MSU’s nickname was once Moo U. That’s because they started out as Michigan Agricultural College aka MAC. There was a dairy barn on campus when I was a kid, where you could get fresh ice cream.
2 Likes
I mentioned that my small town HS had over 2000 students ( actually from multiple small towns). Our counselors were stretched thin spending time trying to prevent kids from dropping out. If you were a top student who had the means to afford a 4 year school right away and family who was aware of options, they would help with applying ( a few of my friends). If you were heading to the CC you fell between the cracks even if you were a top student. Zero guidance. No information about scholarships. I don’t even recall getting brochures from schools even though I had high test scores and was an Illinois State Scholar.
The counselor who mentioned the school I transferred to was at the CC.
I had no idea how isolated I was until I transferred. I have come to realize that even more reading many of these posts.
Since my parents went to college here, I’ll add their experiences. My mother grew up in a somewhat middle class household in Minneapolis (her mother was born in the USA and her father immigrated as an infant), and went to UMN as was expected, and dropped out when she was pregnant with my older brother (as was also expected).
My father was first generation (his parents were immigrants and their shtetl didn’t have an real high school), but like most kids of Jewish immigrants in the Minneapolis region, UMN was the almost only choice (it was the 1950s). His parents knew nothing about college applications, but they wanted their kids to have higher ed degrees (his older brother attended UMN as did his younger sister).
On the advice of his older brother he applied to UMN as a junior, was accepted and dropped out of high school to start his BA. We still have the letter from his high school (sent he he was already a freshman at UMN) advising him that if he didn’t finish high school, he would not be able to be accepted to college…
He applied to the MA program in Linguistics (Anthropology) at UMN before he finished his BA, and ended up not getting his BA, while staying in the MA program. While in the MA program, he applied to, and was accepted to, Columbia University’s PhD program in Linguistics, and he left the MA program to start the PhD program at Columbia. So he had a PhD, and that was his only degree or diploma.
8 Likes
I grew up in a devout evangelical family in Texas and attended a small Christian school, where I was a high-achiever and particularly good test-taker. One of the teachers there had an older son who attended college for free as a National Merit Scholar, and at some point she told my mom that National Merit Finalists automatically received free tuition from any Southwest Conference school other than Rice (UT, A&M, TxTech, Baylor, SMU, TCU, Houston). So from about 9th grade or so, that became the menu of choices, as we were on a tight budget and my parents didn’t really have any funds set aside for college. (I’m not sure what they would’ve done if I hadn’t scored well enough on the PSAT to qualify for NMF - we never really talked about it!?!?) I didn’t know anything about any colleges outside Texas unless they played sports on TV, so I was thrilled to get pamphlets and brochures from exotic places around the country. The very first one was from “Carleton College” in the exotic land of Minnesota, which looked beautiful and compelling but might as well have been on the moon.
Of the realistic choices, my mom clearly preferred Baylor, which I now realize had been her dream school. Being a mild-mannered rule-follower, I didn’t push back on that too much, except that I did drag her to a recruiting event for Rice - which she attended grudgingly, as it was not on the free list. I loved it, but she absolutely did not and, as a lifelong teetotaler, almost walked out when they started talking up their big social event of the year, Beer Bike. 
So Baylor it was. In hindsight, it was never the right social fit for me and my memories from that time are a mixed bag at best. But I did receive a very good education, and I met my wife of 27 years and counting, so all was not lost.
Epilogue: My oldest is now about to graduate from Rice, and my middle one is starting this fall at Carleton. It’s funny how life works. 
10 Likes
And central Michigan and western Michigan…
1 Like
“Central” and “western” would just have denoted areas of Ann Arbor to me back then.
3 Likes
I graduated in 1985. Junior year, I took the PSAT and clicked the “send me info button.” I had pretty high score and got flooded with pamphlets. Over the summer, I sat down with one of the college guides and tossed all the schools that were below some level of selectivity.
I ended up applying to 5– Beloit, Carleton, Kenyon, Bowdoin and St Marys College of Maryland. I got into Beloit, Kenyon and St Marys.
Over Christmas break, I went to a Beloit alumni/prospective student event and liked the feel.
When it came down to final decision, the rep from Beloit called me to see if I needed more information while the other 2 schools were simply “here is postcard, send it back if you want to come.” The personal touch was what it took for me and I chose Beloit.
The funny epilogue to the story was in 1997ish, I was in a training for newly promoted staff at my agency and the person sitting next to me was my Beloit admission rep who after leaving admission and going to grad school joined the agency just after I had.
6 Likes
You all remember so many details!
I think any kids in my class that went to college primarily chose a UW school. I wanted to go to a big school, so I applied to UW Madison. That was the only school I applied to. The only requirements were to have taken the ACT and be in the top half of your class, so I had no worries about not being accepted.
2 Likes