I want to be a Greek Advisor or Student Life Administrator!

[TriDeltaSallie]

I'm an MSU grad and I've never heard East Lansing/Lansing referred to as rural. Only people from a certain school call it Moo U. Methinks someone is a bit biased.

MSU is a classic Big Ten university located near the state capital. It is not NYC or Boston or Philly. But it is a vibrant community with nearly unlimited opportunities of all kinds. The campus is very nice and huge. The people are unpretentious and pretty much what you would expect in the Midwest. Friendly and open.

MSU is known far and wide for its College of Education. I'm a grad of that college (and the Honors College) and I was very happy with my undergrad education.

Ann Arbor is going to be more liberal and hip (as someone else said). You will get two totally different vibes from the two campi.

MSU was the first Land Grant College and is very proud of its agricultural background and programs. Our graduates do amazing things around the world in this area and make a tremendous difference in the lives of people.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

I wouldn't necessarily let interview weekend dates alone deter me from applying to a program, but it can help to look at when they are.

When I was applying to school I made a spreadsheet with each school, the application deadline, the interview weekend dates, how many letters of rec were required, etc. I think I started out with seven schools and then used that spreadsheet, and preferences like location and faculty to narrow it down to the three schools I eventually applied to.

Both of those schools had two options for interview dates, but I ended up at the first for each of them and they happened to be back to back. It was a nightmare! I literally landed at home, switched my toiletries from the first interview bag to the pre-packed second interview bag and got in the car to drive to the second interview the next morning.

Oh I wasn't letting it be a factor. But thanks for make me feel a little more sane with my massive google drive spreadsheet. I'm up to 8 schools but I think I'm gonna go with my guy and stick with these 3: UPenn, Michigan, MSU.

My only concern is an recommendation from a professor. I've been out of school for 7 years. The people I could really stretch are my advisor, if shes's alive, and maybe my RD when I was an RA. I could beg my old Peer Educator boss who's doing his PhD at UPenn (google and linked in are awesome).

An aside: is it helpful to have recs from ppl who are alum from those schools?