking by the Red Cedar River on a chilly autumn night. I simply love this school. I am proud to be a sleep-deprived, party-hard, study-hard student at Michigan State University. I am proud to be a SPARTAN, and I bleed Green and White.
Go State!
I normally wouldn't respond to something like this, but this is such a poorly researched/written pseudo-article that I had to post a comment.
First of all, the article mentions "abysmally low SAT scores," which is entirely false. The average SAT score at MSU is around 1730-1760, which is considerably above average (average is around 1500), especially considering that MSU is a State university (which means that the school is FORCED by law to accept a disproportionately high number of in-state students). Also, the statistic might not be as significant as the writer wants it to be because he didn't take into consideration the fact that MSU is located in the midwest. Most kids in the upper midwest in fact do not ever take the SAT. They take the ACT. An average ACT score would be more significant when talking about MSU than an average SAT score. Way to get your facts straight, RadarOnline.
Also, MSU has an Honors College with MINIMUM requirements for freshman admission that would fit into the 25-75% range of statistics (GPA, class rank, SAT/ACT score) of ANY of the eight Ivy League schools. The kids that come into MSU's Honors College with Professorial Assistantships (basically the best Honors students) would be in the upper 25%-35% at any Ivy. And if you're thinking that it's only a handful of MSU students with these "stats," you're wrong. There are hundreds of incoming Honors College freshmen at MSU every year.
This all means that MSU has thousands of brilliant students that would fit into any college--regardless of how "prestigious" it is--, but you didn't research that at all, did you? The admission statistics at MSU are significantly brought down by MSU's land-grant mission. The University was built for the State of Michigan. It is, after all, a state-serving institution and must accept a high number of Michigan residents. What you criticize as being "abysmally low," we praise as a mission of serving the State of Michigan and its residents (who after all pay a lot in taxes to help our University).
As for Illustrious Alumni, I'm not surprised you didn't actually research anything. MSU is the alma mater of several past congressmen and many famous athletes, movie stars, etc. But our most notable alumni is probably Eli Broad, one of the 50 richest people in America and one of the main MSU donors (our Business College is named after him and a new museum with his name is in the making).
Do we party hard at MSU? Hell yes we do. We have fun. We have tremendous school spirit (have you even SEEN the Izzone during Big Ten basketball play?) and we're all proud to be a part of this University. But, as college students, we enjoy having fun and living life at the fullest. MSU allows you to get an excellent education (we're ranked as one of the top 100 Universities in the WORLD, one of the top 30 Public schools in America, have top programs in primary care medicine, marketing, supply chain management--#1 in the nation--,agriculture, one of the top 3 nuclear physics programs, the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, etc.), but it also allows you to have fun and enjoy the college life. I can honestly say that I've learned as much walking through our beautiful campus, hanging out with my friends, partying, and living on my own in East Lansing than I have in my classes (many of which have been very interesting).
To whoever said that MSU students are nothing but trouble to the East Lansing residents: we're not just "visitors." We spend 4 or 5 years of our life here, and we know EL as well as you do. Do we have fun like the 18-24 year olds we are? Sure. But we love East Lansing as much as anyone. Whenever there have been problems, its usually actually caused by students of other colleges or even the residents of East Lansing, Okemos, Grand Ledge, etc. For example, in the 1999 riots, something like 70% of all the people arrested were actually NOT affiliated to MSU in any form. In this year's welcome week, 59 of the 104 people receiving misdemeanor citations were NOT affiliated to MSU either. So you're wrong when you're saying we're the ones causing the problems. If anything, you should be thankful for Michigan State University. If it wasn't for this college, the City of East Lansing wouldn't even exist. If it wasn't for this college, Lansing wouldn't have grown as much as it did. If it wasn't for this college, you wouldn't have the football, basketball, hockey, etc. teams that this city roots for all the time. If it wasn't for this college, East Lansing wouldn't be the diverse, fun, vibrant city it now is. If it wasn't for this college and its students, many of the East Lansing businesses would go bankrupt. You have to acknowledge this: East Lansing LIVES thanks to Michigan State University, its students, its faculty, and its staff.
I love walking by the Red Cedar River on a chilly autumn night. I simply love this school. I am proud to be a sleep-deprived, party-hard, study-hard student at Michigan State University. I am proud to be a SPARTAN, and I bleed Green and White.
Go State!