Michigan State University

Public · Moderately Selective · MI

Photo: Gpwitteveen (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationMI · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads40,922

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate62.7%

6-yr grad rate80.7%

Drop-out rate10%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$16k

Out-of-state tuition$44k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity32.8%

Gender diversity51.6%

International5%

Identity—

Overview

Michigan State in East Lansing was the country's pioneer land-grant university — the model Congress had in mind when it passed the Morrill Act — and that heritage still shows in its strengths and its scale. It is a sprawling, tree-lined campus along the Red Cedar River that pairs serious research depth with a classic big-school Big Ten identity, anchored by the Sparty statue and Spartan Stadium.

Academics

Agriculture, education, supply chain management, and packaging are among the best-regarded programs of their kind anywhere, reflecting the land-grant mission's practical, applied orientation, with the Eli Broad College of Business housing the supply chain program specifically. Beyond these signature areas, MSU runs one of the largest study abroad operations of any American university, giving students across majors unusually broad access to international programs. Distinctive residential colleges — James Madison College for social science and public policy, and Lyman Briggs College for science taught alongside its history and philosophy — offer smaller, cohort-based alternatives within the large university, alongside a well-regarded Honors College.

Campus & student life

The campus is enormous and largely self-contained, with its own botanical gardens, museums, and a genuine small-city feel along the Red Cedar River. Big Ten athletics, especially football and basketball at the Breslin Center, anchor a highly spirited, tradition-heavy social culture, and the sheer scale of the university supports clubs and communities for nearly any interest. The residential colleges give students who want a smaller-school feel a real option without leaving the broader university's resources behind.

Getting in

Admissions is broadly accessible relative to the university's research stature, rewarding solid academic preparation without the intensive essay culture of elite privates; specific colleges like agriculture, James Madison, or Lyman Briggs sometimes invite supplemental interest that's worth reflecting in applications.

After graduation

Supply chain management graduates in particular are heavily recruited by major logistics and retail employers, and agriculture and education graduates benefit from deep, long-standing employer and school-district relationships built over the university's land-grant history. The Honors College and residential colleges also feed strongly into graduate and professional school admissions.

Worth knowing

The study abroad scale is unusual and worth factoring into a college search for students who want international experience without attending a small liberal arts college; the packaging program, while niche-sounding, is genuinely one of the most respected in its field nationally, and James Madison and Lyman Briggs are worth investigating for students who want a small-college feel inside a large university.

msu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate84.8%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1180–1360 · ACT 25–31

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

AdmissionRolling

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App, Coalition (Scoir), or Own application.

Priority / scholarshipFeb 1

Applying by the November 1 Early Action deadline is non-binding, guarantees a decision by January 15, and brings automatic maximum scholarship consideration; applications completed by the February 1 priority deadline are guaranteed a decision by March 31, with rolling review continuing through the April 1 final deadline.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗