a few questions from a prospective student...

fa-la-la-lena
Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:24:20 +0000

edit - Ooh i just noticed you’re from Alaska? Me too! If you have any questions regarding that feel free to ask.

1) Can’t really help you with engineering particulars, sorry!

2) The challenge of honors courses highly depends on the class and instructor in question. I took ISP 203B -Honors section (a natural hazards/environment course) and it was the easiest class I have taken at school. The honors section for the intro to accounting class is really no different from the regular course - you have an extra little project to do. My international economics class - honors section is definitely more challenging though, but my professor is great. I’ve also taken a honors option (where you attend an additional class section - do readings, extra project or essay) and I’ve thought it to be very thought-provoking if not challenging but that greatly depends on the teacher you choose to do your honors option with. To be honest, I don’t think honors sections are all that much harder than regular classes (with the exceptions of EC 251-2H and MTH 152-3H among a few others). What makes the difference for me is the smaller size of the classes (more one on one attention instead of a huge lecture class) and the higher quality of the professors.

The research opportunities as discussed on the honors college website are DEFINITELY available (and more that is unlisted), including the professorial assistantship if you meet the criteria listed. I know kids (especially within science/engineering/math) that are doing awesome things within that program. I have a professorial assistantship right now and I, as an international relations/economics major am helping a professor edit his books (send them out to publishers, help edit and create contents/bibliography). Then there are the UGS honors research seminars for freshmen and sophomores which seem really cool as well (although I don’t have any additional details on those).

3) MSU is having major cuts…come spring-time, announcements for quite a few programs being cut will be made. However, this doesn’t stop MSU from being a world-class institution. MSU definitely hosts recruiters/employers nationwide (worldwide, really) through countless job fairs, presentations, employer events etc. Even with the economic downturn, finding a job out of graduation is still very possible (especially with MSU’s deep alumni/job network).