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Central is a major "party school", so you may want to go to Northern. Central is the #1 party school in Michigan, in my experience, with MSU not that far behind. Honestly, Western may be the best choice as far as not party-dominate and more public transportation.
UofM and Eastern also have better public transportation opportunities. But, MI does not have much public transportation, as mentioned above. They are close to DTW, where flights from EMU and CMU are costly when/if you can find them! Plus the commute from CMU to the nearest airport....
I honestly think you would be better off looking into WMU, EMU or UM.
This is good to know. Actually, the schools you recommend have good grad programs in my field, and are all on my list of possibilities. I am concerned about the cost of flights out of smaller airports. In some cases, though, this is balanced, or more than balanced, by the lower cost of housing in smaller communities away from urban areas. At this point, I'm really in the exploratory/research stage, whittling my long list of possibilities down to a short list, so I'll see how it all adds up.
Is anyone familiar with specific housing options in Mount Pleasant? Are there small apartment buildings tucked away in corners of the town where there aren't so many students? Jaynarie, I appreciate this information. I would definitely have to raise some questions about Central if it turned out that all the reasonably priced rental housing would have a lot of students and noisy partying. Another possibility is housing on campus. Does anyone know whether Central or any of the other schools mentioned have on-campus housing that is only for grad students, or maybe very mature undrgrads, so that it would be quiet even on an otherwise rowdy campus?
One question about Eastern: I recall seeing something in the news recently about some scandal there. A girl was murdered, I think, or maybe raped, and the administration was caught covering it up. Anyone familiar with Eastern? Does this sound like an isolated case, or is the school poorly run, with this incident being par for the course?
Thanks again for the info Jaynarie. This is definitely something to consider. It's different being a grad student older undergrad than being an undergrad of traditional age. You tend to be very serious about your studies, and don't want a lot of noise around. It's very helpful to get the inside info on where different schools stand in that regard. Thanks again.
I haven't heard anything about something happening at Eastern, but I am over an hour away, and "live under a rock" according to my sister. LOL. I never went away to school (I went to UofM Flint), so I can't help with housing at any campus. Sorry! I just know who went to which school and why! My friends and I weren't partiers in HS, but a few went to Central and liked it, so I can't be completely negative about it. But, I know at least 20 people who went there just to party!
Have you tried asking the University about housing?
How do MI state universities treat their students?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaynarie
I haven't heard anything about something happening at Eastern, but I am over an hour away, and "live under a rock" according to my sister. LOL. I never went away to school (I went to UofM Flint), so I can't help with housing at any campus. Sorry! I just know who went to which school and why! My friends and I weren't partiers in HS, but a few went to Central and liked it, so I can't be completely negative about it. But, I know at least 20 people who went there just to party!
Have you tried asking the University about housing?
The incident did happen, if you can believe the internet news. It's not so much that I need to learn the details about this particular incident. What concerns me is that reading of this incident set off some alarm bells, warning me that Eastern Michigan might possibly have a shoddy administration if they would handle this kind of serious, sensitive incident in such a corrupt fashion. So, what I was really wondering was about the school's reputation for how well it's run. It would be great if people in the know could provide some info on which state universities in MI are known for being well run and treating their students well, and which, if any, are known for the opposite.
The incident did happen, if you can believe the internet news. It's not so much that I need to learn the details about this particular incident. What concerns me is that reading of this incident set off some alarm bells, warning me that Eastern Michigan might possibly have a shoddy administration if they would handle this kind of serious, sensitive incident in such a corrupt fashion. So, what I was really wondering was about the school's reputation for how well it's run. It would be great if people in the know could provide some info on which state universities in MI are known for being well run and treating their students well, and which, if any, are known for the opposite.
I know the story, because the young lady who was raped and strangled in her dorm room was from the Grand Rapids (Hastings) area, so it was all over the news for quite a while. They covered up a murder investigation in one of their dorms and claimed it was "natural causes", which is in violation of federal laws. Even after it came out that the university knew that her death was a murder investigation and tried to cover it up, the President of Eastern STILL did not call the parents to apologize and give them any condolences.
They've now fired the President of Eastern and two other university officials over it, but they each walked away with a big payout from the university. Personally I'd stay away from the school until some drastic changes are made to their safety and security policies, and not just a bunch of lip service to the press.
Thanks for the details, Magellan. I personally wouldn't be too concerned about my safety at EMU. I mean, you know, besides the fact that I can look out for myself okay, I wouldn't think that one tragic incident means that students there are going to be getting murdered right and left. On the other hand, I do have serious concerns about the quality of the administration, and the general attitude toward, and treatment of, students at a school that would handle this situation in such an unprincipled fashion.
By the way, the schools in MI that are on my list of possibilities are Eastern, Central, Western, Norhtern, and University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). I'd really appreciate any info people might have on the quality of administration and treatment of students at any of those schools.
Thanks again for the info people have already provided.
Location: At the end of the road, where the trail begins.
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I have never heard anything bad about Northern.
My buds and I did a LOT of partying at Central!!! Can't tell you much about it other then where the hotspots were!
My m-i-l teaches at Western so of course everything she reports about it is biased I never personally attended the school but I have never liked that area of MI.
Eastern - I wouldn't rule it out for safety reasons but for poor administration reasons.
U of M @ Ann Arbor - I've only dropped off and picked up some friends there. Can't really say anything one way or the other besides the part of town we drove through was quite attractive.
I would stay on the west or north side of MI but then I need easy access to the best hiking spots
I have lived in MP my entire life(26), sans my time spent away in college and immediately after. I can tell you anything you need to know about the area. My freshman year I even attended CMU before transfering.
Couple things I'd like to shore up:
-CMU isn't that much of a party school. No more than your typical state school and certainly no more than Western. In the early-mid-90's it got a little wild, but it's cooled off a bit. Western weekend(cmu/wmu football game) will still get crazy as they are arch-rivals, but honestly it's not something that should be a deterrent.
-Most of the noisy partying is condensed within a certain area. Or what you might call a "student ghetto". Basically Main street is your big one. University and Franklin as well. These streets run perpendicular to Preston street. South of Preston is campus. North of Preston are where you will find a lot of partying in big old houses. A few blocks north it tapers off and by the time you cross High street it gets a lot more quiet. Still some students, but not a lot of partying. You will find some rentals in this area, but it is mostly families. I think someone mentioned this area before as being a good one for you and I concur. Without a car it would be ideal. Five or six blocks from campus, four or five blocks from downtown and a couple decent parks, five, six blocks away from a grocery store.
-Really, there are a few apartment complexes you'd want to avoid, in terms of noise/partying, moreso than a few you'd want to seek out. Stay away from "Chip Village". Stay away from Concord. Stay away from Park Place. Anything immediately west of campus I'd probably avoid. Anyways, like you said, you don't even know where you are going yet. If you decide on CMU, I can give you some further guidance.
As someone already mentioned, you can take a bus to Lansing(60mi) and get anywhere you want from there via bus, train, or air.
As far as the other schools in MI - I would avoid NMU like the plague. Nothing around. Would take you forever to get anywhere that isn't the country in a car, much less a bus. By forever I mean like 8-10 hours. EMU I would avoid. Not a great area and it seems like it's mostly Detroit area commuters who attend EMU. Less personable than the others.
UM is a great school and would have more of an urban feel. WMU is nice. I would say it's more of a party school, as of late, than the others, but I wouldn't let that sway your decision. A lot of attractive girls migrate there for some reason. That too, is in more of a city(kzoo) than a town(MP), but I'm sure you are more than capable of looking up the demographics of each place.
Location: At the end of the road, where the trail begins.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AJ Granger
As far as the other schools in MI - I would avoid NMU like the plague. Nothing around. Would take you forever to get anywhere that isn't the country in a car, much less a bus. By forever I mean like 8-10 hours.
Yeah, I guess you are right. I didn't look it up. 3.5 hours to Green Bay. 5+ hours to Traverse City. Still, you have to LOVE the country to live up there in my opinion.
I have a friend who went there to play football and he hated it. Said there are basically zero females up there(exaggeration alert!). It's real pretty up there though so I hope you like to hike(who doesn't?), because what else would you do? Oh, and you have, what, 5-6 months where the weather is ok. Otherwise people sit inside and drink. No thanks. BUT, different strokes for different folks...
Location: At the end of the road, where the trail begins.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AJ Granger
Yeah, I guess you are right. I didn't look it up. 3.5 hours to Green Bay. 5+ hours to Traverse City. Still, you have to LOVE the country to live up there in my opinion.
I have a friend who went there to play football and he hated it. Said there are basically zero females up there(exaggeration alert!). It's real pretty up there though so I hope you like to hike(who doesn't?), because what else would you do? Oh, and you have, what, 5-6 months where the weather is ok. Otherwise people sit inside and drink. No thanks. BUT, different strokes for different folks...
I live, work and play here in Marquette. Have you been up here? Just curious that you mentioned Traverse City (where a bunch of my family live). There is just as much to do (if not more) here then there is in Traverse. The weather is fabulous year round, if you're talking the snow/cold in a negative way then you need to be in the south.
One thing that you said which I whole heartedly agree with tho (and to me is obvious if you choose to live in the U.P.) " you have to LOVE the country to live up there in my opinion." Why else would you move here? We frequently wish we had more hours in the day available to enjoy it all!
Now I'm left wondering why I bother arguing with the misconceptions people have of this place?? The worse people think it is, the less people will come!
Scratch everything positive I've ever said about this place!!! AJ Granger is absolutely correct!!!!!!!!!!!
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How do MI state universities treat their students?
I never personally attended the school but I have never liked that area of MI. 
